MATCH RECAP: Sounders FC Jumps Back Above the Playoff Line with 1-0 Home Win Over FC Dallas

SEATTLE, WASH. – A first-half penalty kick from club captain Nicolás Lodeiro propelled Seattle Sounders FC (10-11-2, 32 points) to a 1-0 victory over FC Dallas (9-7-8, 35 points) in front of 32,207 at Lumen Field on Tuesday night. The victory is Seattle’s second win in as many home matches following the club’s 2-1 win over Colorado on July 23, and crucially gives the Rave Green three points to move back above the playoff line. With 23 matches played in the MLS regular season, Seattle has 32 points and is in sixth place, with the top seven teams in each conference qualifying for the MLS Cup Playoffs.  

Seattle got on the board in the 39th minute via Lodeiro’s spot-kick. Jordan Morris drew the foul on Dallas goalkeeper Maarten Paes, chasing a long ball into the box that saw Paes collide with Morris, earning the Rave Green the penalty. Lodeiro converted the ensuing spot-kick for his fifth goal of the season, reaching a perfect 18 for 18 in regular-season penalties since joining Seattle in the summer of 2016.

Seattle now prepares for a cross-country trip to Georgia, where the Rave Green play at Atlanta United on Saturday, August 6. Kickoff is set for noon PT, with ABC carrying the match to a national television audience, and KJR 93.3 FM and El Rey 1360 AM carrying the match on regional radio. 

MATCH NOTES

• Tonight’s result moves Seattle back above the playoff line and into sixth place, level on points with seventh-place Nashville and one point ahead of eighth-placed Portland.  

• Including the club’s 2-1 win over Colorado on July 23, Sounders FC has now won back-to-back home matches, moving the club’s 2022 MLS record at Lumen Field to 7-4-1. 

• With his penalty-kick goal in the 39th minute of play, club captain Nico Lodeiro recorded his fifth strike of 2022 and his 38th regular-season goal since joining Sounders FC in mid-2016. 

• Lodeiro is now a perfect 18 for 18 from penalty spot in MLS regular-season play. 

• Seven of Lodeiro’s 10 goals across all competitions in 2022 have come via penalty. 

• Entering the match in the 65th minute, forward Raúl Ruidíaz made his first appearance for the Rave Green since starting on July 9 vs. Portland. Including today, the Peruvian has made just two appearances since June 14 due to hamstring injuries.

• Sounders FC is unbeaten in 16-straight home matches against FC Dallas (13 wins and three draws, including MLS Cup Playoffs) with the only Dallas win in Seattle coming in May of 2011. There have been only four longer home unbeaten runs against a single team in MLS history (including postseason play). 

• Sounders FC is 14-1-4 at home against FC Dallas between MLS regular-season play and the MLS Cup Playoffs. 

• Tuesday’s game was the 39th all-time MLS meeting between these two sides, including the MLS Cup Playoffs, the second-most matchups against any one opponent for Seattle in the MLS era. Only the club’s 41 meetings against the LA Galaxy edge the club’s frequency of games against Dallas. 

• Tuesday’s win was Seattle’s first cleansheet since July 2 at Toronto FC. Sounders FC now has five shutouts on the season. 

• Head Coach Brian Schmetzer made two changes to last Friday’s starting XI at LAFC, with Léo Chú and Fredy Montero replacing Jimmy Medranda and Will Bruin.

MATCH SUMMARY

Seattle Sounders FC 1 – FC Dallas 0

Tuesday, August 2, 2022 

Venue: Lumen Field 

Referee: Allen Chapman 

Assistants: Adam Garner, Mike Rottersman 

Fourth Official: Ramy Touchan

VAR: Jon Freemon 

Attendance: 32,207 

Weather: 75 degrees and sunny 

SCORING SUMMARY

SEA – Nico Lodeiro (penalty)39’

MISCONDUCT SUMMARY

SEA – Yeimar Gómez Andrade (caution) 24’ 

DAL – Maarten Paes (caution) 39’

LINEUPS & STATS

Seattle Sounders FC – Stefan Frei; Alex Roldan, Yeimar Gómez Andrade, Xavier Arreaga, Nouhou; Cristian Roldan, Albert Rusnák, Léo Chú (Kelyn Rowe 65’), Nico Lodeiro, Jordan Morris (Jackson Ragen 89’); Fredy Montero (Raúl Ruidíaz 65’) 

Substitutes not used: Stefan Cleveland, Jimmy Medranda, Danny Leyva, Josh Atencio, Ethan Dobbelaere, Will Bruin 

Total shots: 11 

Shots on goal: 4 

Fouls: 8 

Offside: 1 

Corner-kicks: 3 

Saves: 3 

FC Dallas – Maarten Paes; José Antonio Martínez, Nkosi Tafari, Joshué Quiñónez (Jesús Ferreira 46’), Marco Farfan, Nanu; Brandon Servania (Paxton Pomykal 77’), Edwin Cerrillo (Tsiki Ntsabeleng 87’); Alan Velasco (Benjamin Redžić 87’), Franco Jara, Jáder Obrian (Paul Arriola 61’) 

Substitutes not used: Edwin Munjoma, Jimmy Maurer, Emmanuel Twumasi, Matt Hedges

Total shots: 15 

Shots on goal: 3 

Fouls: 14 

Offside: 0 

Corner-kicks: 7 

Saves: 3