MATCH: Seattle Sounders FC (12-6-7, 43 points, 2nd, West Conf.) at FC Dallas (8-12-8, 32 points, 6th, West Conf.). TYPE: MLS. WHEN: Sunday, 4 p.m., FC Dallas Stadium, Frisco, TX. MEETING: 8th (Sounders lead 3-1-3). LAST 10: Sounders 5-2-3; FC Dallas 5-3-2. TV: KONG. RADIO: 97.3 KIRO FM; SPANISH: KOMO2 (Comcast Ch. 114) and La Gran D 99.3 FM.
Since undergoing a nine-match winless run, Sigi Schmids Sounders have won seven times in their past nine league outings. They are third in the Western Conference with Real Salt Lake, which beat D.C. United 1-0 Saturday, and seven off conference and league leader San Jose.
After a short break from MLS play to contest Caledonia in Champions League competition (won 3-1 Thursday), the Sounders, en route home from the match in Trinidad, will take on FC Dallas Sunday.
The clubs met May 9 in Frisco, a 2-0 Seattle victory from a pair of goals by Fredy Montero.
The Sounders are coming off one of their biggest offensive outbursts in club history, a 6-2 shellacking of Chivas USA in which Montero, in his 100th career appearance for Seattle, recorded his first hat trick.
In addition, the Colombian striker also assisted on one other goal. Montero and former FC Dallas striker Eddie Johnson have paired up well for the last few games in league play. Montero and Johnson have combined for 22 goals and seven assists.
Montero leads all players in the Seattle-Dallas series with 10 points on four goals and two assists. No Dallas player has more than one goal or one assist against Seattle.
Although FC Dallas is sixth with 32 points (8-12-8), the club has gone 3-1-1 in August. FC Dallas ranks 14th in MLS with 1.18 goals per game, and 10th with 1.32 goals allowed.
After going winless in their first eight games (0-4-4) against the West, FC Dallas has gone 5-3-2 against conference foes since the beginning of July.
FC Dallas has more success in the second half of games, scoring 20 of 33 goals after intermission, including eight in the final 15 minutes. However, FC Dallas also has had trouble stopping teams in the second half, allowing 28 of 37 goals, including 22 in the final half hour.
Sixteen Dallas players have scored, but none more than five (forwards Blas Perez and Fabian Castillo). Goalkeeper Kevin Harmon has five shutouts and ranks seventh in MLS with 74 saves.
SOUNDERS PROBABLE LINEUP: Goalkeeper — Michael Gspurning. Defenders — Leo Gonzalez, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Jeff Parke, Adam Johansson. Midfielders — Brad Evans, Osvaldo Alonso, Christian Tiffert, Mauro Rosales. Forwards — Fredy Montero, Eddie Johnson.
DALLAS FC PROBABLE LINEUP: Goalkeeper — Kevin Hartman. Defenders — Zach Lloyd, George John, Matt Hedges, Jair Benetiz. Midfielders — Fabian Castillo, de Guzman, Andrew Jacobsen, Brek Shea, David Ferreira. Forward — Jackson Goncalves.
INJURIES (Sounders): Out — FW Babayele Sodale (ACL tear), F David Estrada (foot fracture; cleared to practice), MF Andy Rose (rib fracture), Andrew Weber (abductor strain).
DISCIPLINARY SITUATION (Sounders): Eddie Johnson will be suspended after his next yellow card.
LAST MATCH (Sounders, Aug. 30): Alex Caskey (45th minute), Sammy Ochoa (60th) and Fredy Montero (69th) recorded goals — and assists — as the Sounders defeated Caledonia AIA 3-1 in Couva, Trinidad, in CONCACAF Champions League play. The Sounders, who also defeated Caledonia 3-1 at CenturyLink Field Aug. 2, won the Group Four head-to-to head on aggregate goals 6-2.
LAST VS. DALLAS (May 9): Playing their fourth game in 12 days, the Sounders blanked FC Dallas 2-0 on a pair of goals by Fredy Montero, who scored in the 68th minute with an assist from Cordell Cato and in the 71st with an assist from Alex Caskey. FC Dallas outshot Seattle 15-11 and goalie Bryan Meredith made five saves.
SERIES: Dates to May 16, 2009, when the Sounders and FC Dallas drew at 1, Seattle receiving its goal from Jhon Kennedy Hurtado. The Sounders have won the past three matches between the clubs across all competitions. In the last seven MLS meetings, Seattle has recorded nine goals, FC Dallas six.
SOUNDERS STATS / NOTES
- SEASON SUMMARY: Overall: 12-6-7. Last 5: W-W-L-W-W. Home: 8-3-1. Road: 4-3-6. Vs. East: 4-1-4. Vs. West: 8-5-3. March: 2-1-0; April: 2-0-1; May: 3-2-2; June: 0-2-2; July: 2-0-2; August: 3-1-0. Goals For: 40. Goals Against: 26. Differential: +14.
