Lumen Field erupted on Monday night as defender Alex Roldan rocketed his penalty kick into the right corner of the goal to secure the Seattle Sounders’ Round One, Game One win over the Houston Dynamo.
“For us to be so clinical, and then [our] last guy steps up [with] even more pressure on him and delivers big time, it does our confidence well,” said goalkeeper Stefan Frei.
With the Western conference teams unable to break the deadlock during the 90 minutes of match play, the two sides were forced to compete in a penalty shootout to determine the victor. The Sounders took advantage of the opportunity, sliding past Houston 5-4 with penalty goals from Raúl Ruidíaz, Albert Rusnák, Jackson Ragen, Cristian Roldan and Alex Roldan.
“Kudos to our guys, because it's frustrating for us to find ourselves going to PK’s, but then to really focus like that is amazing,” said Frei.
In a high-pressure situation, the Rave Green maintained their composure and produced.
“The team responded well mentally,” said Head Coach Brian Schmetzer. “Penalty kicks are always a mental exercise and I think our guys were good.”
The penalty showdown left fans on the edge of their seats. But even prior to penalties, the intensity of the night was palpable.
Whether it be the booming crowd of fans chanting for the Rave Green throughout the 90 minutes, Seattle’s strong defensive effort that prevented Houston from recording any shots on target, or the scuffle between players that left Houston midfielder Coco Carrasquilla with a red card in the 65th minute, Monday night’s match was a textbook definition of how the playoffs should be.
“The history that we've had this year with cards, I think it was really good for us to be disciplined,” said Alex Roldan. “We stayed out of things, we just kind of broke up things, but fortunate enough for it to be on their side and not ours.”
While the team recognizes it was not their best performance, given their lack of attacking production, Head Coach Brian Schmetzer still sees the win as a positive.
“Right now it doesn't matter how we play, really,” he said. “We're in control, and we won, so that's the biggest takeaway from me, and that's what I told them in the locker room.”
Still, the players are using this win as a way to be extra analytical of their decision-making as they look ahead to Match 2 of the Round One, Best-Of-3 series in Houston on Nov. 3 (3:30 p.m. PT).
“I think it was the perfect game for us, because we're going to be able to look at it critically, because we did get the result, and we are up again,” said Frei. “But, [it’s about] knowing that we can do some things better and making sure a game like that doesn't go down to PK’s [again].”
