The Seattle Sounders salvaged a 1-1 draw in their road matchup with the Houston Dynamo at BBVA Compass Stadium on Wednesday night, rescuing the point courtesy of a dramatic equalizer from midfielder Nicolas Lodeiro in the last minute of stoppage time.
Andrew Wenger gave Houston the lead with a 75th-minute tally for the hosts and the contest appeared to be headed towards what would have been a disappointing road defeat for the Rave Green. But Lodeiro came to the rescue just before the final whistle, slotting home a feed from Joevin Jones to allow the Sounders to escape with the draw.
The goal was Lodeiro’s second with the Sounders since signing with the club in late July, and extended the Sounders’ unbeaten streak to five since his arrival (3-0-2).
The Sounders played without star forward Clint Dempsey and starting center back Chad Marshall on Wednesday, each of whom stayed in Seattle ahead of a Cascadia Cup clash with the Portland Timbers on Sunday at Providence Park.
Sounders defender Roman Torres was available for Seattle for the first time since tearing his ACL in a game against the San Jose Earthquakes last September, but he ultimately did not figure into Sunday’s action.
After a sluggish first half in which neither side managed to crack the scoresheet, Seattle tried two substitutions to spark their attack after halftime, bringing Jordan Morris on for Nelson Valdez in the 55th minute and Jones for Erik Friberg in the 58th.
Morris had a good look at a go-ahead goal for Seattle in the 71st minute after a long ball from Lodeiro found him for a 1-on-1 with Houston ‘keeper Joe Willis. But Morris fired his shot right into Willis, keeping the game scoreless.
The Sounders paid for the miss just minutes later after Wenger pounced on a giveaway in the Seattle penalty box and scorched his shot past Frei and into the Seattle net, putting the hosts up 1-0.
Seattle looked to have equalized in the 84th minute after a feed from Andreas Ivanschitz took a deflection off a Houston defender and appeared to slide across the goal line. But the referees didn’t award the goal, despite the adamant protest from the Sounders players.
That set the stage for Lodeiro, who gave the Sounders a dramatic draw against the Dynamo for the second time this season in Houston. Marshall scored a last-second equalizer when the teams played to a 1-1 draw at BBVA Compass Stadium back in April.
With the point, the Sounders (9-12-4, 31 points) are now just one point shy of Portland for the sixth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference as the sides gear up for Sunday’s derby in the Rose City.
