Seattle Sounders SC vs. FC Dallas – Playoff Game Recap
The Sounders hosted the first leg of the Major League Soccer Playoff semifinals and pulled a dramatic victory with, as expected, Sounders king scorer Clint Dempsey doing his usual stoppage time magic.
FC Dallas got an early lead when Dempsey was protesting a foul inside Dallas’s box. A quick clearance by Dallas’s keeper ended in a counter attack which ended in Mauro Diaz passing to Fabian Castillo who received the ball outside of Seattle’s box, dribbled in and scored from the left (18’).
Seattle Sounders 0 – 1 FC Dallas
The hosts had more possession throughout the night and tried to retaliate, but Dallas’s goalkeeper Jesse Gonzalez gave a great performance and denied Seattle’s chances produced by Tyrone Mears, Erik Friberg and Clint Dempsey,
Seattle’s equalizer came only later midway into the second half. The visitors tried to obtain possession of a high clearance that came into the Dallas half, but a few headers by Dallas players did not give them control of the ball.
Instead, Sounder’s Andreas Ivanschitz picked up the ball in the last third and fired an accurate shot from the left side of the 16-yard line, scoring the equalizer into the right corner of Gonzalez’s net (67’).
Seattle Sounders 1 – 1 FC Dallas
As the game was nearing stoppage time and it seemed to be ending in a draw, Seattle managed to draw a foul and Dempsey took a free kick from outside of Dallas’s box.
Dempsey sent a precise ball above Dallas’s wall into the top right corner, giving Seattle the late win (86’).
Seattle Sounders 2 – 1 FC Dallas
The hosts had better possession 56% and produced 14 shots, of which 7 were on target; compared to visitors’ 10 shots with 4 on target.
The two teams meet again when the Seattle Sounders travel to Texas to face FC Dallas next Sunday, November 8th. It is enough for Seattle to draw in the next leg, for them to move on the next round of the Major League Soccer Western Conference Championships.
