Speaker 1: Coming to you live from Orelliot Avenue Studios of Sports
Speaker 1: Radio ninety three point three KJRFM. This is Sounders Weekly
Speaker 1: with your host Jackson Felts.
Speaker 2: Good eight and everybody, welcome into Sounders Weekly. Jackson Feltz
Speaker 2: here talkin' Seattle Sounders FC soccer for the next hour
Speaker 2: here on ninety three point three KJRFM, and it is
Speaker 2: playoff time for your Sounders. They have finished the regular season.
Speaker 2: They finished it in fourth place in the Western Conference
Speaker 2: and there's a lot to break down over what happened
Speaker 2: there at the very end of the regular season this
Speaker 2: last weekend. Unfortunately, it is a one to one draw
Speaker 2: against the Portland Timbers, which means that Cascadia Cup went
Speaker 2: down to Portland. It did not end up here because
Speaker 2: the Sounders needed to win. It also means that the
Speaker 2: Sounders have not yet guaranteed themselves a CONCACAF Champions Cup
Speaker 2: spot for twenty twenty five. They can still get that
Speaker 2: if any number of I think like eight TOFF teams
Speaker 2: win MLS Cup, the Sounders would get a conka CAF
Speaker 2: Champions Cup spot, but that has yet to be gained.
Speaker 2: So listen. At the end of the day, we're looking
Speaker 2: at a situation for Seattle where because of that draw,
Speaker 2: because of an RSL win, Sounders end up in fourth place.
Speaker 2: Now that's not the only bad news. Yes, we have
Speaker 2: to face the number five seed. But it's what happened
Speaker 2: in the rest of the games that is really kind
Speaker 2: of the gut punch. Because once the game was over,
Speaker 2: Sounders Timbers, and we went to final whistle and we
Speaker 2: all knew we were the four seed. Everything at that
Speaker 2: moment was kind of just all right, we're frustrated, but
Speaker 2: we got it. It's Minnesota gonna be the four or
Speaker 2: five game the Minnesota United. We were in the five
Speaker 2: seed in the moment, and we're gonna have to be
Speaker 2: going through the LA Galaxy in the Western semi final.
Speaker 2: All of that I think was at least for me,
Speaker 2: like saying, all right, Minnesota has a terrible record against
Speaker 2: the Sounders, and moreover, the sound was just a couple
Speaker 2: months ago beat the LA Galaxy, and I think we
Speaker 2: match up better with the Galaxy than LAFC. So great,
Speaker 2: we can make it to the one four game in
Speaker 2: the West semi and we can make it throw one
Speaker 2: off against the Galaxy on the road where we've beaten
Speaker 2: them before we beat them down in LA last year.
Speaker 2: We only lost in LA earlier this year because of
Speaker 2: like a third minute goal by Gabrielle Peck that really,
Speaker 2: you know, was just a defensive and goalkeeping mistake in
Speaker 2: the third minute. So all of this to say, I
Speaker 2: think the Sounders were looking really you know, I was
Speaker 2: looking positively at a chance to do a four seed
Speaker 2: versus one seed game in LA against the Galaxy, and
Speaker 2: then everything changed. So what happened was this, when our
Speaker 2: game ended, about almost thirty seconds after we went final whistle,
Speaker 2: the LA Galaxy scored on Houston to make it a
Speaker 2: one to one game. Because of that one to one result,
Speaker 2: LA Galaxy were back to being the number one seed,
Speaker 2: Minnesota was back to being the five seed, and we
Speaker 2: were looking at the situation that I just presented. So
Speaker 2: when we went to final whistle, I'm like, all right,
Speaker 2: bring on Minnesota, bring on the Galaxy the next round,
Speaker 2: let's go to a West final.
Speaker 3: Let's do this.
Speaker 2: And then in the one hundred and second minute, Daniel Starez,
Speaker 2: a defender for the Houston Dynamo, headed in a goal
Speaker 2: for them, and that gave them a two to one win.
Speaker 2: In the final seconds so the fallout from that goal
Speaker 2: is massive, and not only for the Sounders. The fallout
Speaker 2: is massive across the entire Western Conference because Houston, with
Speaker 2: that win, the two to one win at the death
Speaker 2: one hundred and second minute on decision Day, that vaults
Speaker 2: them to the number five seed. So it means Sounders
Speaker 2: versus Houston, Okay, first, not optimal because Houston, the Sounders
Speaker 2: just beat them one to nothing in Seattle three and
Speaker 2: a half weeks ago, but they didn't have Hector Herrera.
Speaker 2: They will have Hector Herrera in the first game of
Speaker 2: the playoffs and all these playoff games as long as
Speaker 2: he's healthy. Hector Herra is back and he's a very
Speaker 2: very good player. So you know, I want to talk
Speaker 2: to Ario LULINOI, who's coming up in a few minutes
Speaker 2: about this. But of the three teams the Sounders could
Speaker 2: have faced, Minnesota, Colorado and Houston, Houston was the team
Speaker 2: I wanted to face the least, and we have to
Speaker 2: face Houston. But that's not all. Because Houston beat the
Speaker 2: La Galaxy and because LAFC won by two plus goals,
Speaker 2: that meant that the Galaxy dropped the number one seed
Speaker 2: in the West and LAFC rose to the number one seed,
Speaker 2: So that means if the Sounders do get past Houston,
Speaker 2: we have to face LAFC in the second round of
Speaker 2: the playoffs. They are those West Semis and listen, we
Speaker 2: all know the history. LAFC knocked us out of the
Speaker 2: playoffs last year in the West Semis. Well, actually, LAFC
Speaker 2: knocked us out of the playoffs last year in the
Speaker 2: West Semis. LAFC knocked us out of League's Cup. LFC
Speaker 2: knocked us out of Open Cup. It was like, you
Speaker 2: know what, two games in less than two weeks. So
Speaker 2: we know the history. LAFC is our bugaboo, and we
Speaker 2: seemed potentially to be on a collision course with them
Speaker 2: again if LAFC can get past the winner of Vancouver
Speaker 2: and Portland, which kicks off there in about thirty minutes.
Speaker 2: So all of this to say, we went from having
Speaker 2: to look at Minnesota and the Galaxy having to look
Speaker 2: at Houston and LAFC. That's not great, Bob and I
Speaker 2: for one, it's just it's really unfortunate. And then to
Speaker 2: make matters worse, Obed Vargas got his red card. I
Speaker 2: believe that means that he is suspended for this first
Speaker 2: game of the Houston series. I want to clarify that
Speaker 2: with Ari as well. But listen, none of this is optimal.
Speaker 2: And you know in the game itself, losing obed, losing
Speaker 2: Cascadia Cup, not securing a CCC spot, and then you
Speaker 2: have to face Houston and LAFC in the playoffs, that's
Speaker 2: your bracket. None of this is optimal. Like really, we
Speaker 2: can all be real with ours and be a little
Speaker 2: bit frustrated at the situation, but it is what it is,
Speaker 2: and the Sounders have their road and we can only
Speaker 2: hope that the defense continues to perform at the level
Speaker 2: it has one goal conceded in the last four games.
