Seattle Sounders suffered a major setback in the defence of the MLS Cup after a 2-1 loss against Houston Dynamo in the opening game of the 2017 season.

The game was effectively over in the first half when Seattle Sounders were under the cosh for much of the 45 minutes. Erick Torres scored the opening goal in the 20^th minute before RomellQuioto doubled their advantage for the home team in the 42^nd minute. Seattle Sounders could have conceded more goals in the first half had it not been for some luck.

Things improved substantially in the second half when the club were able to pull one goal back through Clint Dempsey in the 58^th minute. However, it was not enough as Seattle Sounders slumped to a defeat on the opening day of the season.

Manager Brian Schmetzer claimed that it was a valuable lesson for the team and one that would help them get back on to winning ways when the club take on Montreal Impact in the next game. Seattle Sounders managed to beat Toronto in the final of last season on penalties. However, they have been showing poor form even during the pre-season when they failed to win any of the pre-season friendlies.

Seattle Sounders will have to recover the form quickly or risk the possibility of having to play catch-up throughout the campaign.“I think we learned a valuable lesson tonight. The first half, Houston came out, they were obviously fired up to play. Home match, playing against the champs and they got two goals.That’s what we learned tonight: Teams are going to come out and if we’re not sharp from the minute the referee blows the whistle, that type of performance is going to happen. The second half was a different story. We just had better possession of the ball in their half of the field,” said Schmetzer.