Houston Dynamo FC (No. 5) host Seattle Sounders FC (No. 4) on Sunday, needing a win to stay alive in their Round One Best-of-3 Series.
How to watch & stream
When
- Sunday, Nov. 3 | 6:30 pm ET/3:30 pm PT
Where
- Shell Energy Stadium | Houston, Texas
Seattle battled through penalty kicks to win a tight Game 1 and are now just one victory away from facing either LAFC (No. 1) or Vancouver Whitecaps FC (No. 8) in a Western Conference Semifinal on Nov. 23 or 24. Should Houston force a Game 3, the series decider will be played on Nov. 10 at Lumen Field.
If a Round One match is tied after regulation time (90 minutes), no extra time will be played. There will immediately be a penalty kick shootout to determine the winner.
- Seed: Western Conference No. 5
- Regular season: 54 points (15W-10L-9D)
Houston fell just short in Monday's series opener at Seattle, losing 5-4 in PKs after holding the hosts to a scoreless draw despite playing down a man for the final 24 minutes of regulation time.
That red card – shown to Coco Carrasquilla for violent conduct after Video Review – further compounds Houston's problems, since the Panamanian international is suspended for an all-or-nothing Game 2.
Fellow midfielders Héctor Herrera, Artur and Amine Bassi will be available at Shell Energy Stadium. However, the key to Houston's survival may come down to the attacking third – specifically whether leading scorer Ibrahim Aliyu (6g/5a) and DP striker Ezequiel Ponce (5g/0a) can produce goals in a must-win game for the Dynamo.
- Seed: Western Conference No. 4
- Regular season: 57 points (16W-9L-9D)
Seattle have the upper hand in the series after grinding out a Game 1 win in front of their home fans.
However, it was far from a dominant performance, with head coach Brian Schmetzer conceding post-game that the Rave Green may not have created enough clear-cut scoring chances.
Perhaps even more concerning is the status of Jordan Morris, the club's leading scorer (13g/5a), who left Monday's game with hamstring tightness. Should Morris not be available for Game 2, he'd be replaced by Raúl RuidÃaz.
The good news is that Seattle's MLS-best defense (league-low 35 goals conceded in 2024) performed without a hitch and posted its fourth clean sheet in five matches.