Speaker 2: The offense comes together, we get a Paul Rothrock resurgence,
Speaker 2: he gets back to how he was playing. Peter de
Speaker 2: Lavega integrates, you know, continues to integrate. I thought he
Speaker 2: played well, but not well enough clearly for the Sounders
Speaker 2: to get that second goal. So we just need the
Speaker 2: offense to come together and really fire on all cylinders.
Speaker 2: We need the defense to keep performing the way it
Speaker 2: is and maybe then we have a shot. But everybody
Speaker 2: is going to need to play their best in order
Speaker 2: to a get past Houston and b get past LAFC,
Speaker 2: Which yeah, I mean in a few weeks. If we're
Speaker 2: previewing that game on this show, that's gonna be a mother.
Speaker 2: So we'll talk about that when the time comes. First
Speaker 2: things first, and that is Houston. We will spend a
Speaker 2: lot of time previewing Houston. We get it take from
Speaker 2: Ari lullienwall in a little bit on the Dynamo, but
Speaker 2: really we're gonna have a deep opponent outlook later tonight
Speaker 2: with our good friend Hajesus Osceveto Junior. Hayesus used to
Speaker 2: join me for lots of Sounders weekly interviews when we
Speaker 2: did the thing kind of going around from city to city,
Speaker 2: and he writes for the Bayou City and he covers
Speaker 2: the Dynamo down there in Houston, and I'm really interested
Speaker 2: to get his take on this Dynamo team coming to
Speaker 2: town in this three game series. For schedule wise, we
Speaker 2: should go over this schedule. Game one is next Monday.
Speaker 2: It's not over the weekend. It's a Monday game for
Speaker 2: the Sounders here on October twenty eight. It will be
Speaker 2: a six o'clock Providence, Swedish premat show kickoff coming right
Speaker 2: around six twenty five. You can watch that MLS season
Speaker 2: pass on Apple TV. You can listen in Spanish like
Speaker 2: Bunch on l Ray thirteen sixty. But again we will
Speaker 2: have that here in English radio Sports Radio nine fifty
Speaker 2: km nine to fifty AM for Sounders and Dynamo game
Speaker 2: one this coming Monday. Game two will then be on
Speaker 2: the following Sunday, November three. That's gonna be down in
Speaker 2: Houston with a three thirty Pacific time kick and then
Speaker 2: if necessary, if it's one to one, and by the way,
Speaker 2: it's a full penalty kick situation, so if it goes
Speaker 2: tied and then we go to penalties winner if penalties
Speaker 2: wins the game, so that's how that works. If game
Speaker 2: three is necessary, that would be then on the next Sunday,
Speaker 2: November tenth, at a four pm kickoff. Of course, station
Speaker 2: assignments to come later on for those, but Game one
Speaker 2: will be here at Luminfield this coming Monday, again six
Speaker 2: o'clock pre match six to twenty five kickoff Sounders Dynamo
Speaker 2: Game one. We'll preview that later tonight after the Timbers game,
Speaker 2: after the Sounders got a one to one draw, obviously,
Speaker 2: the locker room was not feeling very good. But had
Speaker 2: the chance to go in there and talk to Alex Droldon,
Speaker 2: Alex who of course started and played in that Portland match,
Speaker 2: and his take on the game, Houston coming up, what
Speaker 2: he saw from the officiating, and of course just kind
Speaker 2: of the mood in the locker room. So here was
Speaker 2: my conversation after the one to one draw with Alex
Speaker 2: rolled on.
Speaker 4: Yeah, we're frustrated. I think we played a good first half.
Speaker 4: You know, we shut them down, they didn't really have
Speaker 4: any chances, we got the goal we needed, and then
Speaker 4: rolling into the second half just turned into a chaotic game. Again,
Speaker 4: we had chances, we didn't put them away, and you
Speaker 4: know that kind of puts pressure on our defense for
Speaker 4: to stop a counter and unfortunately they were.
Speaker 3: Able to score that. So a bit frustrated, but.
Speaker 4: Nonetheless, you know, we got to keep our heads high
Speaker 4: and focus on the playoffs.
Speaker 2: Now that chaotic nature they're in the second half. Obviously
Speaker 2: they get that counter that one, but on the offensive minute,
Speaker 2: how did you see that kind of chaok nature come out?
Speaker 2: You know before going down a man I should mention,
Speaker 2: you know, in not getting that second goal.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I think I think before all that happened and
Speaker 4: we had some clear, you know, one B one chances,
Speaker 4: a couple that that we got Roston went to the
Speaker 4: back post, and so some half chances. But I think,
Speaker 4: you know, the main message I think that we're focusing
Speaker 4: on is, you know, how do we close out games,
Speaker 4: especially now rolling into the playoffs.
Speaker 3: We've done a good job here at.
Speaker 4: Home of gaining the lead, but it's it's it sometimes
Speaker 4: becomes a habit where we we kind of revert to
Speaker 4: how do we protect this lead instead of, you know,
Speaker 4: really put our foot on the gas and finish the game.
Speaker 4: So I think that's the message moving up forward is
Speaker 4: how can we truly put games away before we get
Speaker 4: to the sixty minute mark?
Speaker 3: You know, So that's that's the message here.
Speaker 2: I don't want to get in trouble here, but one
Speaker 2: of the things we were talking about, me and Brad
Speaker 2: Evans on the post game show was how it seemed
Speaker 2: like you guys had a lot of chances to keep
Speaker 2: going if fouls were cold, advantage was not played. Was
Speaker 2: that frustrating for you having to, you know, be part
Speaker 2: of that where it just feels like you guys have
Speaker 2: a chance to counter and go forward and get a goal.
Speaker 2: But the play stops.
Speaker 4: I mean, yeah, certainly, there's there's always that that outside
Speaker 4: factor that's gonna you know, the determined the flow of
Speaker 4: the game. I won't say that it determined the result
Speaker 4: of the game, but it determines the flow of the game.
Speaker 3: You know, we're really putting our foot on the gas.
Speaker 4: Trying to trying to you know, ride tackles, and then
Speaker 4: once we ride them and we get that second chance
Speaker 4: to play on, you know, we're going to continue to
Speaker 4: do that. We had a few chances to do that
Speaker 4: to really counter them, you know, what could have been
Speaker 4: a three.
Speaker 3: V one chance or two v one chance. So it's
Speaker 3: certainly frustrating.
Speaker 4: We're not putting the blame on that, but it definitely
Speaker 4: disrupts the flow. And uh, you know, for these derby
Speaker 4: games especially, we need people who who can really control
Speaker 4: the game. Just just because they're derby games, they become chaotic,
Speaker 4: they become hectic, and so that's definitely a determined determining
Speaker 4: factor of how the game is played out.
Speaker 2: And I imagine extra frustration and extra anger coming of
Speaker 2: the fact that Cascadia Cup goes to them.
Speaker 4: Yeah, certainly that's not something that we want to give up.
Speaker 4: We had the chance to do it, We were in
Speaker 4: control of the game. One slip up, one counter, and
Speaker 4: you know it's it's an unfortunate result for us now.
