Kevin Hartman has been outstanding during FC Dallas' six-game undefeated stretch, but the next matchup might leave him and his teammates little room for error.
Hartman takes a 399-minute shutout streak into Wednesday night's road game against the Seattle Sounders, who have allowed one goal in their last 352 minutes at home.
FC Dallas (5-3-3) has gone 4-0-2 in its last six games, including a scoreless draw against Real Salt Lake on Sunday. Hartman had two saves as the club posted its fourth consecutive shutout.
Dallas enters with the second-longest shutout streak in MLS this year, trailing a 414-minute run by Columbus earlier this season. Dallas' club record is 415 minutes, set last year.
"I think it's been great," coach Schellas Hyndman told the team's official website. "I mentioned that to the players afterwards. I think the team is playing good defense."
After playing the last three games at home, Hyndman's team will play its next two on the road. Dallas is 1-2-1 away from home, giving up six goals.
Hartman may need to step up again since his club's offense is struggling, held to three goals over the past four games.
Dallas has struggled to find a new scoring option since losing reigning league MVP David Ferreira to a broken right ankle. He had three goals in six games before going down.
Brek Shea shares the team lead with three goals but has one in the past four games. Fabian Castillo has two goals and two assists but has none of either in four road games.
Seattle (4-3-5) is also dealing with some offensive struggles due to injuries, but like Dallas, it's been able to rely on solid defense and goaltending - particularly at home.
The Sounders have not allowed more than one goal in any of their six home games, going 3-1-2, and Kasey Keller has posted shutouts in two of the past three. He made three saves for his third shutout overall Saturday in a 1-0 victory over Sporting Kansas City.
"It was crucial. We would have been very disappointed with a 0-0 tie," said Tyson Wahl, who assisted on Jeff Parke's goal in second-half stoppage time. "We needed three points. We were fortunate to have that finish by Jeff to get the three points."
Seattle scored one goal for the fourth consecutive game as it played without Brad Evans (groin), who has four goals and one assist in eight contests, as well as Erik Friberg (ankle), who has two assists in 10 games. Both practiced Monday, although their status for Wednesday is unclear.
However, the Sounders are hopeful Mauro Rosales will play. An injured hamstring has kept him out of two games this month, although he played 69 minutes against Kansas City. He has three assists in eight games.
Dallas and Seattle played to two draws last season.
