The Houston Dynamo and Seattle Sounders FC battled to a 0-0 draw in the first leg of their Major League Soccer Western Conference Semifinal Series on Thursday night at Qwest Field in front of almost 36,000 fans - an MLS record for a conference semifinal match.
Houston, the No. 2 seed in the Western playoff bracket, and Seattle, the No. 3 seed, were the two best defensive clubs during the regular season, so it was no surprise that the game ended in a scoreless draw.
The first half saw just one clear-cut scoring chance for each team. Houston winger Brad Davis missed an open header from 10 yards out in the opening minutes before Seattle's Patrick Ianni headed a ball off the crossbar off a Freddie Ljungberg just before the interval.
Seattle goalkeeper Kasey Keller came up with the best save of the game just before the hour mark when he dove to his left to knock another Davis chance out of bounds. It was one of four saves the veteran goalkeeper made in the game.
Houston goalkeeper Pat Onstad made just two saves to earn the clean sheet for his club.
The draw means the teams will go to Houston even in the home-and-home, total goals series next week. The return leg is scheduled for Nov. 8 at Houston's Robertson Stadium.
Game Notes
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