Speaker 4: But again, we got to keep our heads high. We
Speaker 4: you know, we've we've crawled back from terrible position that
Speaker 4: we were in in the front half of the season,
Speaker 4: and so there's a lot of positive things we still
Speaker 4: need to look at. And you know, we're trying to
Speaker 4: roll into playoffs and with some confidence and you know,
Speaker 4: try to overcome this and keep this rolling.
Speaker 2: Houston Dynamo team that you guys faced here three weeks ago,
Speaker 2: one one nothing, three weeks ago. What do you remember
Speaker 2: about the Houston Dynamo and challenges for the first round?
Speaker 4: Yeah, I think you know, they're they're a really good
Speaker 4: possession based team, really good attacking half.
Speaker 3: So our defense is gonna put up to a big challenge.
Speaker 4: But I think again, if we play a solid half
Speaker 4: of both defense and offense, I think it's an it's
Speaker 4: gonna really help us. If we can close out a
Speaker 4: game by the sixty seventieth minute marks, it's where it's
Speaker 4: going to become crucial for us, especially leading in the playoffs.
Speaker 4: You know, it's always a it's always anyone's game. So
Speaker 4: I think the emphasis is is how do we close
Speaker 4: out games earlier?
Speaker 2: The weirdness of the first round where it's like a
Speaker 2: three game series and then following rounds are one game.
Speaker 2: I know steph Over there has been pretty vocal about
Speaker 2: how much he doesn't like it. Well, how do you
Speaker 2: feel about it?
Speaker 5: Yeah?
Speaker 4: I think it's it's it's un orthodox for sure, playing
Speaker 4: the same team potentially three times in the first round
Speaker 4: and then go to single elimination makes no sense. But again,
Speaker 4: those are the cards that we're dealt with, and so
Speaker 4: we got to put up with it. We got to
Speaker 4: face the same team and try to close it all
Speaker 4: into and hopefully move forward.
Speaker 2: Does an eye at all go to what a second
Speaker 2: round would look like l EFC Portland Vancouver at all?
Speaker 2: Does it? Do you even give an eye to what
Speaker 2: that would look like? Or is it all both eyes
Speaker 2: on Houston?
Speaker 3: I think our focus is Houston. You know we overcome them.
Speaker 4: They're not an easy team and you know they're going
Speaker 4: to be a big challenge, so I think our focus
Speaker 4: needs to be primarily on them.
Speaker 2: It's good stuff there from Alex scholdon Good to Chat
Speaker 2: with him there in the locker room after the one
Speaker 2: to one draw. You could hear it in his voice.
Speaker 2: He was frustrated. The entire team was frustrated that they
Speaker 2: weren't able to hold on and get that win and
Speaker 2: weren't able to put a second goal in the back
Speaker 2: of the net when they had the chance. But listen,
Speaker 2: losing Obed Vargas to the red card. That's frustrating as well.
Speaker 2: And I want to ask our next guest, Ari Lungenwall,
Speaker 2: if Obed is suspended for this first playoff game or
Speaker 2: if he suspended the first game next season because it
Speaker 2: was a regular season contest. It's an important question. I
Speaker 2: want to get his take on this entire Western Conference
Speaker 2: and how everything is shaping out. Lots of things to
Speaker 2: go over here with Ari, our good friend from mlssoccer
Speaker 2: dot com and the podcast Lobbing Scorches. Ari joins us
Speaker 2: next here on Sounders Weekly on Sports Radio ninety three
Speaker 2: point three KJRFM.
Speaker 1: Now back to Sounders Weekly on your home for Sounders
Speaker 1: fc CL's Sports Radio ninety three point three kjr FM.
Speaker 2: Welcome back, Jackson felt Sounders Weekly. Good to have you
Speaker 2: with us on this Wednesday night. We are just about
Speaker 2: five days now from Sounders facing the Houston Dynamo game
Speaker 2: one of the playoffs. We're going to preview that extensively
Speaker 2: throughout the rest of the night. Ari Lillienwall, who's on
Speaker 2: hold right now, and then Heesus Ossevedo Junior of the
Speaker 2: Bayou City and down in Houston, will join us in
Speaker 2: our next segment. Before Ari hops on, I'll let you
Speaker 2: know that Sounders e FC Soccer is presented by Providence Swedish,
Speaker 2: the official healthcare partner of Sounders FC. Ari Lillian Wall
Speaker 2: host of the podcast Lobbing Scorches, which you can get
Speaker 2: wherever you get your podcasts, including the iHeartRadio app. He's
Speaker 2: also a writer and editor for Mlsoccer dot Com. Ari,
Speaker 2: welcome back to the show, my friend. How are you.
Speaker 5: I'm great, Jackson, looking forward to the playoffs. Love this
Speaker 5: time of year.
Speaker 2: Yeah, we're just about what about twenty minutes away from
Speaker 2: Portland versus Vancouver in a location that White Cap fans
Speaker 2: are not very happy about.
Speaker 5: I'd see if we can.
Speaker 2: Carve out a minute to ask you about that game
Speaker 2: kicking off in twenty minutes. In just a few before
Speaker 2: we go there, though, we got to start with Sounders
Speaker 2: Portland and just the entire decision day for Seattle. I
Speaker 2: want to ask you about the officiating. I want to
Speaker 2: ask you a couple of specific questions, like if Obed
Speaker 2: Vargas is going to be out or if it translates
Speaker 2: then to the first game in next season. But before
Speaker 2: we get to any of that, let me just ask
Speaker 2: you kind of the basic blunt question. Considering what happened
Speaker 2: in the Galaxy Houston game and considering Cascadia Cup goes
Speaker 2: to Parland, and considering how the game went to not
Speaker 2: get the win, could Decision Day have gone any worse
Speaker 2: for the Seattle Sounders.
Speaker 5: I mean, it could have gone worse if they lost
Speaker 5: the game, you know, I think that would have been
Speaker 5: worse than still getting the point out of the draw.
Speaker 5: But I mean it was definitely a frustrating results, not
Speaker 5: just because of the red card that you mentioned, but
Speaker 5: because I thought the performance in the game from the
Speaker 5: team was actually quite good to very good for a
Speaker 5: lot of it, and a really bad concession and a
Speaker 5: controversial red card meant that they kind of shot themselves
Speaker 5: in the foot and didn't didn't get a chance to
Speaker 5: get the three points out of it, but definitely, I
Speaker 5: don't know if it was the worst decision day that
Speaker 5: any team had, but it was a frustrating one. Let's talk.
Speaker 2: Oh, bet Vargas gets the double yellow. You know our
Speaker 2: friend Jeremiah sham sounder a hard He was the kind
Speaker 2: of the pool reporter who asked for the clarification, and
Speaker 2: you know, the referee basically just said it was a
Speaker 2: display of frustration in the direction of the referee, and
Speaker 2: it's sort of like, all right, well, in the direction
Speaker 2: of like come towards I think was the exact word,
Speaker 2: like come on here. There's there's a part of me
Speaker 2: that wants to ask about the officiating overall. Maybe I'll
Speaker 2: do it in a second. First point of clarification, obed
Speaker 2: Vargas's red card does that apply to this first round,
Speaker 2: first playoff game or does it apply to the first
Speaker 2: game of next season.
