HOUSTON, TEXAS
- Seattle Sounders FC (9-12-4, 31 points) saw its five-match unbeaten streak remain alive Wednesday night with a 1-1 road draw at the Houston Dynamo (5-10-10, 25 points) at BBVA Compass Stadium. Andrew Wenger scored the game's first goal for the host side, but Seattle midfielder Nico Lodeiro scored four minutes into second-half stoppage time to salvage the road point. Seattle continues its two-match road swing this Sunday with a nationally-televised meeting with the Portland Timbers at Providence Park.
After over 70 minutes of scoreless action, Houston struck first in the 75
th
minute when Wenger collected a loose ball on the right side of the 18-yard-box for a wide open shot that sailed past Stefan Frei into the far top corner of the net.
Sounders FC earned the draw with a second-half stoppage-time goal by Lodeiro. Midfielder Andreas Ivanschitz played the ball out wide on the left flank to Joevin Jones, who whipped it inside into a crowded area. On one touch, Lodeiro slotted the ball inside the keeper's left post for the goal. The Uruguayan international now has two goals and four assists in five games for Seattle since signing on July 27. The goal marked the second occurrence in the 2016 campaign that Seattle scored an equalizer at Houston in second-half stoppage time. Defender Chad Marshall did the same on April 10 to salvage a 1-1 draw.
Interim Head Coach Brian Schmetzer made five changes to his lineup after three straight matches with the same starting XI. Midfielder Alvaro Fernandez made his first start since signing with the club on July 28, while forward Nelson Valdez, midfielder Erik Friberg, as well as defenders Zach Scott and Dylan Remick all made their first starts this month.
Defender Román Torres was included on the bench tonight after being activated from the Disabled List on Tuesday. It was the first appearance in the 18 for the Panamanian international this season after suffering a torn ACL on September 12 of last season.
Sounders FC continues its two-match road swing Sunday with a Cascadia fixture against the Portland Timbers at Providence Park (2:00 p.m. PT / ESPN, KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, El Rey 1360 AM). It marks the second fixture against Portland in as many weekends after the Rave Green earned a 3-1 home win last Sunday on the Xbox Pitch at CenturyLink Field.
MATCH SUMMARY
Seattle Sounders FC 1 - Houston Dynamo 1
Wednesday, August 24, 2016
Venue:
BBVA Compass Stadium
Referee:
Armando Villarreal
Assistants:
Jonathan Johnson, Jeffrey Greeson
Fourth Official:
Caleb Mendez
Attendance:
16,125
Weather:
Partly cloudy and 86 degrees
SCORING SUMMARY
HOU -
Andrew Wenger (Ricardo Clark, Will Bruin) 75'
SEA -
Nico Lodeiro (Joevin Jones, Andreas Ivanschitz) 90'+4'
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
SEA -
Cristian Roldan (caution) 50'
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC -
Stefan Frei; Tyrone Mears, Brad Evans - captain, Zach Scott, Dylan Remick (Andreas Ivanschitz 78'); Erik Friberg (Joevin Jones 58'), Osvalo Alonso, Cristian Roldan, Alvaro Fernandez, Nico Lodeiro; Nelson Valdez (Jordan Morris 57')
Substitutes not used:
Tyler Miller, Román Torres, Herculez Gomez, Oalex Anderson
Total shots:
6 (Lodeiro/Morris, 2)
Shots on goal:
2 (Lodeiro/Morris, 1)
Fouls:
9 (Valdez, 4)
Offside:
2 (Roldan/Fernandez, 1)
Corner-kicks:
3 (Ivanschitz, 2)
Saves:
3 (Frei, 3)
Houston Dynamo -
Joe Willis; Sheanon Williams, Raul Rodriguez, David Horst, Jalil Anibaba; Collen Warner, Alex, Boniek Garcia (Eric Alexander 90'), Ricardo Clark, Cristian Maidana (Andrew Wenger 61'); Erick Torres (Will Bruin 60')
Substitutes not used:
Calle Brown, Abdoulie Mansally, Agus, Mauro Manotas
Total shots:
22 (Clark, 5)
Shots on goal:
4 (Torres, 2)
Fouls:
7 (Garcia/Warner, 2)
Offside:
0
Corner-kicks:
3 (Garcia, 2)
Saves:
1 (Willis, 1)
MATCH NOTES
- After the draw, Sounders FC is now 9-12-4 in the 2016 MLS regular season. With 31 points, Sounders FC sits in seventh place in the Western Conference, just one point behind the Portland Timbers for the sixth and final playoff position. Seattle and Portland face off on Sunday afternoon in a nationally-televised contest at Providence Park.
- Interim Head Coach Brian Schmetzer remains unbeaten since taking over the managerial role for the Rave Green on July 26. The current run of five matches without a loss (3-0-2) is the club's longest such streak of the season. Sounders FC has allowed exactly one goal in each of the five matches, outscoring opponents 10-5.
- The visiting side continues to be winless in this series in league play, with Seattle holding a record of 0-3-4 record in Houston, while the Dynamo are 0-5-1 at CenturyLink Field. Sounders FC is now 2-7-3 on the road in league action in 2016.
- Wednesday's contest marked the second of three meetings between the two sides this season, with the third and final matchup occurring at CenturyLink Field on Wednesday, October 12. On April 10, Sounders FC drew Houston in a similar fashion to Wednesday, when Seattle netted the 1-1 equalizer four minutes into second-half stoppage time. Tonight's score marked the seventh time in club history the Rave Green scored in the fourth minute of stoppage time or later. Each of the past three meetings with Houston have resulted in a 1-1 scoreline.
- With the start, Zach Scott made his 116th MLS regular season appearance with Sounders FC, which ties Lamar Neagle for fifth-most in club history.
- Nico Lodeiro's equalizer marks his second goal of the season. Through five matches, the Designated Player has also recorded four assists. On Wednesday's score, Andreas Ivanschitz earned his team-high seventh assist of the season, while Joevin Jones added his second helper of the campaign.
- Midfielder Alvaro Fernandez made his first start of the season with 90 minutes of action in the midfield. Fernandez, who appeared in seven minutes of action at Orlando City on August 7, played for Sounders FC from 2010-2012. Román Torres, meanwhile, appeared in the 18 for the first time since suffering a season-ending leg injury at San Jose on September 12, 2015.
