A heavily rotated lineup held the Sounders defensively but a penalty kick was all the hosts needed to pick up a win.
The struggles for FC Dallas at Lumen Field continue as they fell to the Seattle Sounders 1-0 on a rare Tuesday night game.
FC Dallas used a heavily rotated lineup and nearly got out of Seattle with a point, but a Nicolas Lodeiro penalty kick in the 39th minute was the difference.
FC Dallas keeper Maarten Paes helped concede the penalty in the 36th minute as he was caught off his goal line on a ball from Lodeiro to Jordan Morris. The United States national team striker beat his defender for a ball and forced Paes to make a poor decision on coming out to stop his ability to get a shot on goal. Lodeiro beat Paes on a shot to his right for the game’s only goal.
There were chances for FC Dallas in the second half once Jesus Ferreira and Paul Arriola came off the bench. The best chance was late in the match when Ferreira forced keeper Stefan Frei to make a stop on a header that was on target.
The loss was the 16th straight winless result away from home against the Sounders and it also ended a nice two-game run that saw FC Dallas pick up a pair of 1-0 shutouts against Western Conference foes.
Instant Reaction: Lumen Field on a midweek game is never easy, we knew that going into this one. As disappointing as seeing another loss pile up, I don’t think this is the worst one to get. Obviously it makes Saturday’s game in Portland all the more important to pick up at least some positive momentum from this trip. It is still there and doable in my mind given that the Timbers have a game on Wednesday night of their own to deal with too. Still, there were moments in this one that Dallas could have snuck away a draw or better with Alan Velasco proving to be a tough player to deal with. If he can only figure out how to either place a final ball to a teammate or find a better shot on goal, things will begin to go his way.
Man of the Match: Eh, if you stayed awake for this one, give this nod to yourself.
What’s next for FC Dallas: The club remains on the west coast for a weekend trip to Oregon to battle the Portland Timbers on Saturday evening.