Speaker 5: Yeah, so, as I understand it, it goes into the playoffs,
Speaker 5: So he'll have to serve his red card suspension for
Speaker 5: this first playoff game. So they're not gonna have him.
Speaker 5: Her game won against Houston.
Speaker 2: Well, it's a good time that Joel Paulo is healthy.
Speaker 2: Then he's off the injury report. Because JP is going
Speaker 2: to be needed next to Christian for sure, and hopefully
Speaker 2: Josh Atensio becomes kind of that depth piece in the
Speaker 2: holding midfield and he comes back from his head injury.
Speaker 2: But frustrating there, But thanks for the clarification. Let's talk
Speaker 2: about the officiating overall, because on top of that, just
Speaker 2: frustrating language that you know, the referee used after the
Speaker 2: game in terms of that second yellow. In terms of
Speaker 2: I think the thing that bothered me and Brad Evans
Speaker 2: the most on the postgame show was the fact that
Speaker 2: every single time it seemed like the Sounders had a
Speaker 2: chance to play advantage and keep a play going and
Speaker 2: have a chance to be on a break and be
Speaker 2: you know, whether it's a you know, four on two
Speaker 2: or three on one, whatever, it just felt like the
Speaker 2: referee kept stopping play in the wrong times and it
Speaker 2: feels like it happened three or four times. Was that
Speaker 2: something that you noticed as well, and how poor was
Speaker 2: the officiating over the course of the ninety minutes in
Speaker 2: your eyes?
Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean, I think that's where all the frustration,
Speaker 5: or at least a lot of the frustration from the
Speaker 5: Seattle side started, was the sequences that you mentioned where
Speaker 5: the rep wasn't letting them play advantage. You rarely see
Speaker 5: Brian Schmetzer get super animated on the sideline like he
Speaker 5: was getting during those sequences and the red car. The
Speaker 5: second yellow and Obed happened right after the Portland goal,
Speaker 5: so I think that also heightened tensions and frustrations, and
Speaker 5: it kind of boiled over after that, But it was
Speaker 5: I did think it was bizarre how he wasn't letting
Speaker 5: Seattle play advantage the second time that happened. In particular,
Speaker 5: it looked like Seattle would have had a pretty dangerous
Speaker 5: sequence in the aftermath if you had just played advantage
Speaker 5: like you should have, So that was weird. I mean,
Speaker 5: as for the second yellow on Obed, I it's a
Speaker 5: subjective call. I don't like that call there, like the
Speaker 5: yellow for descent. It's an emotional game. It's a Darby game.
Speaker 5: Emotions run high, and I didn't think open unless he
Speaker 5: said something crazier out of pocket, which it did not
Speaker 5: look like he did, then I think that's one where
Speaker 5: you kind of you have to let players show motion
Speaker 5: on the field. So I thought that was a tough call.
Speaker 5: And another thing I didn't like about it is that
Speaker 5: it seemed like it seemed like he didn't realize that
Speaker 5: Obed was already on a yellow and wouldn't have shown
Speaker 5: it to him if he had like processed in the
Speaker 5: moment that he was going to get sent off. But
Speaker 5: that should not be the criteria for why you give
Speaker 5: a yellow or not, you know, So I do think
Speaker 5: I do think the officiating was interesting in this game
Speaker 5: to stay the least. But that being said, I mean,
Speaker 5: if Seattle is able to convert the one of the
Speaker 5: myriad of chances they had to get a second goal
Speaker 5: on top of that first goal, then they put themselves
Speaker 5: in a great position to probably win that game. So
Speaker 5: I think you do have to acknowledge that as well.
Speaker 2: Aria Lunel was our guest. He hosts the podcast Lobbing Scorchers.
Speaker 2: He's a writer and editor for MLS Soccer dot Com.
Speaker 2: I hadn't thought about that point of the referee didn't
Speaker 2: realize he was already on a yellow. That's a nice
Speaker 2: little perception point right there that I think, you know,
Speaker 2: if they if the referee truly didn't know, then you know,
Speaker 2: that's a big, big screw up right there, and it's
Speaker 2: it's a shame because It's a referee who had never
Speaker 2: even been part of this dark and when you're the
Speaker 2: head referee for a big, emotional, you know, rivalry game
Speaker 2: like this, you got to know these things and you
Speaker 2: got to understand the tensions are high. So he in
Speaker 2: my book, I understand how you got to dance around it.
Speaker 2: In my book, it was an abject failure and he
Speaker 2: was an absolute embarrassment to pro there for Saturday's decision
Speaker 2: day match Sounders Portland. You know what, before we talk
Speaker 2: about the rest of MLS and go over decision day
Speaker 2: across the league, which was a wild decision day, let's first,
Speaker 2: because we're on the subject of Portland, talk about what's
Speaker 2: happening here. In just about fifteen minutes, you got Timbers
Speaker 2: white Caps kicking off at Providence Park and I can
Speaker 2: see the photos and obviously Providence Park is decked out
Speaker 2: with you know, thousands and thousands, twenty thousand plus Timber fans.
Speaker 2: Although the Portland Timbers are the nine seed, they are
Speaker 2: supposed to be playing at the eight seed Vancouver white Caps,
Speaker 2: but Vancouver can't have the game at BC Place because
Speaker 2: of a motocross event. As I stand and am I
Speaker 2: also understanding right that the MLS deemed that there was
Speaker 2: no other suitable location in the area at all, and
Speaker 2: this game tonight has to be played at the lower seed.
Speaker 2: They couldn't have found any better location than to have
Speaker 2: the lower seed hosting this damn game.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I think you have that right, Jackson, Which is
Speaker 5: a very unfortunate turn of events for the Vancouver whitects,
Speaker 5: to say the least, and it actually undermined a lot
Speaker 5: of the drama that was supposed to happen in decision
Speaker 5: day with that matchup I think was supposed to be
Speaker 5: for who had hosting rights for that wildcard game, and
Speaker 5: then they found out beforehand that Portland gets the hosting
Speaker 5: rights either way because of a motocross event. So, you know,
Speaker 5: anytime I see something like a motocross event taking over
Speaker 5: a team's home field and them not being able to
Speaker 5: host a playoff game there, I think it's a reminder
Speaker 5: that we as a league with MLS, have a fair
Speaker 5: amount of a way to go in terms of getting
Speaker 5: to where we want to go, and you know, we
Speaker 5: aren't get offered reminders of that at times. But as
Speaker 5: far as how it affects this situation, I mean that
Speaker 5: is that is bad for the Vancouver white Caps. I mean,
Speaker 5: home field advantage in the playoffs is huge and they
Speaker 5: have a pretty good one, especially for big games at
Speaker 5: BC plays. So to have to change that to traveling
Speaker 5: to go into one of the hardest environments to play
Speaker 5: in in the league, in Portland, I mean that is
Speaker 5: a pretty tough break to start your playoff campaign.
