For FC Dallas, Lumen Field has been a house of horrors.
Dallas hasn’t won in its past 15 matches in Seattle (0-12-3), including the playoffs, since its lone win there in May 2011.
The teams will meet again Tuesday night in a Major League Soccer match, with Dallas seemingly in good position to end its Seattle skid.
Dallas (9-6-8, 35 points) has claimed back-to-back 1-0 decisions to move into fourth place in the Western Conference. That includes a victory Saturday against the visiting Los Angeles Galaxy in which Franco Jara scored and goalkeeper Maarten Paes made three saves, one of which was a penalty kick, for his sixth shutout of the season.
“We are at a point of the season where everything is becoming more equal and fair. No one is able to win easily and there tends to be more ties,” Dallas coach Nico Estevez said. “Defensively in these two games keeping the shutout was key while also creating scoring opportunities. We will continue like this going forward, this is the type of mentalities playoff-caliber teams have.
“Nothing will ever be pretty and perfect. We know where we want to be at the end of the season and this is just one step of the route we have to get there.”
The Sounders (9-11-2, 29 points) suffered a 2-1 loss Friday at conference-leading Los Angeles FC.
Seattle, which is ninth in the West and two points out of the final playoff spot, has lost four of its last five matches. The Sounders are in danger of missing the postseason for the first time since joining MLS in 2009.
“Obviously we’re going through a bit of a rough patch right now and now every game we have to treat it like a final,” Sounders forward Jordan Morris said. “We understand games are running out and we need to get above the playoff line. We have the right mentality and we need to show it on the field. We understand the situation, but there’s no panic in the locker room.”
In the only previous meeting between the teams this season, May 7 in Frisco, Texas, Dallas came away with a 2-0 victory behind goals from Jesus Ferreira and Paul Arriola.
–Field Level Media
