Updated Nov 9, 2009 - 1:21 am

Too soon to say goodbye: Sounders season ends with overtime loss to Houston, 1-0

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Can’t shake the feeling that it’s all ending too soon. The Seattle Sounders have been eliminated from the first round of the MLS playoffs, falling to the Houston Dynamo 1-0 in overtime. The expansion team Cinderella story has been cut short, and Seattle soccer fans, hungry for an MLS cup in their inaugural season, are left empty-handed.

After several hard-fought battles throughout the season, it’s no surprise these two sides took over 120 minutes to resolve their differences. Yet unlike previous meetings with Houston, this match seemed an uphill battle for the Sounders from the beginning. Seattle never got a passing rhythm going, and the Dynamo dominated possession for most of the afternoon, winning midfield battles and getting to nearly every 50-50 ball first.

Ultimately, the Sounders’ offensive inconsistency--and inability to finish chances--proved their undoing. There were a few heartbreakers in the first half, as when Fredy Montero hit the side netting after beating Houston’s defense for a wide-open shot. Steve Zakuani nearly assisted Houston into an own-goal in the 36th minute, when keeper Pat Onstad had to scramble to save defender Geoff Cameron’s clearance. Seattle’s defense had to survive a Dynamo onslaught in the first half, with forward Dominic Oduro pounding several shots against Kasey Keller, including a close-call off the post in the 23rd minute.

The Sounders came out stronger in the second half, creating a few more chances on goal, but still failed to convert. Nate Jaqua missed a pair of opportunities, one on the 52nd minute off a Montero cross, the second in the 80th from a beautiful Roger Levesque set up. Houston was likewise having trouble cracking Seattle’s back line, led by Tyrone Marshall, returning from a knee injury that sidelined him for the first playoff leg. It looked for a while like these two defensive powerhouses would need penalty kicks to finish this intensely physical game.

Former USL Sounder Brian Ching drove the stake into Seattle’s season in the 96th minute, capitalizing on a missed clearance by Levesque and expertly driving a shot high to the far post. Overtime felt increasingly hopeless for the Sounders after Ching‘s goal, despite a promising attempt from Ljungberg in the 100th minute--a lofting cross that ended up floating dangerously toward the goal before getting punched over the bar by Onstad. Seattle looked worn out and wilted in the Texas humidity. Frustrations were running high in the final minutes, when James Riley’s errant tackle against Ricardo Clark earned him a red card. The emotion on the defenders’ face as he left the field spoke volumes about the heart of this team.

The soccer pub where I watched the match, The George & Dragon in Fremont, was filled to the brim with raucous fans in rave green scarves. As Seattle’s chances dwindled near the final minutes of overtime, the crowd grew quiet. It was hard to watch helplessly as our boys faltered, so far away from the sellout stadium, proud banners and inspiring cheers that buoyed them along on a charmed course all season. There’s still a certain level of disbelief: It feels too early to say goodbye, when enthusiasm for the new soccer team in town is just beginning to peak. I've never seen anything like the mutual love and support that grew immediately between Seattle fans and the Sounders' team. That spirit will be back next year, but it will never be quite the same as this initial, magical run, when the Sounders captured the city’s hearts for the first time.

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• Jate wrote...

  thanks

  Thanks for the great blog this year, Libby!

  November 9, 2009 11:22 am

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