Dynamo's Jimmy Maurer, Sounders' Stefan Frei duel to scoreless draw

SEATTLE (AP) — Jimmy Maurer finished with four saves in his first start for Houston and Seattle's Stefan Frei stopped the only shot he faced as the Dynamo and Sounders played to a scoreless draw at Lumen Field on Saturday night.

Maurer replaced Andrew Tarbell last week after the starter injured his knee in the first half of a 2-1 home loss to Real Salt Lake and was lost for the season. Maurer had 16 clean sheets in seven seasons and 65 starts with FC Dallas before joining the Dynamo (0-3-2), whose three losses have all come at home this season.

Frei finished off his first clean sheet of the season and the 100th of his career with the Sounders (1-2-2) in his fourth start this season. He has 119 shutouts in 411 career starts. Frei's first 19 clean sheets came in three seasons and 82 starts with Toronto FC.

Maurer had three saves and Frei wasn't tested in the first half.

The Dynamo have never beaten the Sounders in Seattle. The two clubs played to a pair of scoreless draws last season.

The Sounders improve to 12-1-4 in the last 16 matchups with the Dynamo across all competitions.

Former Sounders captain Nicolás Lodeiro helped the Dynamo earn a point in his first trip back to Seattle.

The Dynamo remain in the Pacific Northwest to play the Portland Timbers on Saturday. The Sounders travel to play the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer

Houston Dynamo midfielder Nicolás Lodeiro acknowledges the crowd as he is honored by the Seattle Sounders for his contribution to the club before an MLS soccer match Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Houston Dynamo midfielder Griffin Dorsey gets ahead of Seattle Sounders defender Jon Bell, right, as he presses towards the goal during the first half of an MLS soccer match Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Houston Dynamo midfielder Griffin Dorsey gets ahead of Seattle Sounders defender Jon Bell, right, as he presses towards the goal during the first half of an MLS soccer match Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Houston Dynamo midfielder Nicolás Lodeiro moves the ball against Seattle Sounders defender Yeimar Gómez, front, during the first half of an MLS soccer match Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Sounders midfielder Alex Roldan, left, vies for the ball against Houston Dynamo forward Ezequiel Ponce, right, during the first half of an MLS soccer match Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Sounders defender Jon Bell (15) heads the ball as Houston Dynamo midfielder Nicolás Lodeiro (20) looks on during the first half of an MLS soccer match Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Houston Dynamo midfielder Nicolás Lodeiro, center, looks to pass the ball between Seattle Sounders midfielder João Paulo, left, and midfielder Danny Leyva, right, during the first half of an MLS soccer match Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Sounders forward Jordan Morris holds his son Theo as he is honored in a halftime ceremony for becoming the club's all-time leading scorer, during an MLS soccer match against the Houston Dynamo Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Sounders midfielder Cristian Roldan looks for the ball against Houston Dynamo defender Franco Escobar, second from left, during the first half of an MLS soccer match Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Houston Dynamo midfielder Sebastian Kowalczyk leaps for the ball against Seattle Sounders midfielder Alex Roldan, left, during the first half of an MLS soccer match Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Houston Dynamo midfielder Amine Bassi, left, chases Seattle Sounders midfielder Joao Paulo, right, during the first half of an MLS soccer match Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Sounders defender Jon Bell heads the ball against Houston Dynamo forward Ezequiel Ponce, right, during the first half of an MLS soccer match Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Houston Dynamo goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer (1) looks on as Seattle Sounders defender Jon Bell (15) tries to head the ball in from a corner kick during the first half of an MLS soccer match Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Sounders midfielder Joao Paulo, left, reaches for the ball against Houston Dynamo midfielder Nicolás Lodeiro, right, during the first half of an MLS soccer match Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Houston Dynamo midfielder Nicolás Lodeiro acknowledges the crowd as he is honored by the Seattle Sounders for his contribution to the club, with owner Adrian Hanauer, second from left, before an MLS soccer match Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Houston Dynamo midfielder Nicolás Lodeiro becomes emotional after the national anthem before facing his former team, the Seattle Sounders, in an MLS soccer match Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Ahn Sung-ki, one of South Korean cinema’s biggest stars whose prolific 60-year career and positive, gentle public image earned him the nickname “The Nation’s Actor,” died Monday. He was 74.

