Sounders FC scored two goals Saturday: one hotly disputed, one nearly unprecedented. Added up, they provided a 2-1 win over the first place Houston Dynamo before a sellout crowd of 32,404 at Qwest Field. “I feel pretty good,” assistant coach Brian Schmetzer, who was in charge because head coach Sigi Schmid was attending his son’s wedding. “No. 1, it was my first MLS head-coaching victory. And then to be down 1-0 to the top team in the league and to come back and show character certainly made it even more special.”
Freddy Montero scored a controversial equalizer, as Dynamo defender Mike Chabala cleared the ball out as it flew toward the net. The referee’s assistant, Emiliano Monje, signaled a goal although TV replays were inconclusive as to whether it crossed the goal line. “I know for a fact it wasn’t in, and I know for a fact that the linesman was out of position,” Houston coach Dominic Kinnear said. “… I know he’s wrong, and I’m sure he’ll watch it and know he’s made a mistake, but it’s too late.”
The winner then came on a bicycle kick by defender Patrick Ianni, who was just as surprised as everyone else to see it go in. Asked if he had ever scored on a bicycle kick before, Ianni answered “Since I was 6? No.” The kick capped the team’s first come-from-behind victory, and doomed the Dynamo to its first loss this season after scoring first. Houston remains atop the league standings (9-4-4, 31 points), but Seattle pulled within striking distance (7-3-7, 28).