MLS PLAYOFFS
Dynamo drop home opener 2-0, need huge effort in Seattle to advance
SportsMap Staff
Nov 22, 2017, 5:44 am
The Dynamo's hopes of reaching the MLS Cup took a serious blow Tuesday night when they lost to the Seattle Sounders 2-0 in the first leg of the two-part Western Conference Finals.
Seattle got goals from Gustav Svensson and former Dynamo Will Bruin, and Houston was forced to play with 10 men for most of the match after Jalil Anibaba picked up a red card. The Dynamo created some chances late but could not overcome fatigue to get a goal.
With the two road goals, Seattle is in prime shape to end the series next week and advance to the MLS Cup to face Toronto or Colombus. It will be a tall task for the Dynamo, who won one road game all season against D.C. United, one of the worst teams in the league. And Seattle has just one home loss all year, to Toronto FC, the team with the best record in the league.
The Dynamo and Sounders will play in Seattle on Thursday, Nov. 30, with Seattle holding a 2-0 aggregate lead, with two critical road goals.
The Houston Texans’ season is right around the corner, with their opener set for a week from Sunday. One of the biggest questions of training camp has been the status of running back Joe Mixon.
Mixon hasn’t taken part in practices, and with the regular season fast approaching, his Week 1 availability always seemed doubtful. On Monday, the Texans provided clarity.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter: “Texans are not activating running back Joe Mixon by Tuesday’s 4 p.m. ET deadline, making him ineligible to play at least the first four games this season due to an ankle injury. Mixon will be moved to Reserve/Non-Football Injury, which automatically rules him out for at least four games.”
With Mixon sidelined, Houston will turn to Nick Chubb, Damien Pierce, Dare Ogunbowale, rookie Woody Marks, and Jawhar Jordan to carry the load.
All signs point to Chubb taking the starting role in Week 1 against the Los Angeles Rams.
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