The Seattle Sounders advanced to the Western Conference semifinals for the 14th time in their 16 MLS seasons, outlasting the Houston Dynamo 7-6 in a penalty shootout after it ended 1-1 in regulation. The Sounders won both of their playoff games in a shootout, going 12-for-12 from the spot.
Stefan Frei’s save of Tate Schmitt’s attempt in the seventh round proved to be the difference. Frei made seven other saves, but came up just short in his bid to tie Kevin Hartman for the all-time playoff shutout lead when Cristian Roldan scored an own goal in stoppage time. Roldan had just scored to give the Sounders their first lead of the series about five minutes earlier.
The Sounders will now have about three weeks off until their next match, which will be the winner of the LAFC-Vancouver Whitecaps series that is heading toward a Game 3.
Highlights
Stats
Houston Dynamo FC: 1 (1.36 xG)
— MLS Statistics and Analysis 📊⚽️ (@mlsstat) November 4, 2024
vs
Seattle Sounders FC: 1 (0.92 xG)#HOUvSEA | #HolditDown | #Sounders | #MLS pic.twitter.com/pHWSLDCD1t
MATCH SUMMARY
Seattle Sounders FC 1(7) – Houston Dynamo FC 1(6)
Sunday, November 3, 2024
Venue: Shell Energy Stadium
Referee: Armando Villarreal
Assistants: Jeremy Hanson, Tyler Wyrostek
Fourth Official: Ramy Touchan
VAR: Daniel Radford
Attendance: 18,859
Weather: 80 degrees and clear
SCORING SUMMARY
SEA – Cristian Roldan (Nouhou, Danny Leyva) 87’
HOU – Own Goal (Cristian Roldan) 90’+3’
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
HOU – Franco Escobar (caution) 63’
HOU – Hector Herrera (caution) 65’
HOU – Hector Herrera (ejection) 66’
HOU – Artur (caution) 79’
HOU – Griffin Dorsey (caution) 85’
SEA – Nouhou (caution) 85’
SHOOTOUT SUMMARY
SEA – Cristian Roldan (scored)
HOU – Ezequiel Ponce (scored)
SEA – Jackson Ragen (scored)
HOU – Griffin Dorsey (scored)
SEA – Alex Roldan (scored)
HOU – Sebastian Kowalczyk (scored)
SEA – Danny Leyva (scored)
HOU – Carlos Ferreira (scored)
SEA – Raúl Ruidíaz (scored)
HOU – Daniel Steres (scored)
SEA – Georgi Minoungou (scored)
HOU – Brooklyn Raines (scored)
SEA – Obed Vargas (scored)
HOU – Tate Schmitt (missed)
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC – Stefan Frei; Alex Roldan, Yeimar, Jackson Ragen, Nouhou; João Paulo (Danny Leyva 63’), Obed Vargas, Pedro de la Vega (Reed Baker-Whiting 90’+1’), Cristian Roldan, Paul Rothrock (Georgi Minoungou 72’); Raúl Ruidíaz
Substitutes not used: Andrew Thomas, Nathan, Jonathan Bell, Josh Atencio, Dylan Teves, Léo Chú
Total shots: 13
Shots on goal: 1
Fouls: 11
Offside: 0
Corner-Kicks: 8
Saves: 6
Houston Dynamo FC – Steve Clark; Franco Escobar (Sebastian Ferreira 90’), Griffin Dorsey, Erik Sviatchenko, Micael dos Santos; Artur (Tate Schmitt 90’), Amine Bassi (Daniel Steres 83’), Hector Herrera, Ibrahim Aliyu (Brooklyn Raines 76’), Sebastian Kowalczyk; Ezequiel Ponce
Substitutes not used: Andrew Tarbell, Ethan Bartlow, McKinze Gaines, Latif Blessing, Junior Moreno
Total shots: 20
Shots on goal: 7
Fouls: 11
Offside: 2
Corner-kicks: 7
Saves: 0
Quotes
Brian Schmetzer
On the own-goal: “We should have done better in that moment. The mentality of this team is really strong. It surprised me in some ways. I’ve seen it this year, but to take a gut punch like that is a psychological blow and we came through and regrouped. The pressure is there and all of our guys put the pressure on their shoulders and made plays. Those penalties were very good.
