Sounders open first round with shootout victory over Houston after scoreless duel in regulation

SEATTLE (AP) — Alex Roldan scored the decisive goal in a 5-4 shootout after Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei and Houston's Steve Clark dueled to a scoreless draw in regulation, and the Sounders rallied to beat the Dynamo in a best-of-three first-round opener for the MLS Cup on Monday night.

Frei was not tested the whole rainy night and finished without a save in his shutout effort. But he guessed right in the fourth round of the shootout — forcing Erik Sviatchenko to miss wide left. Roldan sent a right-footed shot to the top right corner, delivering the winner for the Western Conference's No. 4 seed.

Frei led the league in clean sheets this season with 13 after topping the league with 14 last year. He has allowed just 32 goals in 33 postseason starts with 14 shutouts — all with the Sounders.

Steve Clark turned away three shots in his 18th career postseason start — the last six with the No. 5 seed Dynamo.

The Sounders, who joined the league in 2009, have never lost a home match to the Dynamo.

Houston was forced to play a man down from the 66th minute on after midfielder Coco Carrasquilla was sent off for getting two yellow cards over a span of five minutes.

Sounders' leading goal scorer Jordan Morris left with an injury in the 52nd minute. He was replaced by Raúl Ruidíaz, who scored the first shootout goal for Seattle. Albert Rusnák, Jackson Ragen and Cristian Roldan had the others.

The Dynamo's successful PKs came from Ezequiel Ponce, Griffin Dorsey, Sebastian Kowalczyk and Daniel Steres.

Seattle has made the playoffs in 15 of its 16 seasons, winning conference championships four times and the MLS Cup twice — 2016 and 2019. The club got off to the worst start in its history this season before going 12-2-3 in the second half.

Houston, which set club records with 54 points and eight road victories this season, will host the Sounders on Sunday.

The Dynamo are making their 10th postseason appearance and first in back-to-back seasons since 2013. The two clubs played to a 2-2 draw in Houston during the regular season. Seattle beat the Dynamo 1-0 at home.

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AP MLS: https://apnews.com/hub/major-league-soccer