HOUSTON (AP) — Obed Vargas scored the decisive goal in a shootout after a 1-1 tie in regulation and Stefan Frei saved a Tate Schmitt shot in the seventh round to lead the Seattle Sounders to a 1-0 victory on Sunday 7-6 and a first-round bye over the Houston Dynamo in the best-of-three MLS Cup series.

Neither team found the back of the net until Cristian Roldan scored in the 87th minute with a man advantage — his first goal in his 30th postseason appearance — to give the fourth-seeded Sounders the lead.

But Roldan also had the ball deflected off him for an own goal in the third minute of stoppage time to level the scores.

Houston was forced to play a man down in the 66th minute for the second straight game. Héctor Herrera received a yellow card for a foul on Seattle defender Jackson Ragen, changed to a red card for unsportsmanlike conduct, after spitting at the referee’s feet as he walked off. Coco Carrasquilla went off with a red card in the opener after picking up two yellow cards four minutes apart.

Defender Nouhou Tolo, who did not have an assist in the regular season, scored the second of his postseason career on Roldan’s goal after coming on as a substitute two minutes earlier. Danny Levya picked up his first assist in his second career playoff appearance.

Frei didn’t have a save in regulation in his 34th postseason start – all with the Sounders. Frei was in line for his 15th goal of the postseason until the own goal.

Steve Clark finished with six saves – three in each inning – for the Dynamo in his 20th career postseason start.

The Sounders defeated fifth-ranked Houston 5-4 in a shootout in the series opener in Seattle after a scoreless duel in regulation. The Sounders were a perfect 12-for-12 on PKs in their two wins.

Seattle played the Dynamo to a 2-2 draw in Houston during the regular season and beat them 1-0 at home.

Houston is now 12-3-4 all-time at home in the playoffs. The Dynamo set club records with 54 points and eight road wins this season, qualifying for the postseason for the 10th time.

Seattle has reached the playoffs in 15 of its 16 seasons, winning four conference championships and two MLS Cups (2016 and 2019).

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