Speaker 2: I mean, God, if you're Vancouver, I would have just said,
Speaker 2: is there any way we can play it at lumin
Speaker 2: because at least then we're making some Portland fans travel.
Speaker 2: We know, we'll have a few thousand coming down from Vancouver,
Speaker 2: and you'd get a few thousand Sounder fans and they're
Speaker 2: just a boo the Timbers, like or was there an
Speaker 2: auto show happening at lumen Field ha ha ha. Then
Speaker 2: they couldn't just I.
Speaker 5: Don't know if it makes sense to have a neutral
Speaker 5: site game in the playoffs when everyone else that has
Speaker 5: to contend with home field advantage in that type of
Speaker 5: I don't know. There might be a competitive balance.
Speaker 2: Argument, frustrating for Vancouver and frustrating that Porlan gets the
Speaker 2: upper hand for the match kicking off in just a
Speaker 2: few minutes. That can be seen on MLS Season Pass
Speaker 2: on Apple TV. Fans can also watch all of Sounders
Speaker 2: and Houston Dynamo there. And this really does begin our
Speaker 2: Sharp Vision opponent a look taking a look ahead at
Speaker 2: Sounders versus Houston in the first round of the playoffs.
Speaker 2: I'll mention that tonight's opponent alk is presented by Sharp Vision,
Speaker 2: Modern LESAC and Lens, the official Lasik provider of Sounders FC.
Speaker 2: Last week, Ari, you and I ranked of the three
Speaker 2: teams Sounders could face, Colorado, Houston, and Minnesota. I think
Speaker 2: we both had Houston as the third team we'd want
Speaker 2: to face. I know for you said Colorado and then Minnesota,
Speaker 2: and I had Minnesota then Colorado. But it ends up
Speaker 2: being the Dynamo. And that's a team that the Sounders face.
Speaker 2: What three and a half weeks ago at Luminfield beat
Speaker 2: one nothing, but that was without Hector Herrera, right, So
Speaker 2: this is a good Houston team. There is a reason
Speaker 2: why we didn't want to face the Dynamo right here.
Speaker 5: Yeah, No, they're not a bad team at all. I
Speaker 5: think they're a pretty similar team to Seattle. Honestly, I
Speaker 5: rate them in similar ways, not just because they finish
Speaker 5: close to each other. On the table. But I feel
Speaker 5: like they're like the way they play, their game models
Speaker 5: and the way their rosters are set up are kind
Speaker 5: of similar if you really, if you really look at it,
Speaker 5: like they're both very technically skilled and defensively sound teams
Speaker 5: that maybe don't have the firepower and attack that some
Speaker 5: of the upper upper tier teams and MLS have. I
Speaker 5: think you could say that both of those teams have
Speaker 5: that quality, but they have some very good individual players,
Speaker 5: like you mentioned Hector Herrera. He's one of the best
Speaker 5: two way midfielders in the league for sure. And this
Speaker 5: new DP that they have is Zekiel Ponce seems like
Speaker 5: he's been started scoring some goals for them, so that's
Speaker 5: given them a little bit of a boost and attack.
Speaker 5: But I think what you have here is a team that,
Speaker 5: like I said, is very defensively sound, pretty good at
Speaker 5: can they have a very good midfield, they're good at
Speaker 5: controlling the tempo of the games, and they're good in possession,
Speaker 5: much like Seattle is. So I think it's definitely a
Speaker 5: clash of kind of similar game models and skill sets
Speaker 5: and who does it better. And you know, I do
Speaker 5: think Seattle is slightly favored in this scenario because the
Speaker 5: way I kind of look at it is like Seattle
Speaker 5: is a very slightly better version of what Houston is
Speaker 5: right now, and so in a scenario where they have
Speaker 5: home field advantage, I think they are a slight favorite
Speaker 5: with this really being a toss up series, two teams
Speaker 5: that I think are very similar in quality and play style.
Speaker 2: We're gonna talk more about Houston with our next guest,
Speaker 2: Hasius Osceveto Junior coming up in the next segment here
Speaker 2: in Soner's Weekly. While we're talking Houston, I gotta get
Speaker 2: your Rea, and I know you were watching every single
Speaker 2: one of the games on Decision Day. You probably had
Speaker 2: all these different browsers with different games. Must have been
Speaker 2: fun there, And I'm wondering as La Galaxy versus Houston
Speaker 2: that game Decision Day was, I think the latest game
Speaker 2: being played. It went one hundred and what three hundred
Speaker 2: and four minutes with the two goals in the ninety
Speaker 2: sixth minute and the one hundred and second minute to
Speaker 2: effectively bounce LA Galaxy from the one seed and give
Speaker 2: Houston the five seed and make Seattle have to go
Speaker 2: through LAFC. All of these you know, dimmer ramification, what
Speaker 2: was your reaction to that final ten minutes or so
Speaker 2: of that game between the Galaxy and Dynamo.
Speaker 5: I mean, I think it just shows that the LA Galaxy,
Speaker 5: for as improved as they've been this season, you can't
Speaker 5: really change who you are at your core, you know,
Speaker 5: so watching them choke choke the number one seed in
Speaker 5: the final moment of the season, you know, it felt
Speaker 5: like it felt right, felt like the La Galaxy we've
Speaker 5: come to know and love over the last five or
Speaker 5: so years since their run of dominance ended. But you know,
Speaker 5: I think it's unfortunate because lafc at the one seed,
Speaker 5: I don't think is when anyone necessarily wanted to see,
Speaker 5: and the Galaxy were in the driver's seat for that
Speaker 5: for this whole stretch run of the season and then
Speaker 5: blew it at the last second. But honestly, I mean,
Speaker 5: it was a very exciting ending to that game with Houston,
Speaker 5: like you said, but I can't say I was surprised
Speaker 5: to see the fate that befell the LA Galaxy because
Speaker 5: that is kind of what they do. That's what they've
Speaker 5: been doing the last few years. So it made sense.
Speaker 2: We were so close to having Sounders versus Minnesota and
Speaker 2: then Seattle having to go through the Galaxy to get
Speaker 2: to a West final, and then it completely flipped with
Speaker 2: Daniel Starez's header there in the one hundred and second
Speaker 2: minutes and all of our hearts sank. We'll only have
Speaker 2: a couple more minutes here, so let me switch quickly
Speaker 2: to the Eastern Conference. MESSI hat trick on decision Day.
Speaker 2: I know your vote for a couple of weeks, as
Speaker 2: we've talked, has been kuco Hernandez of Columbus being the
Speaker 2: guy for MVP. Does And this is the last time
Speaker 2: I asked this. I promise you this is the last
Speaker 2: time I'll ask you. Does a hat on decision Day
Speaker 2: officially swing your official vote to MESSI?
Speaker 5: Yeah. So I'm glad you asked this because we were
Speaker 5: talking through my end of season award ballot on our
Speaker 5: podcast on the last show, and as I was talking
Speaker 5: talking my way through it who I was voting for
Speaker 5: for MVP on our podcast, I came to the conclusion
Speaker 5: that it really does not can't. I can't rationally make
Speaker 5: sense of a vote for anyone else other than Messy's.
