It was never going to be an easy match for the Seattle Sounders ( 7-3-5, 26 points) when they rolled into Frisco Texas for their road match against FC Dallas ( 6-6-3, 21 points) Saturday night at Toyota Stadium. Say what you want about the quality of play in MLS, the fact is that road wins are hard to come by. The Sounders were playing thier second consecutive road game and looking for a win after last weeks 3-2 loss at Sporting Kansas City.
A hard task turned tedious when lighting caused a two-hour delay. Once clearance to play was given, the tedious task turned arduous after the Sounders gave up two own goals in a span of five minutes in the first half. Dallas midfielder Michae Barrios cross from the left side of the field found midfield teammate Ryan Hollingshead who ‘s header deflected off Seattle defender Xavier Arreaga to give the home side the 1-0 lead after 33 minutes. A second own goal just five minutes later this time by Brad Smith off a free kick by Barrios that deflected off the Sounders defender leg for the 2-0 lead put the visitors in the most unfavorable of positions in a most hostile environment.
The Sounders as they have done all season fought back and showed they have pride and resolve. A Raul Ruidiaz goal in the 65th minute gave the Sounders reason to believe down just one goal at 2-1, but sometimes will and effort can be trumped by back luck and a lack of execution.
Saturday’s loss marked the second straight road game in which the Sounders dug themselves into a 2-0 deficit and came out on the losing end of the scoreline.
- With Saturday’s result, Sounders FC is third in the Western Conference with 26 points (7-3-5), two points shy of second-place LA Galaxy and 11 points behind Supporters’ Shield-leading LAFC.
- Seattle is now 12-7-6 all-time against FC Dallas in regular season play, including a 3-6-5 record on the road.
- Saturday’s match marked the first time in club history that Sounders FC has surrendered two own goals in the same match.
- Raúl Ruidíaz scored his team-leading sixth goal of the season in the second half, giving him 19 goals in 26 appearances across all competitions since joining Sounders FC last summer.
- Will Bruin and Alex Roldan each earned an assist on Ruidíaz’s goal, the first of the season for both players.
- Joevin Jones made his first appearance for Sounders FC since signing last month. Fresh off joining the team in Seattle this past week, Jones came on for Alex Roldan in the 77th minute. The Trinidad & Tobago international previously played with Sounders FC from 2016-2017.
- Defender Xavier Arreaga made his first start for Sounders FC since signing last month, replacing the injured Kim Kee-hee. The Ecuardorian made his club debut as a substitute last weekend at Sporting Kansas City.
- Midfielder Gustav Svensson returned to the lineup for Seattle after missing the past six matches with a strained hamstring. Svensson’s last appearance came on April 24 at San Jose.
