Houston Dynamo 1, Seattle Sounders 1 | 2016 MLS Match Recap

Steve Brisendine

The Houston Dynamo kept Nicolas Lodeiro under control for 90 minutes. Stoppage time proved another matter, as the Uruguayan playmaker struck an equalizer in the 94th minute to extend the Seattle Sounders' unbeaten streak to five games.

The last-place Dynamo appeared headed for their second straight victory on Tuesday night, after second-half sub Andrew Wenger's 75th-minute strike, until Lodeiro's late heroics salvaged a 1-1 draw for the exhausted visitors.

After a conservative, defensive first half, both teams made striker substitutions near the hour mark in hopes of sparking their respective offenses, with Seattle bringing on Jordan Morris for Nelson Valdez in the 57th minute and Houston subbing off Erick "Cubo" Torres for Will Bruin in the 60th.

The game opened up somewhat after that, but it was the decision to bring on Wenger in the 61st minute that nearly proved decisive. After Alex won a ball in the attacking third, Ricardo Clark fed Wenger for a far-post blast into the side netting.

But the lead didn't stand, and Houston missed a chance to pull within three points of ninth-place Vancouver in the Western Conference. The Sounders are now just one point below the playoff red line.

Box Score

75' – HOU – Andrew Wenger (Ricardo Clark, Will Bruin)
90+4' – SEA – Nicolas Lodeiro (Joevin Jones, Andreas Ivanschitz)
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Three Things

THE POINTS THAT GOT AWAY (HOUSTON EDITION): In the 88th minute, Boniek Garcia sprung Will Bruin and Andrew Wenger for a 2-1 break. Wenger was open on the right, and would have been in alone on Stefan Frei with a chance to complete a brace and ice the game, but Bruin elected to take the shot himself and put it off the mark.
THE POINTS THAT GOT AWAY (SEATTLE EDITION): They'll be talking about this one for a while. Late in the 83rd minute, the Sounders' Cristian Roldan sent a long ball to Alvaro Fernandez (who might or might not have been offside, but no flag came up). Fernandez sent in a cross that deflected off two Houston players and trickled toward the goal, but Joe Willis pawed it away with his left hand as Jordan Morris clamored for a goal call.
HOMEFIELD ADVANTAGE: The late point notwithstanding, Seattle remained winless in eight matches across all competitions in Houston. The Dynamo have three wins and four draws against the Sounders in regular-season play, and beat them in their only postseason meeting in Houston as well. (For the record, Houston have never won in Seattle either.)