Sounders in Dallas for Revenge
By Ben Renner
The Sounders are in Texas preparing for their match against FC Dallas tomorrow at six. You can bet they’re thinking about the last time they played Dallas.
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Okay, Sounders fans, I know that it’s painful to relive, but I have to bring up the Western Conference semifinals against FC Dallas last year. As most of you remember, the Sounders were tied with Dallas in aggregate until a 90th-minute goal by Chad Marshall gave us hope that we would move on. Instead, Dallas’ Walker Zimmerman knocked in a shocking goal to tie the aggregate and send the game into extra time. The Sounders season ended after the penalty shoot-out.
Tomorrow is the Sounders first chance at revenge against FC Dallas. And they appear to be rounding into form at just the right time to serve a cold dish of comeuppance against FCD. With midfielder Erick Friberg finally healthy and rookie striker Jordan Morris heating up, the Sounders have appeared to solve some of their offensive problems caused a slow start to the season.
FC Dallas recently ended a long skid of their own. After defeating Sporting Kansas City on April 17th, Dallas went more than 300 minutes without a goal and was outscored 8-0 over their next three matches. They ended their slide with a 2-1 victory over the Portland Timbers on Wednesday.
The two teams are similar in style. The Sounders are all about getting the ball to forwards Clint Dempsey and Morris with smart and fast distribution from their midfield. Dallas plays at a similar pace and seems to treat possession time with contempt. During FCD’s three-game losing streak, they fell to the Vancouver Whitecaps, the New York Red Bulls, and Toronto FC, all have similar styles to both Seattle and Dallas. It seems that FCD has trouble running with teams that play the same aggressive style they do.
If the Sounders are going to knock off second-place FC Dallas, however, they will have to stay sound in the back line to avoid the same trouble against Dallas’ youthful attack they had in the playoffs last season. They also need Friberg to be himself yet again. Friberg was instrumental in the Sounders’ win over San Jose last week.
Let’s just blow out FC Dallas and be done with it already, no extra time or late goals, please.