HOUSTON, TX (Friday, July 10, 2009) -- The Houston Dynamo will play their fifth consecutive away game on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. CT when they take on the expansion Seattle Sounders at Qwest Field in Seattle in a key Western Conference game.
The game can be seen on KHOU 11.2 and TV Informa and can be heard on 790 The Sports Animal and 850 La Ranchera.
The Dynamo could be without up to eight regulars for the game, including: Wade Barrett (gastrocnemius strain); Bobby Boswell (yellow card accumulation); Geoff Cameron (yellow card accumulation); Brian Ching (U.S. national team); Andrew Hainault (Canada national team); Stuart Holden (U.S. national team); Eddie Robinson (knee surgery); and Cam Weaver (groin strain). Seattle will be without starters Brad Evans (U.S. national team); Tyrone Marshall (Jamaica national team); and possibly Osvaldo Alonso (groin strain).
The Dynamo (9-3-4, 31 points) have a four-point lead atop the Western Conference and have won three consecutive games, although only one - last Saturday's 1-0 win over Kansas City - counted toward the MLS standings. Houston will be playing its fifth game in 15 days but its first ever match against Seattle, an expansion team and successor franchise to the USL1 Seattle Sounders. The Dynamo have several connections to Seattle, including four former Sounders players (head coach Dominic Kinnear, forward Brian Ching, defender Craig Waibel, and forward Cam Weaver), Tally Hall (SeaTac, Wash.), and Mike Chabala (University of Washington). The Dynamo are 4-3-1 on the road in league play this year, the second best mark in Major League Soccer.
Seattle (6-3-7, 25 points) came out of the gate fast in its debut season and is in the process of rewriting attendance records, averaging 29,715 fans per MLS home game at a reduced-capacity Qwest Field. The Sounders won four of their first six games, then went 1-1-7 in their next nine MLS games before a 3-0 win over Colorado on June 28 kept them in third place. The Seattle roster includes former Dynamo players Nate Jaqua and Patrick Ianni, who were part of championship teams in Houston. Offensively, the Sounders are led by Jaqua (6 goals, 5 assists), Colombian forward Fredy Montero (8 goals, 5 assists), and Swedish designated player Freddie Ljungberg (2 goals, 4 assists).
The teams will meet again 10 days later on Tuesday, July 21, in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup semifinals at Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila, Wash.
After Saturday's game, the Dynamo continue their stretch of seven consecutive road games by taking on Toronto FC on Saturday, July 18, at BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Houston's next home game is scheduled for Saturday, July 25, against the New England Revolution.
The Houston Dynamo are a Major League Soccer franchise that won two MLS Cup championships in its first three seasons and qualified to represent the United States in four consecutive regional championships. Be sure to ask about the new Texas Children's Health Plan Family Section. For more information, log on to www.HoustonDynamo.com or call (713) 276-7500.
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