Your opinion on the Sounders’ season opening performance largely depends on which half of the match we’re talking about.
The first 45 minutes of the Sounders’ 2017 title defense season were not exactly ideal. They were out-shot by a 12-2 margin in Houston and found themselves trailing 2-0 into their first halftime interval of the season. The second 45, though, was markedly different. Seattle bossed most of the rest of the match, punctuating that passage of play with a timely Clint Dempsey poacher’s effort at the far post. It was warming to see Dempsey back on the scoresheet, but even more so to see him reel the team back into the match.