Seattle Sounders forward Clint Dempsey returned to competitive game action on Saturday against the Houston Dynamo for the first time in six months. He started, went 90 minutes and scored Seattle's lone goal in a 2-1 loss to open the 2017 MLS regular season.
Several players around the league used Twitter to welcome Dempsey back to playing, including Diego Valeri of the rival Portland Timbers.
“It was my first 90 minutes in a long time,” Dempsey said. “It felt good to be out there, but we’re frustrated to not get any points...I want to do more. I want to help this team repeat.”
The Sounders will take on the Montreal Impact next Saturday in Quebec (4 p.m. PT; JOEtv, ROOT Sports outside Seattle, KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, El Rey 1360AM).