The slight playoff hope that the Houston Dynamo had closed on Saturday night in their 3-2 loss to the Colorado Rapids.
The Seattle Sounders’ opponent at home on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. PT; JOEtv, KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, El Rey 1360AM) must now play its final three games of the season from the outside looking in. The Dynamo’s loss on Friday was their second consecutive match in which they allowed three goals and the 12th time this year they have conceded first.
Despite being out of contention, interim head coach Wade Barrett still wants to come out firing for the remainder of the season.
“I want to win on Wednesday,” Barrett said. “I’m hungry to win every single time we step on the field.”
Winning on Wednesday just became all the more difficult for Houston, though, as leading scorer Alex will be suspended for the match because of yellow-card accumulation. He picked up his caution in the 92nd minute for dissent.
The Sounders are coming off a bye week and currently sit in fifth in the Western Conference with a game in hand on Real Salt Lake in fourth place and Sporting Kansas City in sixth.
Seattle will be buoyed by the unexpected return of Designated Player Nicolas Lodeiro, who was sent home early from the Uruguayan national team because of a yellow-card suspension in CONMEBOL 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifying. Forward Jordan Morris will also be available after United States national team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann released Morris after the U.S.’ 2-0 friendly win over Cuba.
This is the third and final meeting of the season between the two clubs, with the first two matches each ending in 1-1 draws in Houston.
