A familiar face will return to Seattle when the Sounders play host to the Houston Dynamo on Saturday night.
Midfielder Nicolas Lodeiro, who led the Sounders to four MLS Cup appearances, including a pair of titles, and a CONCACAF Champions League crown, will return to Lumen Field for the first time since leaving as a free agent before last season.
Lodeiro, who turned 36 Friday, will be honored by the Sounders in a pre-match ceremony.
“I really love Seattle. I miss everything about it,” Lodeiro said. “Of course, my focus is (Houston) and doing my best here. But it’s impossible to forget about Seattle because my time there was incredible.”
Lodeiro is the Sounders’ all-time leader in assists (95) and scored 58 goals in 231 appearances in all competitions.
“We’re still trying to replace Nico,” Sounders midfielder Cristian Roldan said. “It’s a lot of emotions. Nico spent a lot of his prime years here, winning us games and showing us how to be a professional, train really hard, be a good guy in the locker room and ultimate competitor.
“For myself and a lot of the guys that were here, we witnessed someone that put everything on the line for the team. That’s why it’s going to be special seeing him on the field against us.”
The Dynamo (0-3-1, 1 point) are still searching for their first victory of the season while the Sounders (1-2-1, 4 points) are looking to get back on track after devastating injuries.
Forward Jordan Morris (hamstring) and midfielder Pedro de la Vega (quadriceps) are expected to miss the next month and wing Paul Arriola (torn ACL) is out of the season. Coach Brian Schmetzer (illness) and defender Yeimar Gomez Andrade (personal reasons) didn’t make the trip last weekend to face St. Louis City SC in a 1-0 loss.
The Dynamo are coming off a 2-1 home defeat against Real Salt Lake despite the first goal of the season from Ezequiel Ponce. They have conceded eight goals this season, tied for the worst mark in the Western Conference.
Both teams will be missing international call-ups, with Dynamo midfielders Jack McGlynn (U.S. national team), Brooklyn Raines (U.S. U-20s) and Sebastian Rodriguez (Mexico U-18s) and Sounders midfielder Obed Vargas (Mexico U-20s) and defender Nouhou Tolo (Cameroon) away from their respective teams.
The Sounders have lost just once to Houston in their past 16 meetings (12-1-3) in all competitions dating to 2017. The clubs met in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs last season, with both games ending in draws before Seattle won on penalty kicks.
-Field Level Media
