Greetings to my brothers and sisters in Green. Sounders FC travel to Planet Texas and the Walker Street ground for a matchup with beleaguered San Jose Ear– I mean, Houston Dynamo. Let the mayhem commence.
What: MLS league match, Houston Dynamo v. Seattle Sounders FC.
Where: Walker Street, Houston, Texas.
When: 5:30 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time, Saturday 10 May 2025 CE.
At Stake: Points in the league. Rather than commit as many resources as possible to Tuesdays single-elimination match in the US Open Cup, resources were conserved for Saturday’s MLS match which is in no way a single-elimination match. Honestly, you can’t make this stuff up. Sounders FC currently sit in 16th place in the MLS league table. A victory could theoretically move us into the region of the top 10 in the league. Loss or draw sees us sink farther into the quicksand of mediocrity.
Where to Watch: MLS Season Pass via Apple TV.
Where to Listen: KJR 93.3 FM and El Rey 1360 AM.
If you’re making your way out to the Walker Street ground, look after one another and make sure to tie your scarves proper. Be loud. Drown out the Houston’s home support. Make it quite clear that there are no easy matches to be had against the Sounders FC.
Here in The Evergreen it’s pubs and dwellings. Round up your mates and make enough noise to irritate neutral patrons whilst also making the proprietors question their decision to let you in their establishment. Or, you know, just do your thing the way you do it.
We may not be able to win every match, and that wouldnae be much fun to watch anyweh, but if you’re fixin’ to turn us over, you had bloody well better bring your ‘A’ game. Also: Try not to catch the measles. Something I thought I would never have to say out loud in my lifetime. Ever.
It’s Sounders FC football under the glaring Texas sun. GO ON YOU SOUNDERS!!! GET IN!!!
Before kick-off, please join me in the auld toast: “TO THE SEATTLE SOUNDERS FOOTBALL CLUB…AND VICTORY!!!”
Osaze De Rosario has signed a senior contract with Sounders FC. We now have two quality,
healthy centre-forwards in the senior squad. Soooooo, that’s good. Well done, Osaze!!!
The Good News
Sounders seem to be turning a corner in the league and are unbeaten in their last four matches (3-1-0), and have been defeated only once in our last seven (3-3-1).
Sounders have scored eight goals in their last three matches and are averaging 1.60 goals/match in all competitions. This number needs to be higher, but this mean is affected by our earlier form which includes the four matches we were shut-out in. So if you factor that in, we’re making great strides.
Houston have struggled to score goals this season and are averaging 1.17 goals/match in all competitions.
Sounders FC Reserves, with the help of five senior squad members, including goalkeeper Andrew Thomas, pushed Portland Timbers’ first-choice players to the brink in their US Open Cup 4th Round tie, only going down to a stoppage-time penalty as one of our players lost his head and grabbed his mark’s shirt in the penalty area…and also spotty finishing…and also the Ref denying us a rightful penalty kick…and………you get the idea. The Sounders FC Reserves effort should be praised, and the management system that mismatched them so badly through neglect should be ashamed of itself.
The Bad News
Sounders have spotty form away from home this season (2-2-4 in all competitions), but then again Houston have grossly underperformed (2-1-3 at home, and 2-4-5 overall in the league), especially considering the quality of their personnel. The numbers say this one is a crapshoot. Another way to put it is it seems like a classic trap match.
Aside from the two matches in a row Houston lost to start the season, they haven’t lost two in a row since. That’s where the trap in trap match comes in.
Tuesday night’s elimination from the US Open Cup at Starfire has made me come to three extremely painful conclusions.
1. I need to drastically reduce my expectations when it comes to Sounders football.
2. MLS is a league that is literally designed to produce parity through mediocrity, and that’s a fact that I need to accept.
3. Too much alcohol in one go is extremely damaging to the human body.
The Side I Would Select
I’d have these in the 4-2-3-1 shape. I prefer Bell over Kim because he’s eight years younger and also a Jamaican international. Kossa-Rienzi over Alex on form. Rothrock over Kent because Kent is still building up his fitness. Musovski because he’s the only centre-forward we have that’s healthy right now.
GK Frei
LB Nouhou
LCH Bell
RCH Gomez Andrade
RB Kossa-Rienzi
LDM Vargas
RDM Cristian
LF Rothrock
CAM Rusnak
RF de la Vega
CF Musovski
The Side I Think The Gaffer Will Select
We’re still playing the 5-2-3 shape. I’d imagine Schmetzer will run out the same lot that absolutely battered St. Louis last Sat. Too bad this lot wasn’t selected for Tuesday’s match, which was exponentially more meaningful.
GK Frei
LB Rothrock
LCH Nouhou
CH Kim
RCH Gomez Andrade
RB Alex
LDM Vargas
RDM Cristian
LF Rusnak
CF Musovski
RF de la Vega
Intangibles
Officiating.
