Clint Dempsey scored in his first game since August of last season but the Seattle Sounders opened their 2017 MLS Cup-defending campaign with a 2-1 road loss to the Houston Dynamo at BBVA Compass Stadium on Saturday.
Dempsey, making his much-anticipated return to the field after missing the second half of last season and all of the 2016 playoffs with an irregular heartbeat, scored Seattle’s lone goal of the evening in the 58th minute off a cross from left back Joevin Jones.
But that tally wouldn’t be enough to top a Houston side that put the Sounders backline on its heels throughout the first half before opening the scoring with a free kick goal from forward Erick “Cubo” Torres in the 12th minute.