TUCSON, Ariz. — The opening 45 minutes of the Seattle Sounders’ first preseason friendly in the Mobile Mini Sun Cup against the Houston Dynamo could not have gone any better.
Trotting out a strong, first-choice lineup, the Sounders pounced on Houston in the first 20 minutes and took a 2-0 lead behind beautiful goals from Nicolás Lodeiro and Raúl Ruidíaz. Víctor Rodríguez was everywhere, and Brad Smith was tremendous in attack on the left flank, creating a plethora of dangerous chances and unbalancing the Dynamo defense.
“I thought Brad helped out a lot, had good pace and was willing to go forward,” said goalkeeper Stefan Frei.