SEATTLE — Much of the Seattle Sounders faithful held their collective breath when Roman Torres was listed Saturday as a game-time decision for Sunday’s first leg of the Western Conference Semifinals against FC Dallas.
And for good reason.
The Panamanian center back finally returned to game action in late August after missing nearly a full year recovering from a torn ACL he suffered in September 2015. Since his return, the Sounders’ defense has been superb, allowing only seven goals in nine games and recording four shutouts during a pivotal stretch in their playoff hunt.
Torres was ultimately a late scratch from the Starting XI on Sunday due to a tight hamstring, but it didn’t matter. Seattle’s defense looked as good as it has in 2016.
Captain Brad Evans had played center back with Chad Marshall all year until Torres was healthy, but Evans was also not 100 percent entering the match and began on the bench. So interim head coach Brian Schmetzer tasked veteran Zach Scott - who is set to retire at the end of the 2016 season - to replace Torres against the Supporters’ Shield winners, and he helped lead Seattle to yet another shutout in a convincing 3-0 win.
“Zach came on and did his job,” said Schmetzer. “If I asked Tony [Alfaro] to step on the field, he would come on and do his job…It’s team first.”
That attitude limited Dallas to just three shots on target, none of which asked much of goalkeeper Stefan Frei. The back line was tremendous and in sync, but much of the effort done to thwart FCD attacks was done in the midfield.
“We’ve always been pretty stingy and take pride in the way we defend, but as a team and not just as a back five,” said Frei. “We’re really limiting their key players betters. It happens higher up the pitch…and that leads to [fewer] dangerous chances.”
Frei mentioned how slim the margin of error is in the playoffs, and there was no better example of that than an eight-minute span in the second half that gave Seattle its commanding lead. But as important as it was to get on the board offensively, making sure Dallas didn’t steal a late away goal was just as, if not more, vital.
“[Keeping a clean sheet was] key,” said Schmetzer. “Had they scored a goal, it might have given them a little life.”
Dallas now needs to win 3-0 in Frisco, Texas, in the second leg to force extra time in the aggregate series. If Seattle scores, FCD would need to score five times because of the away goals tiebreaker, a tall task in any match let alone against a defense that has four shutouts in its last seven games.
Whether Torres is back next Sunday, or Scott or another defender steps in to fill that role, the coaching staff is confident whomever is given the opportunity will get the job done.
“This team, the guys in that locker room work hard every day,” Schmetzer. “They understand the roles in our formation. It’s next man forward.”
