Sounders, Danny Musovski aiming to keep a pair of streaks alive on Saturday
RENTON — In the span of a month, questions regarding the Seattle Sounders’ offense flipped from where will the goals come from to can Danny Musovski keep his scoring streak going?
The club will have that answer Saturday.
The Sounders are riding a four-game unbeaten streak into a road match against Houston. Musovski scored in each game. His run is a first for a Sounders player in a single season since Jordan Morris in 2016.
Former Sounders striker Raúl Ruidíaz holds the record with six goals in six consecutive matches from Sept. 29, 2018, to March 16, 2019. Obafemi Martins (2015) and Fredy Montero (2009) scored in five straight matches for the Sounders.
Seattle struggled to generate offense in the last meeting against Houston at Lumen Field in March. The Sounders had 16 shots, four on target in the goalless draw.
Road management
The trip to Houston kicks off a stretch of three matches in eight days on the road for the Sounders. During the stretch, coach Brian Schmetzer wants to blend in the return of center back Jackson Ragen. He’s been out since April 12 with a hamstring injury and needed to hit medical benchmarks this week to be able to join full training
Ragen is listed as out for the Houston match. Schmetzer is targeting Wednesday’s match against Los Angeles FC or next week’s derby in Portland against the Timbers as possibilities for Ragen.
The same goes for Jesús Ferreira and Albert Rusnák, who missed parts of training this week due to adductor injuries. The Sounders midfielders traveled with the team to Houston to participate in Friday’s training. If they’re unable to play Saturday, they should see minutes against LAFC.
Highs and lows
Houston will have some lineup rotation after defeating USL Championship side Phoenix Rising on Wednesday in the U.S. Open Cup Round of 32. Former Sounders captain Nico Lodeiro had an assist in the 4-1 win in Arizona.
In MLS competitions, Houston has struggled to score. They have 10 goals this season, which ranks 24th in the 30-team league. Houston lost its last MLS match 2-0 on the road to LAFC last week.
Dynamo defender Franco Escobar was shown two yellow cards in the match and is suspended Saturday. Danish defender Erik Sviatchenko (lower body) is questionable due to injury.
Quotable
“It’s not easy to play in Houston,” Sounders defender Nouhou said. “It’s such a good team. They have good players like Nico coming into the group. It’s going to be a very exciting game. It’s very hot there so we’ve got to try to manage the game.”