FRISCO, Texas — For a moment, the impossible didn't seem so impossible Sunday.
FC Dallas, chasing three home goals after losing in the first leg of the Western Conference semifinals against the Seattle Sounders, had an early goal and was pushing for more. Worse still for the Sounders, FCD was frustrating the visitors both physically and mentally. Young but usually level-headed midfielder Cristian Roldan had a yellow card and was playing with fire, while central midfielder Osvaldo Alonso's yellow card against Sporting Kansas City still had him in jeopardy as well.
The halftime whistle was a welcome sound to the Sounders' ears, and though there was bad news at the break with forward Jordan Morris coming out of the match injured, the opening of the second 45 minutes calmed the team. Soon enough, the reward would come with a Nicolas Lodeiro goal in the 54th minute — the dagger into the heart of Dallas' comeback hopes.
"I think at the beginning, even though we prepared them for that onslaught, it came at them fast and furious and it took them a little while to kind of get their feet under them," Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer said after the match. "In the second half, I think the leadership of Loderio, Ozzie, we’ve got some guys, Zach Scott, Chad Marshall, I think those guys played well. I think the spine of the team was able to persevere in key moments to get one, two, three passes that would relieve some of the pressure."
Nico. Clutch.
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) November 7, 2016
Make that a three-goal series for Lodeiro. #DALvSEA https://t.co/KfXPX2orMT
FCD scored again shortly after that Lodeiro goal, but the pressure was off the Sounders and the team was able to calm down after FCD's frenetic first half that resulted in nine shots. Dallas coach Oscar Pareja drew up a game plan designed to deny Morris the ball and pin back Sounders fullback Joevin Jones, who was instrumental in the Sounders' lopsided first leg win.
With right back Atiba Harris and right winger Michael Barrios getting help from the FCD central midfielders in overloading that side, Jones and Roldan were stuck in their own half for most of the beginning portion of the match. That spilled over into a heated confrontation in the 27th minute that saw the Roldan and Harris both booked — Roldan for a tackle on Kellyn Acosta and Harris for a shove on Roldan after play had stopped.
"It was a bit difficult. They came in with a game plan. They realized what we did in the last game and that was to have Jordan a little bit higher. They made me run a lot," Roldan said. "They played to our left side as much as possible and that made me shift over a ton. So they had 3 v. 2 almost every time. They came in with a plan and obviously it worked out in the first half and we adjusted in the second half.
"I think our coaching staff did a good job changing the way we went about this game," Roldan continued.
The Sounders goal, which came when Tyrone Mears punished center back Walker Zimmerman's attempt at playing out from the back and crossed to Lodeiro for the equalizer, clearly alleviated some of the tension the Sounders were beginning to feel. But the team also didn't take its foot of the gas, with FCD continuing to search for more goals, even though a 5-1 result was needed at that point.
"I don’t think we played relaxed after that at all. I think we were still fighting to the end," Sounders utility man Brad Evans said.
What did change was the Sounders' mood. They didn't control the game, but kept their heads instead of panicking and lashing out, something that could've caused a sending-off or booking that might've affected the team's chances Sunday — or in the Western Conference final they are now preparing for against the Colorado Rapids.
Now the question that looms over that series is one about fitness rather than suspension, with Morris' hamstring a concern for a team already thin on options up top. But that's something Schmetzer will worry about later.
"We like to live in the moment," the coach said Sunday. "That's kind of our mantra as a team."
And there will be more moments this season, something the Sounders made sure of when they kept their heads on a gray night in Frisco.
