The Seattle Sounders blew a chance to clinch a playoff berth when they tied Houston, 0-0, in front of 39,772 at CenturyLink Field on Wednesday.
Despite the early return of Nicolas Lodeiroand Jordan Morris from international duty, the Sounders could not score against the Dynamo.
Critically, the Sounders lost Andreas Ivanschitz with a knee injury inthe first half and captain Osvaldo Alonso was later red carded, ruling him out of Sunday’s game at FC Dallas.
WEEK32:
Wednesday, October 12
Seattle 0 Houston 0.
Seattle — Frei; Mears, Torres, Marshall,Alfaro (Anderson 74); Alonso, Roldan; Gomez (Valdez 62), Lodeiro, Ivanschitz (Friberg 16); Morris.
Houston — Willis; Williams, Horst, Brown, Beasley (Anibaba 72); Warner; Wenger,Alexander (Manotas 72), Clark, Escalante (Garcia 87), Bruin.
Red Card: Seattle — Alonso 64.
Att.: 39,772.
Thursday, October 13
8:30 pm Chicago vs.Columbus
9 pm Colorado vs. San Jose
Sunday, October 16
3 pm D.C. United vs. New York City
3 pm NY Red Bulls vs. Columbus
3 pm Chicago vs. New England
3 pmMontreal vs. Toronto FC, ESPN, ESPN Deportes
3 pm Philadelphia vs. Orlando City
5 pm FC Dallas vs. Seattle
5 pm Houston vs. LA Galaxy
5 pm Real Salt Lake vs. Sporting KC
5 pm San Jose vs. Vancouver
5 pm Portland vs. Colorado, ESPN, ESPN Deportes
MLS Standings:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
PTS TEAM W-L-T GF/GA
51 (32) *NY Red Bulls 14-9-9 56/42
51 (32) *New York City 14-9-9 57/53
49 (32) *Toronto FC 13-9-10 46/35
44 (32) Montreal11-10-11 47/48
43 (32) D.C. United 10-9-13 48/42
42 (32) Philadelphia 11-12-9 52/51
——————————–
39(32) New England 10-13-9 40/52
35 (31) Columbus 8-12-11 45/49
35 (32) x-Orlando City 7-11-14 49/58
27 (31) x-Chicago 6-16-9 36/52
WESTERNCONFERENCE
PTS (GP) TEAM W-L-T GF/GA
56 (32) *FC Dallas 16-8-8 48/39
54 (31) *Colorado 14-5-12 37/29
48 (32) *LA Galaxy 11-6-1553/39
45 (32) Seattle 13-13-6 41/40
45 (32) Real Salt Lake 12-11-9 43/44
43 (32) Sporting KC 12-13-7 40/41
——————————–
41 (32) Portland 11-13-8 46/49
37 (31) San Jose 8-10-13 31/36
35 (32) x-Vancouver 9-15-8 41/51
33 (32) x-Houston 7-13-1239/45
*Clinched playoff berth.
x-Eliminated from playoffs.
Leading Scorers:
G PLAYER(TEAM)
21 David Villa (New York City)
21 Bradley Wright-Phillips (NY Red Bulls)
16 Sebastian Giovinco (Toronto FC)
16 Dominic Dwyer (Sporting KC)
15 Fanendo Adi (Portland)
15 Ola Kamara (Columbus)
15 Ignacio Piatti (Montreal)
14 Giovani dos Santos (LA Galaxy)
14 Cyle Larin (Orlando City)
13 Diego Valeri(Portland)
WEEK 33:
Sunday, October 23
4 pm Sporting KC vs. San Jose
4 pm Toronto FC vs. Chicago
4 pmVancouver vs. Portland
4 pm LA Galaxy vs. FC Dallas
4 pm Orlando City vs. D.C. United
4 pm New England vs. Montreal
4 pm Seattle vs. Real Salt Lake
4 pm Philadelphia vs.NY Red Bulls
4 pm Colorado vs. Houston
4 pm New York City vs. Columbus
Alonso should face at least a 2 game suspension for hitting Will Bruin in the face, not once, but three times. In the middle of a potential playoff clinching game none the less. If he had stayed on the field a Seattle goal was inevitable because Lodiero was playing and giving up late goals is what the Dynamo very well. Alonso is the Captain?
I attended the game last night, and it was an example of how far this league has to go. That was one of the ugliest, saddest displays of soccer I’ve seen in a while. Lodeiro was the only player running off the ball, trying to make something happen, moving to open spaces. Most of the team just stood by their markers, waiting for something to happen. The turnovers were constant, back and forth – as if neither team could string together any passes going forward. Which isn’t surprising, considering that they had little idea that they need to be moving off the ball. The entire game was a depressing display of what MLS is at it’s worst today, and a reminder that we need to do far better as a league – with coaching, reffing, and player development.
I wouldn’t get the coffin out just yet… BUT; this was a poor performance by both teams. Seemed more like a game neither team wanted to win. With so much ridding on it and even with all the setbacks the Sounders are experiencing. We “all” team included, should expect better. Alonso, one of the netter players at that position in the MLS has a history of “losing it” this was perhaps his worse yet.
I am a Dynamo supporter and we recognize that our team is garbage. Our players are playing for their jobs….which they should be….so it was going to be ugly. They came into Seattle undermanned and clearly inferior. This was compounded by a suspension to our 2016 MVP and a lineup with a bunch of reserves due to squad rotation. Sadly, what you saw was an example of the Dynamo at their best and it is not pretty. They played to their talent level. I don’t get the Sounders though. I know the league and the media want them to be good, but the recent adulation is absurd. After watching them play live twice in Houston and on TV yesterday, to say I am under impressed would be an understatement. They were an embarrassment last night and Alonso should be eviscerated for his ridiculous meltdown not coddled.