Twenty-two was the number of players on the pitch Wednesday night at PNC Stadium, but also the amount of passes Seattle Sounders FC strung together during a 28th-minute game-winner in a 1-0 victory at Houston Dynamo FC.
The 22-pass sequence began with an interception in the midfield from Xavier Arreaga, who played out of pressure with a pass to Kelyn Rowe. Via a series of tiki-taka passing in the middle-third, the Rave Green played through Houston’s press, finding Jordan Morris on the outside left flank. The US men's national team winger whipped in a low-driven cross to Alex Roldan on the opposite side of the six-yard-box before laying it off to Raul Ruidiaz to do the rest.
It was just the Peruvian Designated Player’s second goal in league play, but his fifth on the year if you include Seattle’s Concacaf Champions League title run over Liga MX's Pumas.
The Sounders had prioritized their historic CCL win, becoming MLS's first-ever winner in the competition's modern-day version. That's put them outside of a Western Conference spot in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs mix, but they've now won back-to-back games while fielding full-strength lineups in the league.
Seattle will be back in action Sunday, looking to extend their current winning streak to three games against the Colorado Rapids at Dick's Sporting Goods Park (8 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+).