Speaker 5: And I came to that conclusion before Decision Day, and
Speaker 5: I literally I decided that that's who's getting my vote.
Speaker 5: I think a guy with thirty two goal contributions in
Speaker 5: whatever it was, fourteen hundred minutes is there's really no
Speaker 5: reasonable argument for anyone else, even taking into account the
Speaker 5: fact that he hasn't played as much as the other
Speaker 5: candidates this year. And I feel good about it. I
Speaker 5: think it's the correct vote. I think it's the vote
Speaker 5: that everyone knows is the right vote if they're if
Speaker 5: they're judging it on the merits. So yeah, I officially
Speaker 5: made my decision on that, and Messi is getting my
Speaker 5: MVP vote. And a fair amount of people disagree with
Speaker 5: me on that, but like I said, I feel good
Speaker 5: and convicted in it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, no, and I agree with you. I think it's
Speaker 2: Messi too. That's where my votes go. And and I
Speaker 2: just would question the you know, listen, are we saying
Speaker 2: that Messi doesn't get MVP because he didn't play the
Speaker 2: thousand minutes? Or are we saying it? You know, I
Speaker 2: don't don't understand what the reasoning is of why he
Speaker 2: isn't getting MVP. He has the best numbers in the
Speaker 2: entire league, and he's played a thousand less minutes than
Speaker 2: everybody else if not more than a thousand less minutes.
Speaker 2: So I don't understand it, but I'm with you. It's
Speaker 2: for sure, MESSI. Now, let's set the percentages here.
Speaker 5: You know.
Speaker 2: I was on Saturday or Sunday Sports Live, I think
Speaker 2: it was Fox thirteen on Sunday night, and Aaron Levine
Speaker 2: asked me for the percentage chance of the Sounders make
Speaker 2: an MLS Cup and I said it at about fifteen percent.
Speaker 2: My numbers are like thirty five percent chance laf see
Speaker 2: twenty five Galaxy, maybe like twenty RSL fifteen Seattle, and
Speaker 2: then five to the rest. Do those percentages sound about
Speaker 2: right to you? And then I want to ask it
Speaker 2: for the rest of it involving Miami too, but just
Speaker 2: for the Western Conference, as I kind of run down
Speaker 2: the seating there and give an extra five to LAFC.
Speaker 2: Do you see those percentages kind of shaping out to
Speaker 2: be correct?
Speaker 5: I think that sounds about right. When I look at
Speaker 5: this team's chances at making a MLS Cup run, I
Speaker 5: think there are a couple things working in their favor.
Speaker 5: Like they do have an elite defense which can take
Speaker 5: you pretty far come playoff time, and they do have
Speaker 5: players who are very experienced and proven in these moments,
Speaker 5: and that can always benefit you come playoff time. But
Speaker 5: when I just look at the pass I mean, I
Speaker 5: think you're gonna have to go through a team that
Speaker 5: just has realistically quite a bit more firepower than Seattle
Speaker 5: has right now. Like when I look at both of
Speaker 5: the teams LAFC and the Galaxy, playing either one of
Speaker 5: those teams in a playoffs game is going to be
Speaker 5: a tall order when you just look at what those
Speaker 5: teams have in attack compared to what Seattle has had
Speaker 5: this season. I just I would probably have to pick
Speaker 5: the team that has Ricky Pooge and Joseph Painzill or
Speaker 5: Denny Bowanga and the toos Bogus and the djrew in
Speaker 5: an individual game in that scenario. So I mean, yeah,
Speaker 5: I think the way you size it up is about
Speaker 5: how I would have it.
Speaker 2: So let's throw it to MLS Cup overall, as the
Speaker 2: playoffs began here and we know Miami's healthy, set the
Speaker 2: over under, what is the percentage chance Miami walks away
Speaker 2: with both the Shield and MLS Cup.
Speaker 5: I have that percentage as incredibly high, Like I really
Speaker 5: see that as like a seventy five to eighty percentile outcome.
Speaker 5: I mean, like I just I just think with them,
Speaker 5: I mean, assuming full health. Yeah, having watched a lot
Speaker 5: of their games this year and seeing what their ceiling
Speaker 5: is when S and the Barst Boys are playing, I
Speaker 5: think they are the best MS team I've ever seen.
Speaker 5: They're about as close to unstoppable when they're on their
Speaker 5: game as any like pro soccer team that I've ever watched.
Speaker 5: So and I don't think any of the sort of
Speaker 5: praise they're getting for how well they've played and setting
Speaker 5: all these records is hyperbolic at all. I think it's
Speaker 5: the best MLS team I've ever seen. And when they
Speaker 5: get rolling, like I don't really I don't really see
Speaker 5: anyone who stops them, even Columbus. I don't think Columbus
Speaker 5: will stop them in the playoffs this year either.
Speaker 2: I'm with you. I think we both have the same
Speaker 2: MLS pick, and that's Lionel Messi, you know, being MVP
Speaker 2: and taking home the Shield and taking home the MLS Cup.
Speaker 2: We're in the same boat there. I wouldn't go as
Speaker 2: high as seventy five eighty. That's so, that's it. But
Speaker 2: you're the expert here. That's why we turn to you
Speaker 2: for for all these smart comments. Ari have a great podcast.
Speaker 2: We'll all be listening to Lobbings Scorchers. Ihead a Sounders
Speaker 2: Houston game one next Monday. Have a good weekend and
Speaker 2: we'll talk to you next week. But had a game two.
Speaker 5: Thanks Jackson, appreciate it.
Speaker 2: It's good stuff there from ARILLLIONALLMLS Soccer dot com and
Speaker 2: his podcast Lobbing Scorchers. Seventy five eighty percent. I don't
Speaker 2: think that number is maybe wrong, but boy, that sure
Speaker 2: is high. A quick note before we take a break,
Speaker 2: and that's that. Twenty twenty five Sounders season memberships are
Speaker 2: on sale. Now join the Sounders FC Legacy and secure
Speaker 2: your spot with the best fans in MLS.
Speaker 5: Now.
Speaker 2: Becoming a member is the best way to gain access
Speaker 2: to the club World Cup where working closely with FIFA
Speaker 2: to get our season members access to tickets including three
Speaker 2: Sounders matches. Members also have the access to MLS season
Speaker 2: pass ticket flexibility, our new training facility and clubhouse, plus more.
Speaker 2: Learn more at soundersfc dot com. Backslash tickets, backslash memberships.
Speaker 2: All right, let's talk Houston Dynamo. Let's get the scoop
Speaker 2: on that entire team. Our good friend, heyesus Ossevedo Junior,
Speaker 2: who covers the Dynamo for the Bayoucitian down there in Houston.
Speaker 2: He'll join us next year in Sounders Weekly on Sports
Speaker 2: Radio ninety three point three KJRFM.
Speaker 1: Now back to Sounders Weekly on your home for Sounders
Speaker 1: fc clvil's Sports Radio ninety three point three kjr FM.
