Sounders in control of their playoff destiny but must find ruthless edge, says Schmetzer

Brian Schmetzer believes the Seattle Sounders are in control of their playoff destiny after edging out the Houston Dynamo in Game 1 of their best-of-three series.

After a goalless encounter, the Sounders held their nerve in the shootout, scoring all five spot-kicks before Erik Sviatchenko’s miss proved costly.

They also stopped their opponents from registering a single shot on target, marking the fourth time the Sounders have achieved that milestone in a playoff match, and will be looking to do the same in their second encounter.

“Right now it doesn’t matter how we played, really. We’re in control and we won,” Schmetzer said. “This was going to be a tight series because the two teams are very good defensively.

“We’ve had our challenges this year sometimes scoring goals. Did we create enough? Those are all valid questions. Again, I would just repeat that those guys put the effort in. We were close on a couple of occasions.”

Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei is also on the verge of history, with his shutout in the first game his 14th playoff clean sheet, needing one more to go level with LA Galaxy’s Kevin Hartman for the MLS record.

“Stef has an opportunity in Houston to tie for number one [all-time],” Schmetzer pointed out.

“So that’s a goal that he can reach, he can attain, and let’s see if he can do that. Because that would give us the best chance of ending the series in Houston.”

Next stop: Houston pic.twitter.com/fkusQ0rHPC

— Seattle Sounders FC (@SoundersFC) November 1, 2024

For Houston, meanwhile, their cruel defeat in Game 1 was partly down to their own doing, so says head coach Ben Olsen.

The Dynamo boss acknowledged his side did not do enough in the final third, not helped by Adalberto Carrasquilla’s red card, which will see him miss the upcoming encounter.

Though the performance did not come as a surprise to Olsen, given the two sides’ defensive record in the regular season, he wants to see improvements at the Shell Energy Stadium this time around.

“It was hardly surprising. They are the best defensive team in the league. We are also one of the better defensive teams in the league, but then you add the playoffs to it,” Olsen said.

“It’s a heightened game of being alert defensively. You have these kind of games in the playoffs. We didn’t do enough to create better opportunities for ourselves to win that game.

“Some of that is our doing, some of it is that we’re playing a good defensive team. I said this leading up to the game, we are not going to get a lot of chances.

“We may get a few big ones and you have to finish them. It will be a similar situation at home, they are not going to turn into a bad defensive team overnight.”

It’s almost time to get LOUD #Grind2Shine pic.twitter.com/XmtzawJTRN

— Houston Dynamo FC – x (@HoustonDynamo) November 1, 2024

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Houston Dynamo – Amine Bassi

In a team that is not filled with goals, Bassi has impressed for Houston, with his nine goal involvements (three goals, six assists) in the regular season, a total only bettered by Ibrahim Aliyu (10) for the Dynamo.

The Moroccan also created more chances (79) than any of his team-mates, and his creative flair will be needed to unlock the Sounders’ defence.

Seattle Sounders – Albert Rusnak

Rusnak has played a starring role for Seattle this term, with only Jordan Morris (17) scoring more goals in the regular season for the Sounders than the Slovakian.

Despite not hitting the back of the net in Game 1, Rusnak notched four goal involvements (two goals, two assists) in three games heading into the postseason.

MATCH PREDICTION: HOUSTON DYNAMO WIN

The Dynamo have lost only two of their 18 all-time home playoff matches (W12 D4), though one of those defeats was against Seattle in the 2017 Conference Finals. Houston won nine of their first 10 home playoff matches but have won just three of eight since (D4 L1).

Seattle, however, have won six of their last seven away matches, including the last three in a row, all with clean sheets. This is the second time they have kept three straight away clean sheets in all competitions since joining MLS in 2009, also doing so between June and July 2011.

They have also lost only two of their last 23 matches against the Dynamo in all competitions, including securing a shootout win after a scoreless draw at home in Game 1. Houston have also failed to score in 12 of their last 18 meetings with the Sounders.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Houston Dynamo – 42.1%

Draw – 26.7%

Seattle Sounders – 31.2%