- MLS TEAM RANKS: Goals: 40 (6th). Goals Scored Avg.: 1.60 (5th). Goals Allowed Per Match: 1.04 (2nd). Shots: 320 (12th). Shots On Goal: 107 (14th). Fouls Committed: 323 (11th). Fouls Suffered: 328 (5th). Yellow Card Cautions: 39 (13th).
- Sounders are 5-3-5 against teams in playoff position and have four games remaining against such clubs in the West (San Jose, Vancouver, Real Salt Lake and LA Galaxy). They also play sixth-place FC Dallas and seventh-place Chivas USA.
- Seattle (1.60) ranks fifth in points per game behind San Jose (1.88), Kansas City (1.84), New York (1.76) and Chicago (1.71). Sounders have a +14 goal differential.
- Sounders defense ranks No. 2 in MLS with a 1.04 goals-against average.
- Sounders 6-0-1 when leading at the half, 0-4-1 when trailing at the half.
- Sounders 12-0-1 when scoring first, 0-6-4 when conceding first.
- Sounders are the only MLS team to have two players score hat tricks: David Estrada March 17, Montero Aug. 25.
- Johnson (11) and Montero (11) have combined for 22 goals, already the highest output by a forward pairing (21 goals from Montero and Nate Jaqua in 2009) in franchise history.
- Both Johnson and Montero are one goal away from tying Montero’s single-season high of 12 (2009).
- Mauro Rosales leads MLS with 13 assists, matching the club record he set in 2011. He has recorded seven assists in his past five MLS outings.
- Goalkeeper Michael Gspurning is 9-2-1 in his MLS career and sports a league-best winning percentage of .773. Gspurning leads MLS with a 0.70 goals against average, and the Sounders are 5-1-1 since his 13-game injury absence.
- Sounders have had two of the league’s longest road undefeated streaks this season: five games from April 7-May 26 and four games from June 30-July 28. Seattle ranks third in road goal scoring with an average of 1.33 per game.
- Two Sounders have been called in for World Cup qualifying matches. Sweden’s national team summoned defender Adam Johansson and Honduras called in midfielder Mario Martinez. Johansson, 29, will join Sweden for one qualifier against Kazakhstan Sept. 11 in Malmo, Sweden. Johansson currently has 11 caps for Sweden.
- 177,702 fans have entered the gates at CenturyLink Field for the past four matches, including MLS meetings with LA Galaxy and Vancouver as well as the friendly against Chelsea FC and the Champions League match against Caledonia AIA.
- Seattle’s sellout streak has reached 62 consecutive MLS matches. Seattle’s average attendance for an MLS match is 42,666, nearly 19,000 more than No. 2 Montreal and nearly 4,000 more than Seattle’s record-setting 2011 average.
- The entire stadium will be opened one more time for the final Cascadia Cup match against the Portland Timbers Oct. 7.
SOUNDERS (MLS) LEADERS
| Category | Skinny |
|---|---|
| Starts | Alonso 21, Parke 21, Evans 20 |
| Goals | Johnson 11, Montero 8, Estrada 5 |
| Assists | Rosales 13, Montero 4, Caskey 4 |
| Shots | Montero 90, Johnson 57, Alonso 24 |
| Shots On Goal | Montero 34, Johnson 19, Estrada 10, Evans 10 |
| Fouls Caused | Montero 45, Johnson 30, Alonso 28 |
| Fouls Suffered | Montero 51, Johnson 39, Rosales 35 |
| Offsides | Johnson 29, Montero 14, Estrada 6 |
| Corner Kicks | Rosales 61, Fernandez 16, Caskey 12 |
| Cautions | Alonso 6, Johnson 5, Montero 4, Scott 4 |
| Ejections | Hurtado 1, Fernandez 1, Montero 1 |
COACHES: Sigi Schmid became first head coach of Seattle Sounders FC Dec. 16, 2008, and is in his fourth year. Born in Tübingen, Germany, Schmid relocated with his family to the U.S. in 1956, and to Torrance, CA., in 1962. He was a four-year starter at UCLA (1972-75) and graduated with a B.S. degree in economics in 1976.
Schmid later earned a M.A. in business administration from Southern California. A certified public accountant, Schmid coached the Los Angeles Galaxy from 1999 through 2004, winning four major competitions: 2002 MLS Cup, 2002 MLS Supporters Shield, 2001 U.S. Open Cup and the 2001 CONCACAF Champions Cup. He coached the Columbus Crew from 2006-08, winning the MLS Cup in his final season.
In 2009, under Schmid’s direction, the Sounders became the first expansion team to reach the MLS playoffs since the 1998 Chicago Fire. The Sounders also won the U.S. Open Cup in Schmid’s first season. They added their second and third U.S. Open Cup titles in 2010 and 2011.
Schelles Hyndman: Hyndman is in his fifth season as head coach of FC Dallas. Schelles is one of the most successful college soccer coaches in American sports history, compiling a 466-122-49 record as the head coach at Southern Methodist University. He also coached at Murray State (1974-75) and Eastern Illinois (1977-83). He was the 1981 NSCAA Coach of the Year.