Speaker 2: Welcome back Sounders Weekly. Jackson Feldt is good to be
Speaker 2: with you right here. Sports Radio ninety three point three
Speaker 2: kjr FM. Sounders Weekly Every Wednesday. We thank our guests
Speaker 2: so far tonight Alex Rolledon and Ari Lillianwall. Check out
Speaker 2: the podcast Sounders Weekly wherever you get your podcasts, including
Speaker 2: the iHeartRadio app. Right after tonight's show ends, and we're
Speaker 2: going to continue previewing Round one. Game one Sounders in
Speaker 2: the playoffs is the four seed they're facing the five
Speaker 2: seed Houston Dynamo. I think I said earlier tonight that
Speaker 2: for Pacific time it was a six o'clock pregium. It's
Speaker 2: actually gonna be a five thirty Providence Swedish pregame five
Speaker 2: thirty pm next Monday, kickoff right around six pm. It'll
Speaker 2: be over on Sports Radio nine to fifty KJR AM
Speaker 2: for Sounders and Dynamo folks. You can all so listen
Speaker 2: in Spanish like on l RA thirteen sixty and watch
Speaker 2: the match on MS Season Pass on Apple TV. Somebody
Speaker 2: who we used to have on every single time the
Speaker 2: Sounders played the Dynamo, and we're playing them obviously up
Speaker 2: to three times here in this first round, so I
Speaker 2: need to make sure he got on Sounders weekly this week.
Speaker 2: It has been a long time between now and when
Speaker 2: we last spoke with Hey, sus Osceveto Junior, who writes
Speaker 2: and covers the Dynamo for the Bayoucitian down in Houston. Hey, Suss,
Speaker 2: it has been too long, my friend. How are you?
Speaker 6: It has been to long Jackson. While I know that
Speaker 6: we communicated via Twitter.
Speaker 7: You know, I hadn't heard your voice.
Speaker 6: So it's good to be like, oh that's a Jackson towns.
Speaker 5: So yeah, good good.
Speaker 2: You're better off not hearing my voice for a long time,
Speaker 2: but it's good to hear yours, my friend. Listen, Hey,
Speaker 2: before anything else, we're gonna talk about the Dynamo and
Speaker 2: talk about your team down there. In a moment, I'll
Speaker 2: be coming down to Houston next week. I'm sure a
Speaker 2: lot of Sounders fans will be flying down to Houston
Speaker 2: next week. Send some recommendations. If we're down there is
Speaker 2: the barbecue and what kind of cuisine do we need
Speaker 2: to search out when we're down in Houston. If we
Speaker 2: have one night, which will be for me Saturday night,
Speaker 2: I guess breakfast to on Sunday morning. If I have
Speaker 2: a couple of meals down there, where do I need
Speaker 2: to go in Houston? What type of food do I
Speaker 2: need to eat?
Speaker 7: Well?
Speaker 6: Shell Stadium is situated right in downtown Houston, so you're
Speaker 6: ryan the center of it all, you know. And one
Speaker 6: thing about Houston, I'll tell you can get any kind
Speaker 6: of food around the world in Houston. You know, you
Speaker 6: just got to go find it. But what Houston is
Speaker 6: known for, just like you mentioned, barbecue is one of
Speaker 6: those things. We have so many barbecues given our our
Speaker 6: are like, drive through barbecue is really top notch.
Speaker 7: But that's just how can we you know, Papa's Barbecue
Speaker 7: shout out. That was my first job. I was a
Speaker 7: buzz boy. Uh But yeah, so that's an easy, very
Speaker 7: drive through Papas Barbecue. Never this appalling Mexican text lenk not.
Speaker 7: So we love here in Houston.
Speaker 6: You know, we have aniphus on navigation, the colors, the
Speaker 6: mother of fajitas.
Speaker 7: This restaurant has been here so long. Uh.
Speaker 6: This old lady, Oh I leave this eagle. Uh person
Speaker 6: ing Uh. You known Infa she created the whole Pahita play.
Speaker 7: So that's really down the street from from Shall Stadium.
Speaker 7: You're not too far.
Speaker 6: So Saturday night, like if you're standing in downtown, that's
Speaker 6: maybe five.
Speaker 7: Minutes from Shall Stadium, you know. Uh.
Speaker 6: And then Sunday morning, you gotta get you some breakfast tacles.
Speaker 6: You know, right downtown there's brother Stackles. Is this join
Speaker 6: where the line forms early in the morning. It's kind
Speaker 6: of like the Bashal acting describe. Its kind of like
Speaker 6: a subway where you go and then you're like, give
Speaker 6: me a talk on that, Give me a talk.
Speaker 5: On that, give talk for that.
Speaker 7: You know, you you pick and choose, but.
Speaker 6: I'm gonna I'm gonna give one shout out to this
Speaker 6: place that I go.
Speaker 7: It's it's a mom and pop place.
Speaker 6: And you know, now this is a little bit more
Speaker 6: down the road, maybe maybe ten twelve minutes down the road.
Speaker 5: But this place is so authentic.
Speaker 6: This restaurant doubles at the bus stops for tricks to Mexico. Right,
Speaker 6: that is Jackson authentic and you can love it.
Speaker 2: Tacos a manchi?
Speaker 5: Is that what you said?
Speaker 2: Moncheese, mon cheese? And all right, so brothers, so brothers,
Speaker 2: tacos for the morning and Monchi's for the I love that.
Speaker 2: That's fantastic. Great recommendations. Will be sure to hit that well. Uh,
Speaker 2: you know, Hazus Osvedo Junior is our guest once again.
Speaker 2: He covers the Houston Dynamo for the Bayou City and
Speaker 2: down there in Houston, and man, it's been a while,
Speaker 2: so let's talk about these Dynamo. Obviously, we just saw
Speaker 2: him a few weeks ago here in Seattle and one
Speaker 2: nothing win for the Sounders. But as you injured the
Speaker 2: playoffs as the five seed coming off of a decision
Speaker 2: to win over the Galaxy, what is the story of
Speaker 2: the Houston Dynamo season, haesus, the.
Speaker 6: Story of the East This season, much like last season,
Speaker 6: you know when the middle runs to the Western.
Speaker 7: Conference Finals, was a slow start.
Speaker 5: You know.
Speaker 7: Uh, this year's slow star was due to injuries.
Speaker 5: You know.
Speaker 6: Achiach was her uh and then a couple of people.
Speaker 7: Had these you know naeive injuries and then you know,
Speaker 7: you know, getting the team and so they were not winning,
Speaker 7: but they weren't losing, right.
Speaker 6: It was like a lot of draws, a lot of
Speaker 6: one zero wins once their lass you know, zero silver draws.
Speaker 7: So they were just kind of getting together.
Speaker 6: They finally picked it up around summer when when some
Speaker 6: of those injured players aren't coming back, mainly Achai is
Speaker 6: at any surprise that went hector.
Speaker 7: Ed, I is playing the Dynamon doue better.
Speaker 6: So once they started playing more games, started more consistent.
Speaker 7: Uh, he just started picking the wins.
