Seattle Sounders 4, Houston Dynamo 1 | 2018 MLS Match Recap

The Seattle Sounders moved closer to reaching the Audi 2018 MLS Cup Playoffs, after defeating the Houston Dynamo 4-1 on Monday night at CenturyLink Field.

The Sounders, who put in a comprehensive performance in the victory, have not yet clinched passage to the playoffs, but are on the cusp of reaching the postseason for a 10th consecutive season in MLS.

Will Bruin opened the scoring for Seattle in the 18th minute. The former Dynamo forward received a feed from Nicolas Lodeiro, but the pass was behind him. It was no matter, as Bruin turned and fired off a shot to beat Joe Willis.

The Sounders then doubled their lead, as they began a counterattack in their box, with Ozzie Alonso and Lodeiro combining to set up Cristian Roldan, who buried the angled shot to make it 2-0 in the first half.

While the Dynamo had a couple decent looks on goal, the one-way traffic continued at the other end in the second half, as Victor Rodriguez buried Seattle's third goal of the night following a nice dummy from Bruin to set up the shot. Rodriguez scored his second of the night shortly after, as substitute Handwalla Bwana set up the Spaniard to score in the box once again.

DaMarcus Beasley scored a late goal as a consolation for the Dynamo, but there wasn't much else to write home about for the visiting side.

Goals

• 18' – SEA – Will Bruin | WATCH
• 34' – SEA – Cristian Roldan | WATCH
• 64' – SEA – Victor Rodriguez | WATCH
• 73' – SEA – Victor Rodriguez | WATCH
• 87' – HOU – DaMarcus Beasley | WATCH

Three Things 

THE BIG PICTURE: This one was all Seattle, and with both teams missing international contributors who have gone off on national team duty, the Sounders had more to work with overall. Postseason soccer isn't clinched, but Seattle's grip on a playoff spot got stronger with this emphatic victory.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH
: Bruin may have started his MLS career in Houston, but he is not afraid to score (and celebrate) against his old team.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Rodriguez did get the late brace, which could bode well for the homestretch of the season, but on the night Bruin, who scored the opener and had an impressive dummy to set up another, gets the nod.

Next Up

• SEA: Wednesday, October 17 at Orlando City SC (7:30 pm ET | TV & streaming info)
• HOU: Friday, October 12 at LAFC (10 pm ET | TV & streaming info)