Sounders advance to West finals as FC Dallas's treble hopes disappear
There will be no domestic treble winner in U.S. soccer this year. The Seattle Sounders advanced to the MLS Western Conference finals on Sunday after completing a 4–2 aggregate victory over FC Dallas, eliminating the winner of the U.S. Open Cup and MLS Supporters' Shield from contention for the MLS Cup title.
The score on Sunday was 2–1 Dallas, but Seattle’s 3–0 advantage from the first leg made the difference.
Seattle will meet Colorado in the Western Conference finals, with Toronto and Montreal facing each other in the East.
Here are my three thoughts on the game:
Seattle got the away goal. Game over
The Sounders knew that if they got one away goal, Dallas would need to score five times on Sunday. The Seattle away goal came from Nicolás Lodeiro, who continues to be terrific, and Dallas’s five goals did not materialize. Give FCD some credit for scoring twice and refusing to capitulate in the way that NYCFC did against Toronto, but Seattle won this series during its 10-minute rampage for three goals in the first leg. The Sounders came into this game simply trying to hold serve and were able to achieve that to advance.
Seattle’s injury issues are a concern
The Sounders had two forwards go off early with injures: Jordan Morris played 45 minutes before leaving with a leg muscle injury, while Nelson Haedo Valdéz came off with a non-contact injury early in the second half. While there will be a two-week break until the next playoff round for the international window, it’s still worrying for Seattle to see two forwards dinged up—and for U.S. fans to see Morris hobbling the day before he’s supposed to join the national team.
Dallas missed Mauro Díaz and Fabián Castillo
It’s one thing for a star player to leave a team in midseason due to transfer—and at least Dallas will be getting something out of Castillo’s departure to Turkey. But the Achilles injury to Díaz, which removed perhaps the league’s top playmaker, gave Dallas a handicap that it couldn’t recover from. This was a team that fully earned its two trophies this season, and we’ll always wonder what this Dallas team could have done in the MLS Cup playoffs if Díaz had been involved.
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