Victor Rivas will be the match referee.
HOU record with Rivas as Ref: 2-3-4
SEA record with Rivas as Ref: 2-3-1
Outspent again.
HOU 2025 transfer spend: €4.93M
SEA 2025 transfer spend: €1.45M (potential of up to €2.49M)
Form.
Sounders are unbeaten in their last four matches (3-1-0). Counterpoint: Houston, after their horrid start to the season (0-2-4), are starting to play better, and are 2-2-1 in their last five matches.
History.
We generally don’t play particularly well at Houston. Our road record there in the league is 4-5-5.
General notes on personnel
Houston transfers IN:
Maurer (FC Dallas) free
Steres - re-signed
Duenas (Los Angeles FC) free
Awodesu - reserves
McGlynn (Philadelphia Union) €2.04M
Urso (Charlotte FC) free
Gillingham (Flint City) free
Halliday (Orlando City SC) 2026 1st Round Draft Pick
Lodeiro (Orlando City SC) free
Holmes (Preston North End) free
Ortiz (Dunajska Streda) loan
Lingr (Slavia Prague) €2.3M
Bond (Watford) undisclosed
Olusanya (St. Mirren) €585,000
Felipe Andrade (Fluminense) loan
Houston transfers OUT:
Gaines (New Mexico United) free
Gregus - released
Herrera (Toluca) free
Moreno (Gimnasia) free
Smith (FC Cincinnati) free
Sylla (Orange County SC) free
Valdez (Nashville SC) free
Blessing - released
Clark - released
Schmitt - released
Carrasquilla (UNAM Pumas) €3.4M
Sebastian Ferreira (Rosario Central) free
Sargeant (Lexington SC) loan
Valverde (Orense SC) loan
Micael (Palmeiras) €4.8M
Ibrahim (Columbus Crew SC) €395,000
Comparison against common opponents
HOU 1:2 DAL
DAL 0:1 SEA
(against DAL: HOU 0-0-1 -1, SEA 1-0-0 +1) decisive edge SEA
HOU 1:2 RSL
RSL 2:0 SEA
(against RSL: HOU 0-0-1 -1, SEA 0-0-1 -2) marginal edge HOU
HOU 1:0 LAFC
LAFC 2:0 HOU
SEA 5:2 LAFC
(against LAFC: HOU 1-0-1 -1, SEA 1-0-0 +3) edge SEA
HOU 2:2 COL
COL 1:1 SEA
(against COL: HOU 0-1-0 0, SEA 0-1-0 0) even
Know Thine Enemy
Dinamo Houston as they lined up in their 2:0 defeat at Figueroa Street against LAFC on 3 May.
GOALKEEPER
Jonathan Bond, 31
England
Notable Clubs: Watford (31/0), Reading (14/0), Los Angeles Galaxy (91/0), Houston Dynamo (3/0)
Estimated Transfer Value: €500,000
Notes: Developed by Watford. No known honours. Played for both Wales and England at youth levels.
DEFENCE
Griffin Dorsey, 26
United States
Notable Clubs: Toronto FC (2/0), Houston Dynamo (109/9)
Estimated Transfer Value: €800,000
Notes: Developed by Colorado Rush SC. Played his university football for Indiana (44/8). Won a US Open Cup with Houston Dynamo.
Erik Sviatchenko, 33
Denmark (5/1)
Notable Clubs: Midtjylland (254/25), Celtic (42/1), Houston Dynamo (56/1)
Estimated Transfer Value: €1M
Notes: Developed by Viborg FF, Houlkaer IF, Sondermarken, FK Viborg, and Midtjylland. Won three Danish Superliga titles and two Danish Cups with Midtjylland. Won two Scottish Premierships, a Scottish Cup, and two Scottish League Cups with Celtic. Named Danish Superliga Player of the Year 2019-20. Won a US Open Cup with Houston Dynamo.
Obafemi Awodesu, 24
United States
Notable Clubs: Houston Dynamo (11/0)
Estimated Transfer Value: €300,000
Notes: Developed by Philadelphia Union, FC Delco, and Chargers. Played his university football for Penn State (65/6).
Franco Escobar, 30
Argentina
Notable Clubs: Newell’s Old Boys (41/0), Atlanta United FC (63/2), Los Angeles FC (19/1), Houston Dynamo (63/5)
Estimated Transfer Value: €800,000
Notes: Developed by Newell’s Old Boys. Won an MLS Cup, US Open Cup, and Campeones Cup with Atlanta United. Won an MLS league title and MLS Cup double with Los Angeles FC. Won a US Open Cup with Houston Dynamo.
MIDFIELD
Jack McGlynn, 21
United States (4/1)
Notable Clubs: Philadelphia Union (99/7), Houston Dynamo (10/1)
Estimated Transfer Value: €4.5M
Notes: Developed by Blau-Weiss Gottschee and Philadelphia Union. Won a CONCACAF U20 Championship with United States. Has played for United States at youth levels (41/3).
