Almost no matter how you look at Friday's match, the Seattle Sounders were the better team. They fired off a team record 26 shots, forced Houston Dynamo goalkeeper Tally Hall into seven saves and conceded just six shots, only two of which were on goal. They had 12 corner kicks (tying a team record) to the Dynamo's one. No official possession stats were available, but it's not hard to imagining the Sounders holding a sizable advantage there as well. But in the only area where it really matters, the Sounders and Dynamo were dead even. The 1-1 tie may not be indicative of which team played better, but it does tell the story of the Sounders' season to this point.
In fact, if not for Steve Zakuani's opportunistic score in the 80th minute, the Sounders would have walked away from their third straight game without a point. Zakuani's goal, which he scored when a corner kick practically fell at his feet as he stood next to the goal post, allowed the Sounders to escape with at least some of their dignity intact.
Up until Zakuani's score, the game had been filled with frustration as the Sounders were foiled by a combination of impressive goalkeeping, bad luck and missed opportunities. The Sounders' night was effectively encapsulated by a two-minute sequence around the 29th minute. It started with a free kick by Osvaldo Alonso, which was blocked and came out to O'Brian White, whose close-range shot was also blocked. That led to a corner kick, which came out to White, who was again stopped. The rebound came out to Jeff Parke, whose shot went off the crossbar.
The Dynamo, meanwhile, did the most with their few chances. Their goal came in the 42nd minute when Lovel Palmer's free kick from about 30 yards out hit off the crossbar, found its way through several players and ended up at the feet of Geoff Cameron, who fired a shot off the underside of the crossbar and into the goal. Other than a shot in the 11th minute, it was the only time the Dynamo were able to put a shot on target. That sent the Dynamo into halftime with a 1-0 lead, despite being out shot 15-5.
The Sounders now turn their attention to their April 2 date at the San Jose Earthquakes. Last year, the Sounders managed a 1-0 victory in San Jose despite not playing particularly well. There's no question they'd gladly accept a similar result.