On Cristian Roldan’s performance: “Cristian always puts the work in and I don’t think it was one of his best games. He got the goal at the end and that was good to see, I pushed him up to the No. 10 didn’t really work. I don’t know what it was. But when it mattered, he sets the tone with the penalty.
On Stefan Frei’s performance: “He put some doubters to rest whether he could save penalties. Credit to him. His save in the first half, the collision in second half. I think he was great tonight.”
On the lineup changes: “Raul is still the leading scorer of the club. It was still a competitive lineup. This was not an easy game. The players we put on the field made plays. I wasn’t worried. I thought we had a legit chance. Made a tactical switch with Obed and Cristian. Pedro was good. Raul gutted it out. I didn’t know if he’d last 90 minutes.
On having Cristian Roldan go first in shootout: “No doubt. When we do the penalty discussion and the players feel what they feel. Cristian was willing to go first. I said ok you go first. Raul at the end, that was good for me too. I was very impressed again.”
On the team spirit: “Each team is different. We had some challenges this year. Deep down I’d agree it’s a close-knit team. Even though there are disagreements it’s still a family. I argue with my brothers but does that mean I don’t love them? No. That’s a tight-knit group. I’m happy Cristian has that opinion.”
On the availability of Jordan Morris and Albert Rusnák: “We’ll have to wait until final schedule comes out. That’s plenty of time for those guys to ramp up again. We are already working as a staff to get ready.”
On what worked defensively: “It’s required when you come here. As a collective if you’re able to be good defensively, you give yourself a chance to collect points. Our team is going to be who they are and they bought in because they understand that’s going to be a requirement.
On how the team played up a man: “It wasn’t as fluid as we would have liked. It was a hard game. On the goal, I have to take responsibility. We played short on goal kick and weren’t all on the same page. We were up 1-0 and up a man, I think we should have been able to close game out with better possession. We’ll work on it.”
Cristian Roldan
On the roller-coaster of emotions: “We talk about needing to be a professional and not getting too low or or too high. It’s much like our season where you’re on a winning streak and can’t get too high. When you step up for a PK after that you have to believe in yourself. I went up there with confidence and give the team belief we were going to win this.”
On the team’s performance: “Good teams find ways to win when you’re not at your best. We talk about having your best ‘C’ game. We struggled, defended deep and were able to cap off the series and not give Houston a chance to come back to Seattle. We had our best ‘C’ game and can now rest up for our next match up.”
On the team spirit: “Every season seems to be slightly different. One thing about this team is you can send that on the field that guys buy in a little more and that’s a credit to our entire group, front office, staff and players. Our cutulure is the best it’s ever been. We didn’t have our best game but still got a result. While our team might not be the most talented, we believe in the way we play. We defend as a group, make it difficult on opponents and I hope we have a long run.”
On the play of Danny Leyva: “Danny deserves a lot of praise. He’s been playing really well all season. He’s been champing at the bit. He was bummed he didn’t get to start. He played with that chip on his shoulder. Credit to him for being ready for that moment. He provided that spark for us. Playing in this kind of environment, in this kind of pressure and stepping up for the PK I’m really proud of him.”
Obed Vargas
On the relative lack of celebration: “He made a great save. They were just checking VAR. we showed confidence in ourselves that it didn’t matter what it came to. We want to celebrate together.”
On the team’s play with a rotated lineup: “We always had the confidence that we had so much depth. Like Cristian said, we didn’t have our best game tonight but the mentality of this team is to keep that clean sheet and give ourselves a chance to win. We didn’t do that today but we have that mentality.”
On his penalty shot: “Maybe it was a little bit lucky.”
On his reaction to Hector Herrera’s red card: “Right after he gave the yellow and saw the spit on the ref, our reaction was immediate. I immediately went to the ref, I got a second yellow for something much less.”
