It was game, set piece, match for the Seattle Sounders, which scored directly off a pair of Nicolas Lodeiro corner kicks to defeat the Houston Dynamo, 3-2, at BBVA Compass Stadium on Sunday.
Chad Marshall celebrated his 400th regular season appearance with his fourth goal of the season in the 26th minute, latching onto a Lodeiro corner kick and putting a looping header inside the far post.
The Dynamo had a great chance to equalize four minutes from halftime, but Stefan Frei dived to his right to get a hand on Romell Quioto’s deflected attempt from outside of the box.
Five minutes after the break, Gustav Svensson doubled the Sounders lead in a near carbon copy of Marshall’s goal. The Swede lost his mark just outside the six-yard box and got on the end of another Lodeiro corner for his third goal of the season.
Kevin Garcia scored his first MLS goal, latching onto a Boniek Garcia corner, to pull Houston to within 2-1 in the 63rd minute, but Raul Ruidiaz doubled the visitors’ lead again in the 87th minute before Mauro Manotas scored two minutes later.
Goals
- 26’ — SEA — Chad Marshall | WATCH
- 50’ — SEA — Gustav Svensson | WATCH
- 63’ — HOU — Kevin Garcia | WATCH
- 87’ — SEA — Raul Ruidiaz | WATCH
- 89’ — HOU — Mauro Manotas | WATCH
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: The Sounders head into Decision Day presented by AT&T on a roll, having won four straight and 13 of their last 15. Meanwhile, it was more of the same for the Dynamo, who were again victimized by poor set piece defending for their third straight loss.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: It might not have changed the final result, but Stefan Frei made a sensational one-handed save on Romell Quioto's deflected shot four minutes from halftime.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: Nico Lodeiro had a hat trick of assists to increase his season total to 15 and six in the last four games.
Next Up
- HOU: Sunday, October 28 at LA Galaxy (4:30 pm ET | TV & Streaming info)
- SEA: Sunday, October 28 vs. San Jose Earthquakes (4:30 pm ET | TV & Streaming info)
