Houston Dynamo at Seattle Sounders player ratings
(image via Houston Dynamo FC)
The Dynamo took home another road point against a tough Seattle team. Let’s take a look at how everyone performed.
Starters
Jimmy Maurer-7
Maurer had a really good first half, making an impressive save to stop a cross from getting to an open Seattle player. It was very unfortunate to see him also pick up an injury alongside Andrew Tarbell. Hopefully this is not as long term as Tarbell’s.
Griffin Dorsey-7.5 (6.9 avg)
This was a really good defensive game for Griffin, making three tackles in the match. He did not do too much going forward, but gave his all for 90 minutes.
Ethan Bartlow-N/A (6.25 avg)
It was very sad to see Ethan go down with an injury in a season with so many injuries to the defenders.
Obafemi Awodesu-7.5 (6.3 avg)
Femi continues his run of being really good every other game. He made a lot of really huge plays despite the odd slip up in the game.
Franco Escobar-9.5 MOTM (6.89 avg)
You’ll have a hard time finding a better performance from a defensive player this season. Escobar put in a complete shift at both left back and center back after Bartlow went down. He also provided a lot in possession, starting multiple attacks with his passing.
Artur-7 (6.4 avg)
Mr. Consistent strikes again with another 7. This is what you get from Artur on a weekly basis. It was another solid performance where he never really stood out.
Junior Urso-9
While Artur didn’t stand out much in midfield, Junior was quite the opposite. He had a wonderful debut, completing 53/54 passes while making four combined tackles and interceptions. A debut to remember for Urso.
Amine Bassi-5.5 (6.2 avg)
This was a similar performance that we saw on the road at Columbus where he was asked to do a lot more dirty work and less creative work. Bassi didn’t create a single shot for the entire match, but put in a massive shift off the ball.
Sebastian Kowalczyk-6.5 (6 avg)
Kowalczyk had a similar game to Bassi where he did a lot of the dirty work off the ball. He was also the most creative player for the Dynamo. Unfortunately, nothing came of the few opportunities he created.
Nicolas Lodeiro-5.5 (5.5 avg)
You can almost copy and paste what was said about Bassi for Lodeiro. He put in a solid shift, but was not overly impressive offensively.
Ezequiel Ponce-7 (6.1 avg)
Ponce was also asked to do similar things that he did away to Columbus, and he succeeded for the most part. His ability to press and start the defensive shape for the Dynamo high up the field was huge in getting this shutout. I really like what he brings to the transition game as well.
Substitutes
Daniel Steres-7.5 (7.25 avg)
This was another shift for Daniel Steres where he held down the left side of the defense all game long. It is very nice to have a guy who can do a consistent job like Daniel when injuries pop up.
Ibrahim Aliyu-6.5 (5.83 avg)
Aliyu came on with 24 minutes to go and was asked to support the left side of the defense and help with counter attacks. He defended really well, making three tackles, but didn’t make a huge difference offensively.
Blake Gillingham-8
I am sure Blake was not expecting to play for the first team this early in his career, but he managed to look like a pro in his first ever game. He made two massive saves late in the game to save the Dynamo a well-earned point.
Erik Dueñas and Erik Sviatchenko-N/A
Neither Erik was on the field long enough to warrant a rating in this game.
Head Coach
Ben Olsen-8 (6.5 avg)
Earning any points in Seattle is a tall task, especially with the current state of the roster with injuries and national team call-ups. He got the players to dig deep and earn every bit of that point. Hopefully that can translate to three points in the next match.
