Survive and advance: Sounders outlast Dynamo in shootout

The Seattle Sounders advanced to the Western Conference Semifinals following their penalty shootout victory against the Houston Dynamo on Sunday. Like the meeting in Seattle, the second game of the best-of-3 series played in Houston went to penalties despite the Dynamo having a player sent off in the 66th minute.

Unlike the first match this game did not finish scoreless, as Cristian Roldan gave the Sounders a 1-0 lead in the 87th minute then had the final touch on an own goal in the 3rd minute of stoppage time to tie the game and send it to penalties.

Through the first half Houston definitely seemed the more likely side to pick up a goal. Missing Jordan Morris and Albert Rusnák from the starting XI due to injury, Seattle started Raúl Ruidíaz up top and pushed Cristian Roldan into the band of three with Paul Rothrock and Pedro de la Vega. Ruidíaz played the full 90 minutes, during which he accumulated a merely 27 touches with only 3 of them coming in the penalty area as he demonstrated why starts were so rare for him during the team’s best run of form this season.

The Sounders put together a few chances, but the best opportunities belonged to Houston. Alex Roldan cleared an 18th minute shot from Ezequiel Ponce off the line to keep the game tied, and Stefan Frei made a quality kick save to deny Ponce once again in the 41st before a dangerous play by Franco Escobar resulted in Frei being checked for a head injury by the team’s medical staff.

Coming out of halftime both sides exchanged dangerous moments. Pedro de la Vega made an outstanding run in the 46th minute as he jinked his way around defenders and into the box, but as he wound up to shoot he connected with nothing but air and the chance disappeared. Ponce popped up once again in the 53rd minute, played in by a great pass from Hector Herrera, but Frei provided the save once more.

The game changed when Hector Herrera was shown a yellow card for a foul in midfield. After being shown the card by Armando Villareal, Herrera clearly spit toward the referee from behind. Villareal was sent to the monitor to look at the offense and quickly returned to the field and showed Herrera his walking papers for spitting at him. Dynamo manager Ben Olsen was shown a yellow of his own for his outburst in response, during which Villareal seemed to point out the spot where he was hit by the spit.

Up a man, the Sounders pushed to take advantage and managed to do just that when Cristian Roldan gave them their first lead of the series in the 87th minute. Nouhou carried the ball forward and played a slick give-and-go with Danny Leyva before playing a ball across the box to Roldan who finished first-time into the bottom corner to make it 1-0 Seattle.

The lead only lasted about five minutes, unfortunately. Houston got a goal of their own via an own goal, brutally scored off of Cristian Roldan in the 90+3rd. Griffin Dorsey played a ball across goal just a minute after a big save by Frei, and in a crowded box the ball struck Roldan and left Frei with no chance for further heroics, at least not yet.

With another PK shootout in the offing, Seattle’s penalty practice paid off for a second game in a row. It took 7 rounds before a save or miss that counted - Stefan Frei did Save Sebastian Kowalczyk’s penalty in the third round, but had come off his line and the retake was scored. In the end Obed Vargas put away Seattle’s 7th penalty to set the table for Frei to appropriately play the hero as he came up with a crucial kick save to stop Tate Schmitt and end Houston’s season. The Sounders now await the winner of the series between LAFC and the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Key moments

4 - Chance! Rothrock cuts in from the left wing and sends a ball across the box that runs just behind Alex Roldan in front of an open goal.

5 - Shot! A short corner gets cleared and falls to Nouhou who sends in a shot that’s blocked out for a corner.

17 - Chip! Paul Rothrock gets a chance in behind, but his attempted chip never drops.

18 - Save! Ezequiel Ponce has a look at goal as he hits the ball on the turn from the 6-yard box, but Alex Roldan clears it off the line.

41 - Save! Frei makes a kick save on Ponce and then Franco Escobar makes a dangerous challenge as the ball is loose, taking out Obed Vargas and kicking Frei in the head.

45 - Goal kick. Hector Herrera sends a ball through the box after a corner is recycled, but the ball goes all the way through untouched and out for a goal kick.

46 - Whiff! Pedro de La Vega makes a great run through the defense into the box, but whiffs as he swings to shoot.

53 - Save! Ponce gets in once again after a Herrera pass splits the defense, but Frei comes up with another big save.