Speaker 6: You know, and and that has led up to the
Speaker 6: search even with Achiata picking up an injury here in
Speaker 6: the in the last month of the season, Houston starting
Speaker 6: of talent, especially with that record signing of Konse Uh
Speaker 6: there you know need no number ten striker, which signos
Speaker 6: soph Barne.
Speaker 7: As happy with his performance yet, but you know he
Speaker 7: did under in the middle of the season.
Speaker 6: You know, I'm sure Seattle Sanders fans nobody likes to
Speaker 6: have a you know, deep coming.
Speaker 7: In the middle of the season and try and get
Speaker 7: up to you know, emless speed but but yeah, this
Speaker 7: is a team that they're very talented. You know, uh,
Speaker 7: they're gonna love to possess the ball. You know, they're
Speaker 7: up there, which your Columbus screw as far as like
Speaker 7: we want the ball. The issue is they sometimes don't
Speaker 7: know what to do when they have to fall to
Speaker 7: get the ball to the back of the name Jackson.
Speaker 7: You know, I don't think I have to to to
Speaker 7: you know, remind you. But Seattle score the second few
Speaker 7: is goals this season with fifty one. Only Houston scored
Speaker 7: more than that forty seven goals. So both of these
Speaker 7: two teams and it is scored a lot of goals.
Speaker 7: So we can see some two thier games one one game.
Speaker 7: So but yeah, but I know that's a long win.
Speaker 7: The answer to your question of what the dynamo this season, no, I.
Speaker 2: Think it's a it's a good answer to the story
Speaker 2: of it because you know, like you mentioned, you know,
Speaker 2: getting a DP up to speed. We have this guy
Speaker 2: Pedro dalea Vega who's you know, been here since the
Speaker 2: start of the year, and because of injuries and whatnot,
Speaker 2: he's still getting up to speed. So so I hear
Speaker 2: you out on that front. But we're just hoping your
Speaker 2: guy doesn't get up to full speed just in time
Speaker 2: for this playoff round. Now in the game up here
Speaker 2: in Seattle, just what three and a half weeks ago
Speaker 2: where the Sounders one one nothing Houston was without Hector
Speaker 2: Herrera having him back for at least the first and
Speaker 2: maybe all three games here in the first round of
Speaker 2: the playoffs. Uh what will he mean to your team?
Speaker 2: How much of a difference maker is Hector Herrera?
Speaker 5: I don't know if I will.
Speaker 6: Put the label a playmaker on him, you know, but
Speaker 6: more so than like.
Speaker 7: Like the TikTok.
Speaker 6: You know, he's like moving the ball left to right,
Speaker 6: keeping the keeping the dynamo within possessions.
Speaker 7: He's finding spaces.
Speaker 6: And then those spaces that key vacate in the midfield
Speaker 6: dollars get field up. You know, you'll Coco slipmore in
Speaker 6: size sometimes and have Dorsey spring up the right wing.
Speaker 5: Uh. So, not a playmaker so much.
Speaker 7: Maybe a tempo setter. Perhaps it's a you know, better
Speaker 7: word for them, but no, and.
Speaker 6: It makes a big differ and you know they're they're
Speaker 6: able to Well, he's not a playmaker, he.
Speaker 7: Still helps create the chances that may come. They may
Speaker 7: not put them in the back of the neck, right,
Speaker 7: So they're gonna get those.
Speaker 5: Chances and you know, go into the game.
Speaker 7: You know that was the one zero win by Seattle.
Speaker 6: Houston had the opportunity, not as much as they had
Speaker 6: when Tector Rata is on the on the.
Speaker 2: Field, Haysius, let's wrap it up with this, finish this sentence.
Speaker 2: The Houston Dynamo will win Game one in Seattle if
Speaker 2: they do.
Speaker 6: If they go into the half, we're not having completed.
Speaker 2: A go wow, that I mean, that's that's quite I mean,
Speaker 2: because this game could easily then get to zero zero
Speaker 2: at half. But you think you're so confident in the
Speaker 2: Dynamo that if it's zero zero at half, you think
Speaker 2: that Houston can come away with the win.
Speaker 5: I think they can.
Speaker 6: Maybe sneak away like a one zero win, like maybe
Speaker 6: they strike early, you know, and then they can not
Speaker 6: not bunk a right. But again, they didn't not to
Speaker 6: set the ball, so by possession of the ball, and
Speaker 6: that's gonna have to come.
Speaker 7: Hey, w you score. We can't lose at home in
Speaker 7: front of all these fans. Now that they creates counter
Speaker 7: attack opportunities for Houston.
Speaker 5: So but I think it could be if it's Heresday
Speaker 5: has the Concio goal.
Speaker 7: Houston could win the game one, one zero.
Speaker 6: But you know, Shatto always has the late playoff magic moments.
Speaker 7: I'm sure I don't have to tut.
Speaker 2: That's exactly right. We come up with the you know,
Speaker 2: ever since you know, the playoff run Nelson Valdez in
Speaker 2: twenty sixteen, and obviously we faced you guys in twenty
Speaker 2: seventeen and got past Houston. I believe Will Bruins scored
Speaker 2: in that series. That was a great series for us
Speaker 2: up here. But we'll see if we can rite another
Speaker 2: great playoff chapter between our teams here in these next
Speaker 2: you know, hopefully two games, but we'll see if it
Speaker 2: goes three. Overall, I'll see you down in Houston in
Speaker 2: about a week and a half. Hey, suss enjoyed the
Speaker 2: game coming up next Monday. Thanks so much for joining us.
Speaker 7: Man sounds good, Jackson.
Speaker 5: I was definitely here here.
Speaker 6: Let's let's let's enjoy some Monday night football.
Speaker 2: Yes we will. Hey, sus Oscevedo junior rights and covers
Speaker 2: the Houston Dynamo for the Bayou City and always love
Speaker 2: talk to haesus. Way back when before we had weekly
Speaker 2: Apple TV broadcaster interviews, going back to the days where
Speaker 2: we used to bounce around the nation. I love having
Speaker 2: Hayesus on and good to chat with him there ahead
Speaker 2: of Game one, which will again be next Monday night,
Speaker 2: five thirty Providence, Swedish Premade Show six o'clock kickoff, nine
Speaker 2: to fifty KJR AM. We'll have the game, you know,
Speaker 2: so listen in Spanish language on l Ray thirteen sixty
Speaker 2: and of course watch MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
Speaker 2: Some great recommendations there from Aesus. I'll make sure to
Speaker 2: hit those up there when we head to Houston in
Speaker 2: a week and a half. Brothers, Tacos, tacos in the morning,
Speaker 2: breakfast tacos sounds really damn good. Tacos sounds good right now.
Speaker 2: I'm about to get off the air, go home'd be
Speaker 2: great to have some drive through barbecue two here. All
Speaker 2: of that sounds good for Houston when we travel in
Speaker 2: a week. But before that, let's go get a Sounders
Speaker 2: win in game one. We'll talk to you next Monday
Speaker 2: five thirty on nine to fifty AM for Sounders and
Speaker 2: Dynamo