COMING UP: Sounders return to CenturyLink field for a Sept. 8 rematch with Chivas USA, a team Seattle clobbered 6-2 Aug. 25.
Seattle Sounders FC 2012 Schedule / Results
(12-6-7, 43 points, MLS; 2-0 CCL; 4-1 U.S. Open Cup)
| Date | Opponent | Time | TV | W/L | Score | Rec. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3/7 | *Santos | 7:00 | Fox Soccer | W | 2-1 | 1-0 |
| 3/14 | *Santos | 5:00 | Fox Soccer | L | 6-1 | 1-1 |
| 3/17 | ^Toronto FC | 7:00 | KONG | W | 3-1 | 1-0 |
| 3/23 | ^Houston | 7:00 | NBCSN | W | 2-0 | 2-0 |
| 3/31 | ^San Jose | 7:00 | KONG | L | 1-0 | 2-1 |
| 4/7 | ^at DC United | 4:30 | KING | D | 0-0 | 2-1-1 |
| 4/14 | ^Colorado | 1:00 | KING | W | 1-0 | 3-1-1 |
| 4/28 | ^at Chicago | 5:30 | KING | W | 2-1 | 4-1-1 |
| 5/2 | ^LA Galaxy | 7:00 | KING | W | 2-0 | 5-1-1 |
| 5/5 | ^Philadelphia | 1:30 | NBCSN | W | 1-0 | 6-1-1 |
| 5/9 | ^at FC Dallas | 5:30 | KONG | W | 2-0 | 7-1-1 |
| 5/12 | ^Real SL | 7:00 | KONG | L | 1-0 | 7-2-1 |
| 5/19 | ^at Vancouver | 1:00 | KING | D | 2-2 | 7-2-2 |
| 5/23 | ^Columbus | 7:00 | KONG | L | 2-0 | 7-2-3 |
| 5/26 | ^at Chivas | 7:30 | KONG | D | 1-1 | 7-3-3 |
| 5/30 | &Atlanta | 7:30 | Webcast | W | 5-1 | 1-0-0 |
| 6/5 | &Cal FC | 7:30 | Webcast | W | 5-0 | 2-0-0 |
| 6/16 | ^at Montreal | 4:30 | KING | L | 4-1 | 7-4-3 |
| 6/20 | ^Sport KC | 7:00 | KING | D | 1-1 | 7-4-4 |
| 6/24 | ^at Portland | 2:00 | ESPN | L | 2-1 | 7-5-4 |
| 6/26 | &at San Jose | 7:30 | Webcast | W | 1-0 | 3-0-0 |
| 6/30 | ^at New England | 4:30 | KONG | D | 2-2 | 7-5-5 |
| 7/4 | ^at RSL | 7:00 | KONG | D | 0-0 | 7-5-6 |
| 7/7 | ^Colorado | 8:00 | NBCSN | W | 2-1 | 8-5-6 |
| 7/11 | &vs. Chivas | 8:00 | Web | W | 4-1 | 4-0-0 |
| 7/15 | ^at New York | 1:00 | ESPN | D | 2-2 | 8-5-7 |
| 7/18 | #Chelsea FC | 6:30 | ESPN2 | L | 4-2 | 0-1-0 |
| 7/28 | ^at Colorado | 6:00 | KING | W | 2-1 | 9-5-7 |
| 8/2 | *vs. Caledonia | 7:00 | FOX | W | 3-1 | 3-1 |
| 8/5 | ^vs. LA Galaxy | 6:00 | ESPN2 | W | 4-0 | 10-5-7 |
| 8/8 | &at Sport KC | 6:00 | GolTV | L | 2-1 | 4-1 |
| 8/11 | ^at San Jose | 7:30 | KONG | L | 2-1 | 10-6-7 |
| 8/18 | ^vs. Vancouver | 1:00 | KING | W | 2-0 | 11-6-7 |
| 8/25 | ^at Chivas | 7:30 | KING | W | 6-2 | 12-6-7 |
| 8/30 | *at Caledonia | 5:00 | FOX | W | 3-1 | 2-0-0 |
| 9/2 | ^at FC Dallas | 4:00 | KING | — | — | — |
| 9/8 | ^Chivas | TBD | KING | — | — | — |
| 9/15 | ^at Portland | 12:30 | NBC | — | — | — |
| 9/19 | *at Marathon | 7:00 | None | — | — | — |
| 9/22 | ^San Jose | 7:30 | KONG | — | — | — |
| 9/29 | ^at Vancouver | 6:00 | NBCSN | — | — | — |
| 10/7 | ^vs. Portland | 6:00 | ESPN | — | — | — |
| 10/21 | ^vs. FC Dallas | 6:00 | ESPN | — | — | — |
| 10/24 | *vs. Marathon | 7:00 | None | — | — | — |
| 10/28 | ^at LA Galaxy | 6:00 | ESPN | — | — | — |
*=CONCACAF; ^=Major League Soccer; #=International friendly; &=U.S. Open Cup
