<p>SEATTLE — João Paulo scored a goal of the season candidate early in the second half, Raul Ruidiaz added two goals three minutes apart, and the Seattle Sounders welcomed fans back to its home stadium with a 4-0 win over Minnesota United on Friday night. </p>
<p>The start to the 2021 season for the reigning Western Conference champions was a rousing celebration welcoming fans back to Lumen Field for the first time in 13 months. João Paulo ignited the cheers with a deft moment of skill, scoring on a 25-yard volley in the 49th minute to give Seattle the lead. </p>
<p>Ruidiaz scored his first in the 70th minute off a terrific pass by Will Bruin and moments later collected a second goal after Cristian Roldan found Ruidiaz with a step behind the Loons defense. Fredy Montero, playing his first game for Seattle since 2012, added the final goal in the 86th minute. </p>
<p>The crowd of 7,042 wasn’t the nearly 40,000 that has become the norm in Seattle, but was a sellout under the current COVID-19 restrictions. </p>
<p>DYNAMO 2, EARTHQUAKES 1</p>
<p>HOUSTON — Memo Rodríguez scored the opening goal of the Major League Soccer season and Maximiliano Urruti added a goal in the second half as Houston beat San Jose.</p>
<p>Rodríguez raced to Joe Corona’s through ball in the 39th minute and bent a shot around JT Marcinkowski. Urruti was left wide open at the penalty spot in the 56th and he easily slotted home Tyler Pasher’s cross to make it 2-0. Rodríguez also sent a shot off the crossbar in the first minute after halftime and Urruti forced a diving save in the 80th. </p>
<p>Paul Marie scored for San Jose in the 74th on a curling shot from distance. </p>
<p>Houston announced tickets, approximately 6,500, were sold out with 30% capacity at BBVA Stadium.</p>
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<p>More AP soccer: <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/soccer">https://apnews.com/hub/soccer</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_Sports">https://twitter.com/AP_Sports</a></p>