Ahn, who had suffered blood cancer for years, was pronounced dead at Seoul's Soonchunhyang University Hospital, his agency, the Artist Company, and hospital officials said.

“We feel deep sorrow at the sudden, sad news, pray for the eternal rest of the deceased and offer our heartfelt condolences to his bereaved family members," the Artist Company said in a statement.

President Lee Jae Myung issued a condolence message saying Ahn provided many people with comfort, joy and time for reflection. “I already miss his warm smile and gentle voice,” Lee wrote on Facebook.

Born to a filmmaker in the southeastern city of Daegu in 1952, Ahn made his debut as a child actor in the movie “The Twilight Train” in 1957. He subsequently appeared in about 70 movies as a child actor before he left the film industry to live an ordinary life.

In 1970, Ahn entered Seoul’s Hankuk University of Foreign Studies as a Vietnamese major. Ahn said he graduated with top honors but failed to land jobs at big companies, who likely saw his Vietnamese major largely useless after a communist victory in the Vietnam War in 1975.

Ahn returned to the film industry in 1977 believing he could still excel in acting. In 1980, he rose to fame for his lead role in Lee Jang-ho’s “Good, Windy Days,” a hit coming-of-age movie about the struggle of working-class men from rural areas during the country’s rapid rise. Ahn won the best new actor award in the prestigious Grand Bell Awards, the Korean version of the Academy Awards.

He later starred in a series of highly successful and critically acclaimed movies, sweeping best actor awards and becoming arguably the country’s most popular actor in much of the 1980-90s.

Some of his memorable roles included a Buddhist monk in 1981’s “Mandara,” a beggar in 1984’s “Whale Hunting,” a Vietnam War veteran-turned-novelist in 1992’s “White Badge,” a corrupt police officer in 1993’s “Two Cops,” a murderer in 1999’s “No Where To Hide,” a special forces trainer in 2003’s “Silmido” and a devoted celebrity manager in 2006’s “Radio Star.”

Ahn had collected dozens of trophies in major movie awards in South Korea, including winning the Grand Bell Awards for best actor five times, an achievement no other South Korean actors have matched yet.

Ahn built up an image as a humble, trustworthy and family-oriented celebrity who avoided major scandals and maintained a quiet, stable personal life. Past public surveys chose Ahn as South Korea’s most beloved actor and deserving of the nickname “The Nation’s Actor.”

Ahn said he earlier felt confined with his “The Nation's Actor” labeling but eventually thought that led him down the right path. In recent years, local media has given other stars similar honorable nicknames, but Ahn was apparently the first South Korean actor who was dubbed “The Nation's Actor.”

“I felt I should do something that could match that title. But I think that has eventually guided me on a good direction,” Ahn said in an interview with Yonhap news agency in 2023.

In media interviews, Ahn couldn’t choose what his favorite movie was, but said that his role as a dedicated, hardworking manger for a washed-up rock singer played by Park Jung-hoon resembled himself in real life the most.

Ahn was also known for his reluctance to do love scenes. He said said he was too shy to act romantic scenes and sometimes asked directors to skip steamy scenes if they were only meant to add spice to movies.

“I don’t do well on acting like looking at someone who I don’t love with loving eyes and kissing really romantically. I feel shy and can’t express such emotions well,” Ahn said in an interview with the Shindonga magazine in 2007. “Simply, I’m clumsy on that. So I couldn’t star in such movies a lot. But ultimately, that was a right choice for me.”

Ahn is survived by his wife and their two sons. A mourning station at a Seoul hospital was to run until Friday.

FILE - South Korean actor Ahn Sung-ki smiles for a photo on the red carpet at the 56th Daejong Film Awards ceremony in Seoul, South Korea, June 3, 2020. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)

FILE - South Korean actor Ahn Sung-ki attends an event as part of the 11th Pusan International Film Festival in Busan, South Korea, Oct. 13, 2006. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)