The Seattle Sounders suffered a 2-0 defeat away at FC Dallas on Saturday night.
Coming off a thrilling CCL Final Leg 2 at Lumen Field on Wednesday, Head Coach Brian Schmetzer utilized a heavily rotated lineup in a 5-4-1 formation. Dallas nearly opened the scoring inside the first five minutes from a corner kick, but Matt Hedges’ header crashed back off the post. Hedges struck the woodwork again seven minutes later, but it was Seattle who nearly scored from that sequence as Leó Chú launched a counter attack.
Arguably the best chance of the half fell to Chú in the 24th minute, as the Brazilian winger pounced on a mistake by a Dallas defender and bore down on goal, but his ensuing shot missed the target.
Dallas continued to pile on the pressure after the halftime break, forcing Stefan Cleveland into a pair of smart stops. The waves of attack finally paid off in the 65th minute, as Jesús Ferreira picked out the bottom corner off a cutback pass.
Seattle managed to carve out a few half chances during the remainder of the match but were unable to find an equalizer.
The hosts then doubled their lead in the 88th minute when Paul Arriola smashed in a volley at the far post.
THREE TAKEAWAYS
Ragen Steps Up
While the result on Saturday was certainly disappointing, Jackson Ragen put in another solid shift at center back. The 23-year-old defender got plenty of experience under his belt while deputizing for Yeimar earlier in this season, and he once again put in a quality performance on Saturday. On more than one occasion in the second half, the Sounders Academy alum produced a last-ditch tackle to deny Dallas a clear look at goal.
Open Cup Returns
The Sounders will look to bounce back quickly as they host the San Jose Earthquakes at Starfire Stadium on Wednesday. This marks the Rave Green’s first USOC match since a loss to the Portland Timbers in 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Key Players Rested
Coming off a physically and emotionally draining run in the Concacaf Champions League, the Sounders made ten changes to the team that faced Pumas on Wednesday. Key starters like Stefan Frei, Jordan Morris, Raúl Ruidíaz and Nicolás Lodeiro stayed in Seattle to get some extra recovery time.
