Written by Juan Pereira

Photo by Houston Dynamo FC

The Houston Dynamo find themselves in a precarious situation after losing to the Seattle Sounders in the first game of the playoffs for either team. 

The first half started well for the Dynamo as they were able to weather the tough field conditions, but as the match progressed, Seattle found themselves more comfortable with the ball and were threatening in the final third. It was obvious that Houston were struggling with the pitch and its wetness. 

In the second half, tragedy struck when Coco Carrasquilla was sent off due to violent conduct after a stoppage of play. Just a few seconds earlier, Ezequiel Ponce was fouled and seemingly punched as well in the moment. The foul wasn’t upgraded to a red card. 

Playing down a man, Houston defended valiantly for 25 minutes plus stoppage time which extended past the 12-minute mark. 

In penalties, Steve Clark was unable to save a single one, and Erik Sviatchenko, who had an incredible defensive performance, hit his penalty kick wide of the target, completely missing the goalkeeper. As the Seattle players celebrated, the Dynamo were discouraged due to wasting an incredible defensive performance away from their home. 

“The guys put in a great shift after we went down to 10 men. It wasn’t our best performance on the ball, however, the guys gave a collective defensive effort and pushed hard for penalties,” Ben Olsen said after the match. “We will take some confidence back to our house and look forward to having a better performance there. Our road is a little tricker now, but we are looking forward (to) playing in front of our fans and forcing a third game.” 

This loss isn’t the end of the Dynamo season; they will have to win two straight games, one at home and another in Seattle. 

“There are positives from tonight’s game, and our guys are excited to play this team again at Shell Energy Stadium. Playing on our own grass will help us with our passing and keeping some of the possession that we want,” Ben Olsen said. “I told the guys how proud I am of them pushing for penalty kicks. It was gritty and resilient.” 

The team will return to Houston with their hopes on the line Nov. 3.