Slumping Sounders face challenge from Dynamo

Despite having not won a game since May, the Seattle Sounders remain in third place in Major League Soccer's Western Conference.

That could change Saturday night when Seattle (8-7-5, 29 points) plays host to the Houston Dynamo (8-8-3, 27 points), who enter the weekend in a three-way tie for fourth with San Jose and Real Salt Lake.

The Sounders are 0-2-3 since a 1-0 victory against the visiting New York Red Bulls on May 27. They've scored in just one of those matches, a 3-3 draw June 10 at Charlotte.

"(The frustration level) is high," Sounders midfielder Obed Vargas said. "You can't score goals, you can't win games, and we need to win games. We're all frustrated, but we know the only route is to keep working."

Seattle is coming off a scoreless draw on June 24 against Orlando City in which goalkeeper Stefan Frei posted his league-leading 10th shutout of the season.

It hasn't helped that leading scorer Jordan Morris and midfielder Cristian Roldan are with the U.S. national team for the CONCACAF Gold Cup and defender Alex Roldan is with El Salvador. In addition, forward Raul Ruidiaz missed last week's match to attend his father's funeral in Peru.

"We just need someone to start scoring goals," Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer said. "Of course, we're missing some key players. It's MLS, we have to get through it. That's just the way it is."

The Dynamo lost 3-0 on June 24 at Austin. That snapped a three-game winning streak that included two victories against Western Conference co-leader Los Angeles FC.

Houston will be without midfielder Adalberto "Coco" Carrasquilla, who is playing for Panama in the Gold Cup.

Dynamo captain Hector Herrera was named to the MLS All-Star team this week.

"We are excited for Hector and this is a great opportunity for him to represent the city and club at a marquee event," Dynamo general manager Pat Onstad said. "His leadership and play on the field have been key to our success this year."

The Sounders lead the all-time series 16-6-7, including a 1-0 victory May 13 at Houston on a goal by substitute Paul Rothrock in the 87th minute with the Dynamo down two players after red cards to Amine Bassi (21st minute) and Herrera (78th).

The Sounders haven't lost at home in their past 14 matches against Houston (11-0-3), including playoffs.

--Field Level Media