Seattle ties Houston 0-0 in MLS playoff opener

Seattle - Seattle Sounders FC and the Houston Dynamo settled nothing Thursday night except that the two clubs don't like each other much.

The clubs opened their two-game aggregate score playoff series with a scoreless draw Thursday at Qwest Field.

Second-seeded Houston, seeking its third MLS title in four seasons, denied a frantic late flurry of corner kicks and set plays by Sounders star Freddie Ljungberg.

That means that the winner of Game Two, at noon Nov. 8 in Houston, will advance.

If that game ends in a tie, 30 minutes of extra time will be played. If still tied, the series will be settled by penalty kicks.

The winner advances with the Western Conference final against the winner of the Los Angeles-Chivas USA series.

And while the series opener lacked scoring, it didn’t lack for emotion.

It was played before a crowd of 37,807. That’s the largest crowd ever to see the Sounders in an MLS game, the largest ever to see an MLS first-round playoff match, and the seventh-largest MLS playoff crowd ever.

Emotions nearly bubbled over in the 16th minute, when Houston goalkeeper Pat Onstad intentionally knocked down Sounders forward Fredy Montero.

That started a lot of pushing and shoving between the teams that looked for a moment like it might get way out of hand.

Before the game was over, a total of six yellow cards were issued.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

SERIES schedule

(Two matches, winner determined by combined goals scored)

Thursday: Seattle 0, Houston 0

Nov. 8: Seattle at Houston, noon