Clinching a playoff berth was the easiest thing the Sounders have achieved this season.
Seconds before kickoff against Houston on Saturday, both sides qualified due to FC Dallas losing and Austin drawing with Salt Lake earlier that evening. To make it clear the Sounders were going to advance on their own terms, they pocketed an early goal to win 1-0 at Lumen Field.
It will be the Sounders’ 15th all-time postseason appearance, which is an MLS record for an expansion team. The club is vying for a top four spot, which guarantees home-field advantage in the best-of-three opening round next month.
The Sounders (14-9-8) flipped positions with Houston (13-9-9) to move into fifth in Western Conference standings. Houston is now sixth.
“I love the fact that the guys persevered,” Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer said. “Closed out a game, kept the lead under some duress and we actually punched our own ticket into the playoffs.”
Seattle could’ve circled a win against Houston when the schedule was announced, if forward Paul Rothrock was in the lineup. His debut MLS goal was against the Dynamo and he scored in the 2-2 draw in Texas.
“The story in my head that I had when I was going into the match was about how I like playing against Houston and I’ve had fun playing Houston,” Rothrock said with a big smile. “A couple people told me before the match that they thought I was going to get on the scoresheet like [Sounders defender] Jackson [Ragen] and Dave the parking guy. So, I was keeping that in the back of my mind.”
Saturday’s game-winner was in the 22nd minute.
The play started from a throw-in. Sounders midfielder Obed Vargas aimed a pass to Albert Rusnák for a give-and-go with Jordan Morris. Rusnák was double teamed in the box and lost possession. Rothrock rushed in to collect the loose ball and sent a right-footed shot toward goal, getting a favorable bounce off the post for his fourth score in league competitions this season.
“I was just being opportunistic in that moment,” Rothrock said. “It was good to get the goal when we got it, too. We were treading water a little bit and that helped us get on top of the game a little bit more.”
The Sounders could’ve had four more goals in the half. Morris couldn’t tap a pass from Rothrock over the line, Houston defender Erik Sviatchenko blocked an attempt from midfielder Pedro de la Vega deep in the box and keeper Steve Clark saved two shots from Rusnák.
While the offensive chances entertained the announced crowd of 30,015 in the opening half, defensive plays after the break received comparable applause. The sides are among the top defenses in the league, with the Sounders collecting their 11th clean sheet of the season.
The performance was an improvement from last week’s 2-2 draw against San Jose at Lumen where the Sounders conceded an equalizer in the 89th minute. The result also denied an opportunity to move up in the standings.
“That’s the focus you need to have in critical games down the stretch in the playoffs,” Schmetzer said. “You can’t take one play off. Against San Jose, we took one play off and it wasn’t good timing.”
Rothrock said extra training last week on decision-making with a 1-0 lead in the waning minutes of a match also helped. He subbed off to a standing ovation in the 84th minute Saturday and watched his teammate close it out.
“It’s a big area of growth from game-to-game that we just had there,” Rothrock said. “I don’t know how the coaching staff had the foresight to see that but it worked out.”
The Dynamo entered the match in good form but played Saturday without key players in midfielders Héctor Herrera (hamstring) and Latif Blessing (head) and newly acquired striker Ezequiel Ponce (thigh).
Seattle midfielders João Paulo (calf) and Léo Chú (illness) and forward Raúl Ruidíaz (knee/toe) were unavailable Saturday.
Up next for the Sounders is a pair of road trips against Cascadia rival Vancouver on Wednesday and Colorado (Oct. 5).
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