Seattle's title defense off to inauspicious start with loss in Houston

Los Angeles - The Seattle Sounders' defense of the Major League Soccer championship got off to a rocky start on Saturday as they fell 2-1 to the aggressive Houston Dynamo.

Houston, which finished last season at the bottom of the Western Conference, gave no quarter to the defending champion.

The Dynamo's aggressive play led to an early goal from Erick Torres and they held on for the home win.

Torres scored his first MLS goal since playing for Chivas USA in 2014 as his free-kick in the 20th minute from just outside the penalty box eluded the outstretched arms of a diving Stefan Frei.

Romell doubled the lead in the 42nd minute, curling a shot from 20 yards out into the top left corner of Frei's net.

The Dynamo took the two-goal lead into halftime with their confidence high.

A vaunted Sounders lineup including returning veteran Clint Dempsey, Nicolas Lodeiro and rookie of the year Jordan Morris produced little in the first 45 minutes.

Dempsey finally got the Sounders on the board in the 58th with his first goal in more than five months. He missed Seattle's run to the MLS Cup crown after his season ended prematurely because of an irregular heartbeat.