Artur, 29
Brazil
Notable Clubs: Sao Paulo FC (4/0), Columbus Crew SC (138/2), Houston Dynamo (79/2)
Estimated Transfer Value: €3M
Notes: Full name: Jose Artur de Lima Junior. Developed by Bahia, Juventus-SC, and Sao Paulo. Won an MLS Cup and Campeones Cup with Columbus Crew SC. Won a US Open Cup with Houston Dynamo.
Brooklyn Raines, 20
Liberia
Notable Clubs: El Paso Locomotive (3/0), Houston Dynamo (28/0)
Estimated Transfer Value: €250,000
Notes: Developed by Inter FC Chicago and Barca Residency Academy. Has played for United States at youth levels (14/1). Won a US Open Cup with Houston Dynamo.
FORWARD
Amine Bassi, 27
Morocco
Notable Clubs: AS Nancy (106/24), FC Metz (9/0), Barnsley (15/2), Houston Dynamo (70/15)
Estimated Transfer Value: €4.5M
Notes: Developed by US Bezons, Racing Club de France, Epinal, and AS Nancy. Won a US Open Cup with Houston Dynamo.
Ezequiel Ponce, 28
Argentina
Notable Clubs: Newell’s Old Boys (27/5), Granada (25/2), Lille (32/2), AEK Athens (56/31), Spartak Moscow (59/19), Elche (47/5), Houston Dynamo (21/8)
Estimated Transfer Value: €6M
Notes: Developed by Newell’s Old Boys.
Ondrej Lingr, 26
Czech Republic
Notable Clubs: Karvina (74/9), Slavia Prague (99/31), Feyenoord (20/3), Houston Dynamo (3/2)
Estimated Transfer Value: €2.7M
Notes: Developed by Karvina. Won a Czech league championship and two Czech Cups with Slavia Prague. Won a KNVB Cup and Johan Cruyff Shield (Dutch Supercup) with Feyenoord.
Familiar Faces
Houston midfielder Nico Lodeiro played for Seattle Sounders FC (191/41), winning two MLS Cups and a CONCACAF Champions League.
Houston defender Ethan Bartlow played his university football for UW (38/6) and Crossfire Redmond (10/0). Bartlow is a native of Woodinville, Washington.
Houston defender Daniel Steres was selected by the Sounders FC in the 2012 MLS Waiver Draft. Steres never played a match for the first-team.
Squads
Houston from:
Maurer, Gillingham, Bond, Bartlow, Steres, Ortiz, Halliday, Awodesu, Dorsey, Sviatchenko, Felipe Andrade, Artur, Lingr, Homes, Duenas, Lodeiro, McGlynn, Kowalczyk, Urso, Rodriguez, Raines, Bassi, Ponce, Olusanya, Segal, Gyamfi, Arzu.
Sounders FC from:
Frei, Thomas, Castro, Baker, Baker-Whiting, Bell, Burney, Gomez Andrade, Hawkins, Kim, Kossa-Rienzi, Nouhou, Alex, Sousa, Joao Paulo, Leyva, Cristian, Rusnak, Vargas, de la Vega, De Rosario, Ferreira, Kent, Minoungou, Musovski, Rothrock.
Injury List
(as listed on mlssoccer.com at press time)
Houston -
OUT: Ennali (knee), Quinones (knee), Tarbell (knee),
MATCHDAY DECISION: Holmes (leg), Maurer (lower body, we’ll say a case of crabs), Sviatchenko (lower body, we’ll call it ingrown pubic hair).
Sounders FC -
OUT: Morris (hamstring), Ragen (hamstring), Arriola (knee).
MATCHDAY DECISION: none.
Discipline
(as listed on mlssoccer.com at press time)
Houston: Escobar was booked twice in last week’s match and also hit his booking accumulation limit. He’s definitely banned for Saturday’s contest. Ponce and Dorsey are out next match if booked.
Sounders FC: No players suspended.
Fun Fact
Sounders FC have four United States youth internationals in the squad: Reed Baker-Whiting, Danny Leyva, Travian Sousa, and Stuart Hawkins. If coaches in the United States FA rate them so highly, why aren’t they playing more for their club?
Reed Baker-Whiting
USA youth caps/goals (12/1); has not yet been in the team for the Sounders in the league this season. Has two appearances as a substitute, spanning 27 minutes.
Danny Leyva
USA youth caps/goals (22/2); has been in the team twice for the Sounders in the league this season, and appeared four times as a substitute for a total of six appearances. Total minutes this season: 258.
Travian Sousa
USA youth caps/goals (1/0); has not yet been in the team for the Sounders in the league this season, and has zero substitute appearances in the league this season.
Stuart Hawkins
USA youth caps/goals (20/0); has not yet been in the team for the Sounders in the league this season, and has zero substitute appearances in the league this season.
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