Saturday was an emotional night not usually experienced five matches into a league season, but the meeting between the Sounders and Houston at Lumen Field was a confluence of achievement and remembrance.
The Sounders carved time during the evening to honor two players in Jordan Morris and Cristian Roldan, who set club records earlier this month, and another in former captain Nico Lodeiro, who made his first return after a historic eight-year career in green. He currently starts for Houston.
There was no chance sentiment would soften the competitive edge.
Houston’s last trip to Lumen ended in a defeat via penalty shootout in a best-of-three postseason opener in October. The Sounders ended the Dynamo’s season with another shootout victory in Game 2.
The rematch Saturday night was a repeat with the sides settling for a 0-0 draw.
Referee Allen Chapman called seven fouls in the opening 20 minutes of the match and 32 overall. Houston was also shown four yellow cards.
The Sounders (1-2-2) turned the jockeying for the ball into scoring opportunities as the first half progressed. João Paulo had a shot from distance fly over the crossbar in the 38th minute and teammate Danny Leyva forced Houston keeper Jimmy Maurer to make a save on his left-footed attempt a minute later.
Sounders defender Jon Bell missed a header off a corner kick in the 40th minute. Seattle’s best look in the half was a feed from Albert Rusnák to Alex Roldan that required a kick save from Maurer in the 43rd minute.
Maurer suffered an injury in the second half and was subbed off for Blake Gillingham in the 67th minute. The MLS newcomer logged 10 minutes before Saturday.
Sounders winger Georgi Minoungou, who replaced Leyva in the 60th minute, was the first to challenge Gillingham. He had a fancy dribble before sending a right-footed shot at goal in the 82nd minute. Gillingham batted it away and Sounders winger Paul Rothrock couldn’t angle a rebound shot on frame.
In the waning minutes, forward Jesús Ferreira had a deceptive look saved by Gillingham in the 90th minute. Alex Roldan followed with a challenging shot in stoppage time that couldn’t slip into goal.
Houston (0-3-2) was equally frustrated at its misses, although there were far fewer. Sounders keeper Stefan Frei had one save in getting the clean sheet.
Seven trophies glistened on a stage before the national anthem. The setup was to celebrate Lodeiro. The playmaker originally signed in 2016 and who led Seattle to its biggest titles in two MLS Cup championships (2016, 2019), four Western Conference titles (2016, 2017, 2019, 2020) and the 2022 CONCACAF Champions Cup.
Lodeiro felt slighted at the handling of negotiations to possibly re-sign in 2023 and opted to become a free agent, inking a deal to play for Orlando City SC last year. He signed with Houston as a free agent last month.
The Uruguayan, dressed in Houston’s neon orange jersey with the No. 20 on the back, was presented with a framed photo by Sounders majority owner Adrian Hanauer. The crowd of 31,293 chanted his name at an ear-piercing level, Lodeiro responding with a heartfelt wave.
Lumen cheered again in the 67th minute when Houston coach Ben Olsen subbed Lodeiro off.
In addition to recognizing Lodeiro, the Sounders starters gave a shoutout to teammate Paul Arriola. When they gathered for the lineup photo after the anthem, they held a banner that read “We’re with you Paul.”
Arriola tore his ACL during a CONCACAF Champions Cup loss to Cruz Azul in Mexico City earlier this month. The midfielder, who was a trade pickup from FC Dallas, is likely out for the remainder of the season. He scored two goals during the team’s CCC series victory against Guatemala’s Antigua GFC.
The Sounders acknowledged Cristian Roldan after pregame warmups for appearing in the most matches (344), through all competitions, for a field player in the club’s 51-year history. Morris was presented with a crystal trophy at halftime to commemorate his becoming the Sounders’ all-time scoring leader with 87 goals, in all competitions.
Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer called on some formations and lineup choices used last season to make injury replacements. The Roldan brothers were on the right flank to make room for Leyva and João Paulo in the midfield. Cristian typically plays the position with Obed Vargas, who was called up this week for the Mexican U20s team.
Bell replaced Nouhou, who’s with his Cameroon national team. Schmetzer started Ferreira and Rothrock in place of Morris (hamstring) and Pedro de la Vega (quad), who are out with injuries.
Next up for the Sounders are three road matches. The first stop is to play the San Jose Earthquakes.
