The Seattle Sounders got what they needed but not what wanted in Leg One of their Two legged Western Conference Finals playoff series against the Houston Dynamos Tuesday night in Houston. The Rave Green left Houston with a 2-0 victory.
The Rave Green was looking to walk away from the road game with any type of an edge that would set them up for the home match. With the Dynamos having lost just one home game all season scoring a goal is what the visitors needed. A goal scored without a goal conceded is what the Sounders wanted.
The Sounders took an early 1-0 lead in the 11th minute on their second corner-kick of the game when Gustav Svensson headed home a Nicolas Lodeiro cross for the dream start. The Dynamos were the MLS leader in defending set pieces during the regular season.
The Sounders continued to pressure the Dynamos and the relentless pressure paid off as former Sounder Jalil Anibaba dragged down Sounder midfielder Jovein Jones in the penalty box resulting in a penalty and a red card in the 27th minute. Lodeiro squandered the opportunity as his right-footed penalty was saved by Dynamo keeper Joe Willis.
The ten men Dynamos reprieve of avoiding a second Sounders goal was temporary as the Rave Green went full throttle at the Dynamo goal and the second goal arrived courtesy of former Dynamos player Will Bruins header in the 42nd minute.
With a man advantage and a two-goal lead, the Sounders were able to kill the game with one incident. Defender Roman Torres received a yellow card and will sit out the November 30th Leg Two match in Seattle. In the end, the Sounders got what they needed, a sizable goal advantage going into Leg Two. What they wanted would have been a few more goals in the second half given their man advantage.
Tyler Miller started in goal for Seattle in place of Stefan Frei due to a hamstring injury, making three saves. Miller now has eight appearances for Sounders FC across all competitions, with his last First Team match coming in a 4-3 win on July 19 over D.C. United. Miller has 35 appearances for Sounders FC 2 dating back to 2015, including 22 this season.
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