62 - Chance. Another Houston look after the defense crumbles on a direct ball, but Frei dives and catches the shot from Ibrahim Aliyu.

66 - Red card! Hector Herrera is sent off after being shown a yellow and spitting at the referee following a video review.

78 - Cross! A nice pass from de La Vega finds Vargas near the end line. Vargas sends in a cross, but Steve Clark is able to collect it.

87 - Goal! Nouhou receives a clever pass from Danny Leyva and drives into the box before playing a pass to Cristian Roldan who finishes low into the corner with a first-time effort!

90+2 - Save! Frei comes up with a pair of saves on a chaotic sequence in front of Seattle’s goal.

90+3 - Goal, Houston. Griffin Dorsey sends in a low cross that deflects into the Seattle goal off of Cristian Roldan.

Penalties

Seattle PK 1 - Cristian Roldan hammers his penalty home. 1-0 Seattle

Houston PK 1 - Ezequiel Ponce sends Frei the wrong way and goes low to the corner. 1-1

Seattle PK 2 - Jackson Ragen freezes Clark and finished to the left.

Houston PK 2 - Griffin Dorsey goes down the middle after sending Frei to his right. 2-2

Seattle PK 3 - Alex Roldan goes right down the middle to retake the lead. 3-2

Houston PK 3 - Sebastian Kowalczyk goes to Frei’s left, but not far enough out with enough power to beat him. Unfortunately Frei was off his line and it’ll be retaken. On the second attempt he goes the other way and scores. 3-3

Seattle PK 4 - Danny Leyva sends Clark the wrong way and puts his penalty away. 4-3

Houston PK 4 - Sebastian Ferreira smashes his penalty home. 4-4

Seattle PK 5 - Raúl Ruidíaz goes for power and gives Clark no chance. 5-4

Houston PK 5 - Daniel Steres beats Frei low to the corner. 5-5

Seattle PK 6 - Georgi Minoungou dances in his run-up and makes Clark guess before going the other way. 6-5

Houston PK 6 - Brooklyn Raines puts it in off the crossbar with power. 6-6

Seattle PK 7 - Obed Vargas has Clark guess right and get his arm to it, but can’t keep it out. 7-6

Houston PK 7 - Tate Schmitt goes drown middle and Frei makes the kick save to send Seattle to the next round! 7-6 Seattle

Quick thoughts

Thank god for no third game: You’d obviously rather not require penalties to win twice in a series, but winning is what matters in the playoffs and the added week off couldn’t be more useful for the Sounders right now. Seattle were hopeful that both Morris and Rusnák would have been ready for a third game in the series, but this gives them some extra time to be sure the pair are fully healthy ahead of the next round which will be played in three weeks following the international break. If there was any question of how important the two players are for Seattle, this game should provide all the evidence necessary. Rusnák’s ability to pick out a pass or hit a cross from set pieces and the run of play were sorely lacking, and with Danny Musovski likely to miss the rest of the season the version of Ruidíaz that remains at this point might be the least likely player to score for the Sounders from anything other than a penalty. No matter who they meet next, they’ll need both players at their best.

Houston see red again: Given the Sounders’ red card troubles throughout this season, there’s a little bit of a “throwing stones in glass houses” element to this criticism, but the two red cards the Dynamo were shown during this series are pretty shocking coming from one team when taken together. For all that Houston have been praised during their time under Olsen for how aesthetically pleasing their football is, there is a concerning undercurrent when your two best players are sent off in back-to-back games for violent conduct and then spitting at/on/towards a referee. Especially Herrera, who is an incredibly experienced player, a team leader and the captain, that kind of behavior is completely unacceptable and has no place in the game. I wouldn’t expect it, but it’s the kind of thing that deserves a lengthy suspension from the league in my opinion.

Practice makes perfect: It’s been noted that the Sounders have practiced penalties more than they previously had this season due, at least in part, to the increased likelihood of a shootout due to the format of the first round of the playoffs. It’s clearly paid off. The Sounders have now scored 12-straight penalties in shootouts during the playoffs, and there have been some absolute gems throughout with a variety of takers. Hopefully it doesn’t prove necessary again, but I hope they keep up the practice just in case.

Notable quote

Player spotlight

Stefan Frei – He didn’t secure the shutout he needed to move into a tie for first in league history for playoff clean sheets, but Frei made 7 saves and came up absolutely clutch in the most important moment.