Sounder slip below .500 with 2-0 loss at Dallas

FC DALLAS 2, SEATTLE SOUNDERS 0

The bottom line: The Sounders had plenty of chances in a free-flowing game, but couldn’t connect on any. Dallas failed on several chances too, but connected enough.

The goals: 3’ Mauro Diaz nailed a penalty kick after Seattle defender Chad Marshall was called for a foul in the penalty area. 80’ Barrios finishes a counter, assisted by former Sounder Mauro Rosales.

Key moment: About a half minute into the match, Seattle’s Erik Friberg got possession near the center circle and sent a pass to Herculez Gomez alone behind the Dallas defense. Gomez’s first touch came at the top of the penalty box, but by the time he fired the angle had tightened and he sent the shot wide across the goal mouth. Instead of leading in the first minute, the Sounders soon found themselves trailing in the third.

Notes: The Sounders fell again below the .500 mark at 4-5-1. … Seattle designated player Nelson Valdez did not travel after suffering a calf injury late in the week…. Jordan Morris’ four-game goal streak came to an end.

Next match: Colorado Rapids, 7 p.m. Saturday, May 21, CenturyLink Field.

Quotes:

Sounders FC head coach Sigi Schmid

General thoughts on the match…

Obviously, goals change games. When they got on top early, that impacted the game. I thought we had two, maybe even three good chances to equalize. They opened us up. The midfield, the first half, was disorganized. The second half was much better organized.

On the MLS being a tough league on the road…

The fan bases are much better, much louder, much stronger than they were a few years ago. That makes playing away from home a little bit tougher. We have had a couple of road games early this season. I felt we should have come out with more, but tonight is just one of those nights.

Sounders FC defender Brad Evans

On keeping possession…

If possession won us games… I thought we had good possession throughout the game, but that is not the case. We’ve got to find some good mix between possession, stretching teams and creating more and more chances. We get back to work next week. We have a home game, but then we have two more on the road in five days. At some point, we’ve got to turn the table and get on the right side of results away from home.

On Dallas’ playing a defensive second half…

They take out a striker. They take out a right midfielder and put in a defender in a more defensive minded possession play. We had good possession, but did not have as many good chances as in the first half.

Sounders FC forward Herculez Gomez

On Seattle’s offensive game…

If I put that one away in the first few minutes, we will be talking about a different game. It is difficult because, on a personal note, you can change the outcome of the game. On a team note, we were good at times, but we are not in the business of moral victories, so it is difficult. We had some good chances, but they are a team that sat back. [FC Dallas] did very well to put guys behind the ball. They are very good on the counter, and that is how they got their second.

On Dallas’ defense…

Any time as a team you are chasing the game… When you are down from minute three, it is very difficult. Chasing the game is not the easiest thing. It does not matter if you are playing against eleven or twelve. It is a very difficult thing.

Sounders FC goalkeeper Stefan Frei

On Dallas’ speed…

We knew [Mauro] Diaz could distribute the ball. We gave a little too much space and time in the beginning. Obviously, they have some pace up top as well. Luckily, I was able to judge some of those and help out my team. In the second half, we obstructed their distribution a little bit better. They were not allowed to find space behind so much.

On Seattle’s defense…

We adjusted well once we realized that [Dallas’ speed] was one of the issues. Still giving up two goals and coming up empty handed… It hurts.

FC Dallas head coach Oscar Pareja

Thoughts on the match…

I thought it was a game that showed a lot of intelligence from the players tactically on a very difficult day, especially in the fitness part (having played) three days ago. Today they brought energy and were very disciplined tactically. I was pleased to see in the second half how they understood the game and the challenges Seattle had, and they solved the problems. I thought the players solved it, and they deserved the win. Six points in a week; and the effort of the team was rewarded for sure.

Second six-point week of the season how important can that be later in the season?

It’s refreshing for sure. After the stretch that we had on the games away, the boys, this week, did a terrific job to get the points and get a good performance, bouncing back and trying to get better performances. It feels pretty good for sure.

The confidence is growing. The team is getting confidence, and we had bad experiences the last few weeks with results that are not easy to change. We lost some games that put us in a bad position defensively, and today getting the clean sheet is a great reward for the boys. We’re not there yet and you can see the team is getting back in form, but there’s still a long way to go to see the team we want. Tonight I reward them due to the tactical intelligence they had, and the structure they showed.

You mentioned the tactical discipline showed, how much of that played into your substitutions in the second half?

The game plan with the three forwards was trying to rotate them. I wanted Tesho up front with his frame, and it’s a game that sometimes forces you to play long. I wanted Tesho to compete for that ball. At the same time I know Mikey (Barrios) and Fabian (Castillo) came from a tough game on Wednesday. They’ve been running the whole week. Jones and Mears go attacking often, so we tried to rotate it.

How important was getting the first goal after giving up the first goal in the last few home games?

I had tremendous joy when it was 1-0, and I just looked up [at the sky] because it could’ve been the opposite. The first minutes they were in front of (Chris) Seitz, and I thought they had some chances. I said to my assistant ‘we’ll win today.’ We went to the other side and had a couple options, and then the PK came.

FC Dallas midfielder Mauro Rosales

On getting an assist seconds after entering the match…

It’s what the coaches asked me to do. I was focused and tried to help the team keep possession… help them control the match. We had the lead, and it was the closing minutes. The team has worked hard the past two matches so I was in there just to help control the game. Getting an assist was a plus. My focus was to help keep control of the ball and make Seattle chase because we had a tiring match on Wednesday against Portland. My focus was to close out this match.

On his assist…

Michael [Barrios] played me a high pass. It was a little behind me. When he made the pass, I remember him taking off into space. I just put it there in the space and his speed took care of the rest.

On getting six points in four days…

It’s two great results against Western Conference opponents. It gives us confidence moving forward. We are really happy to end the week like this. Now, we have a few days off and then we’ll focus on getting ready for next week.

FC Dallas midfielder Victor Ulloa

On having Wednesday off to be fresh for tonight’s start…

That was the plan, for me to get a rest Wednesday night, and I think it worked out perfectly. I had a lot of energy tonight. I am glad we were able to get a good result.

On the clean sheet…

Important for us. We always want to get shutouts. It’s a point of emphasis for us, and now we have to go and take care of business away against New England.

On getting an early goal…

We wanted to get the intensity up, even in the warm-up. We did, and that worked out perfect as well. We need to work on being able to do that every single game. Getting an early goal helped us out a lot.

On playing away next week…

This week gives us confidence, for sure. Six points in a week here at home. We need to find a way to get a result away. That is our focus this week.

This story was originally published May 14, 2016 at 8:00 PM with the headline "Sounder slip below .500 with 2-0 loss at Dallas."