The first time the Sounders played Houston this year, they were desperately trying to pull up out of a frantic tailspin to start the year. The second time, they were in the midst of sparking a turnaround that would lead them to the doorstep of the postseason.
The third time? On this occasion, they can batter down that door entirely (Wednesday; 7:30 p.m. PT; JOEtv; KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, El Rey 1360am).
During that second meeting between Houston and Seattle, a match that ended in a 1-1 draw on Aug. 24, it wasn’t entirely clear what the Sounders needed to do to put themselves into position for the playoffs. At the time they were still a half dozen points off the pace and, with just two months left in the season, it was almost assured that they’d need some help to qualify for the postseason.
Sometimes the best help is self-help. Since that game, the Sounders are 4-1-1, part of a larger streak of seven wins in 11 games and just a single loss. And, as an almost unthinkable eventuality even six weeks ago, the Sounders can play themselves into the playoffs with two games to go regardless of any other result with a win against Houston at home on Wednesday. The Dynamo, it should be noted, have never won in Seattle.
This has been an undeniably odd fixture this year. The newly minted Western Conference rivals - Houston only moved from the Eastern Conference in 2015 - saw both results at BBVA Compass Stadium end 1-1. Bizarrely, the Sounders rescued both draws with 94th-minute equalizers in more or less the same spot in the box from crosses from the same area of the right side of the area.
The only difference was seemingly the players who got the goals, the first coming from Chad Marshall and the second from Nicolas Lodeiro.
The Dynamo are limping into this road match with nothing on the line but their own pride. They gave up a pair of second-half goals in the league’s lone game on Saturday to drop a 3-2 result to the Colorado Rapids. That finally put Houston’s season to pasture, ending its already slim chances at making the playoffs. On a short week, that’ll either make the Dynamo dangerous or listless on the road.
It’s worth noting, though, that Seattle’s had its struggles in breaking down the Dynamo this year. And the primary architects of that wall are no doubt already reinforcing the concrete for Wednesday. Because thanks to an unexpected yellow card he picked up on international duty, Lodeiro is back early. So too is Jordan Morris, who was released from U.S. Men’s National Team camp after a cameo in a win over Cuba last week. You can almost see them already loading up the trebuchets to break down a Dynamo defensive wall that’s been notoriously difficult for the Sounders to crack this year.
Houston might not have much in the way of dynamism going forward this year, but they’ve typically been able to rely on compactness and decent defensive organization. In the last meeting between this teams - also at midweek - Houston under interim coach Wade Barrett turned the match into a slog. The Dynamo sliced passing lanes in half, constricted space for Lodeiro in the final third and put the torch to Seattle’s already limited width.
Late in the season Houston has tended to rely on the defensive midfield partnership of Alex and Collen Warner. It’s what Barrett used on Saturday, and it’s what he used the last time these teams played. With veteran Ricardo Clark also in the XI, Houston has three defensively minded midfielders crashing space and looking to spring quick-fire attacks.
This tends to put a leash on the pocket of space between the back line and the midfield. There simply isn’t much room to maneuver.
In August, the Sounders’ biggest problem was in width. More specifically, the lack of it. Houston is not a particularly quick team, especially at the back, and the Sounders were unable to test their fullbacks and pull the immobile center back combination of Raul Rodriguez and David Horst out of position. Of course, the Sounders notably played both their wide midfielders out of position that game themselves. Neither Cristian Roldan on the right or Alvaro Fernandez on the left provided much width at all. Fernandez prefers the other flank, and Roldan is a central midfielder through and through.
The Sounders should be significantly more multi-faceted this time around. Lodeiro is even more comfortable in his role than he was two months ago (on average he was actually higher upfield than starting striker Nelson Valdez the last time these teams played), and starting Morris this time gives the Sounders another attacking dimension. Both are in absolutely terrifying form right now.
Yet again, Sounders interim coach Brian Schmetzer can put off figuring out how to deploy captain Brad Evans. The utility man picked up a red card in Seattle’s last game against Vancouver, meaning he’ll miss this game on suspension. Evans subbed in for a brief stint at right mid, meaning he’ll probably displace Fernandez when he returns. Until then, expect the lineup to look and play the same as it has for most of the past few months.
The Dynamo occupy a peculiar role for the rest of their season. Like Schmetzer, Barrett’s half-season at the rudder in Houston has been an on-the-job interview of sorts. Houston’s been better under Barrett than they were under previous coach Owen Coyle, but their season is still effectively over. That could mean wholesale changes to the XI - putting the Sounders in an awkward spot in terms of scouting - or it could mean nothing at all.
Either way, the Sounders know their job. Play the way they’re capable and they’ll be in the playoffs by the time the lights shut off at CenturyLink Field on Wednesday night.
