Seattle Sounders drop 1-0 to Houston, slide out of top playoff seeds

The Houston Dynamo defeated the Seattle Sounders 1-0 on Wednesday night at Lumen Field, snapping a long losing streak for the visitors. The result dropped Seattle out of the top seven seeds in the Western Conference. The Sounders now sit in eighth place, one point ahead of Real Salt Lake and two points ahead of the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Lucas Halter scored the decisive goal in the 26th minute. He headed the ball in off a bounce to beat goalkeeper Andrew Thomas for his first career MLS goal. The chance came after a defensive error on a corner kick. Dejan Joveljić and Sebastian Gomez both missed a header, allowing the ball to fall to Halter.

The Sounders controlled possession for nearly the entire match. They held the ball 70% of the time compared to Houston's 30%. Seattle also outshot the Dynamo 21-2. The home side dominated the first half, recording an 8-1 advantage in shots. Jonathan Bond, the Houston goalkeeper, made four saves to keep the score at 0-0 at halftime.

The Colorado Rapids took the seventh seed from Seattle via a tiebreaker. Colorado earned a 2-2 draw against the San Jose Earthquakes in a separate match. The top nine teams in the conference qualify for the postseason. The two teams ranked tenth and eleventh will play a single elimination game for the final spot in the eight-team bracket.

Paul Arriola made a key defensive play in the second half. He broke up a pass from Mateusz Bogusz to prevent a clear chance for Houston to extend their lead. The Sounders continued to press in the late stages, but the Dynamo packed their defense. Jordan Morris floated a header over the bar in stoppage time, the final touch of the game.

Seattle faces the Vancouver Whitecaps, the top seed in the Western Conference, at BC Place this Sunday. The regular season concludes with a home match against LAFC on Saturday, November 7.