HOUSTON – On paper at least, this first season opener on the road in Sounders history would appear the perfect way to ease a banged-up squad into action.
After all, the defending Major League Soccer champions will open Saturday against a Houston Dynamo club (5:30 p.m. PST, Ch. 13) that finished last in the Western Conference a season ago and spent the winter rebuilding toward youth. But there’s nothing simple about the Sounders heading into BBVA Compass Stadium, a place they have yet to win in seven previous tries.
Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer sounded a tad testy toward the end of training camp when asked about preparing his team for the normally sweltering Houston weather.