The Seattle Sounders defeated the Houston Dynamo 1-0 on Saturday at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston, Texas, behind an 83rd-minute goal from Paul Rothrock.
Mateusz Bogusz seemed destined to open the scoring in the ninth minute when he pounced on a loose ball in the six-yard box, but Nouhou made a diving attempt to block Bogusz’s shot.
The Sounders almost took the lead in the 20th minute when Jesús Ferreira got in behind the Dynamo defense in the box, but his shot was saved by a diving Jonathan Bond.
Sounders goalkeeper Andrew Thomas made a brilliant reaction save in the 29th minute after Guilherme drove through the box and fired a shot aimed for the top corner before Thomas got a strong right hand on it to parry it away. Houston nearly scored on the ensuing corner kick, but a glancing header went skipping inches past the far post.
Thomas made another beautiful stop in the 47th minute on Guilherme, who had slalomed through the left side of the box but was unsuccessful in his 1-v-1 against Thomas.
Seattle had a great chance in the 57th minute when Cristian Roldan picked out Paul Arriola in behind on the right side. Arriola beat Bond to the ball and sent a first-timed ball to the middle of the box looking for Danny Musovski, but the Houston defense just barely beat Musovski to the ball and deflected it wide.
The Sounders took a late lead in the 83rd minute when Kalani Kossa-Rienzi whipped in a beautiful cross that Jordan Morris flicked on to the back post. Rothrock was first to the ball and fired home a one-timed effort to break the deadlock.
The Rave Green improve to 4-1-1 in the early season and finish their match fifth in the Western Conference with 13 points.
The Sounders will travel to Monterrey, Mexico, for the first leg of their Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinal matchup against Liga MX’s Tigres on Wednesday. Seattle will then host Tigres in Leg 2 at Lumen Field on Wednesday, April 15 (8:30 p.m. PT; FS2, TUDN | TICKETS).
THREE TAKEAWAYS
Roldan 400
Saturday was a milestone evening for Roldan, as he became the second Sounders player and first outfield player to make 400 club appearances in all competitions. The 30-year-old United States international joins goalkeeper and current teammate Stefan Frei as the only members of the 400 club.
Paulie Primetime strikes again
Rothrock came up clutch yet again, as the Capitol Hill native now has four goals in his last five games in all competitions and five in his last seven.
Clean sheet magic
Eager to clean up their defensive effort this season after an uncharacteristic blip last year, Seattle has now posted its fifth clean sheet in its last six matches in all competitions.
