FC Dallas vs. Seattle Sounders | MLS Cup Playoffs Match Preview

FC DALLAS vs. SEATTLE SOUNDERS
Toyota Stadium, Frisco, Texas
November 8, 2015 (Audi 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs, Conference Semifinals Leg 2)
7:30 pm ET (FS1, Fox Deportes in US; TSN1 in Canada)
Seattle leads series 2-1 on aggregate

The Western Conference regular season champions, FC Dallas head home to Toyota Stadium looking to overturn a one-goal deficit when they face Seattle Sounders FC in the second leg of their Western Conference Semifinal Series. Sounders FC took their second win in the Audi 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs in the first leg, a stunning late free kick from Clint Dempsey giving them a 2-1 victory. But FC Dallas scored a huge away goal to take the lead in the match, carrying that home with them. The teams met in league play at Toyota Stadium in March -- reaching a scoreless draw. Sounders FC have won the other two meetings between the teams this season.

REFEREE: Baldomero Toledo.
AR1 (bench): Greg Barkey; AR2 (opposite): Mike Rottersman; 4th: Edvin Jurisevic

SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS (suspended next yellow card): SEA: Stefan Frei

LEAGUE HEAD-TO-HEAD: DAL 3 wins, 18 goals; SEA 9 wins, 29 goals; Ties 5

2015 HEAD-TO-HEAD: DAL 0 wins, 0 GF; SEA 1 win, 3 GF; Ties 1
AT TOYOTA STADIUM:
3/28: DAL 0, SEA 0

MLS CUP PLAYOFFS: DAL 0 wins, 2 GF; SEA 1 win, 3 GF; Ties 2

FC DALLAS

• FC Dallas saw their MLS Cup Playoffs run extended to three matches -- all against Seattle Sounders FC, after reaching a pair of draws in last year's Western Conference Semifinals.
• FC Dallas also saw their three-game winning streak come to an end, after finishing the league campaign with consecutive victories (and a five-game undefeated run).
• "I don't think we made the right decisions in the last third," FC Dallas head coach Oscar Pareja said. "I thought we could hurt them more. When we get in those spaces, weíre dangerous. We were most consistent in the first half. In the second half, we still had some chances." Said midfielder Victor Ulloa: "We knew they were going to bring the intensity, and it was important for us to match it. I think on the first goal I should have cleared the ball better."
• Fabian Castillo scored his first career MLS Cup Playoffs goal for the FCD opener, in his first career postseason appearance.
• "We knew coming on the road we really wanted that away goal. It was good we were able to get that early," defender Zach Loyd said. "It's unfortunate that we weren't able to get out of [Seattle] with a better result, but still coming away with an away goal is a positive."
• Mauro Diaz collected his second career MLS Cup Playoffs assist on the Castillo goal, continuing his rich recent form. Diaz concluded the regular season with two goals and two assists over the final three games; he has been involved in eight of FCD's last 12 goals over all competitions, with three goals and five assists.
• It was also the first defeat for FCD away from Toyota Stadium since back-to-back losses Sept. 18 and 27 vs. KC and LA. In their only league meeting of the season this year in Frisco, FCD and Sounders FC reached a goalless draw.
• "We don't think we're the underdog. We were first place in the Western Conference, we're not the underdog," said defender Matt Hedges. "We're coming home and we're going to play our game and do what we do. We were first place for a reason this year." Said Pareja: "Now we wait for them in Frisco. We will be at home where we have been successful during the year and the series is very open for us."

SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC

• Sounders FC won their third consecutive MLS Cup Playoffs game at CenturyLink Field, their second in four nights after the Knockout Round win vs. LA Galaxy. Sounders FC are now unbeaten in their past 11 games over all competitions, having won three games in a row.
• Clint Dempsey scored his second goal in as many playoff matches, now with a goal in each of his last three games in the MLS Cup Playoffs. The MLS record is six consecutive postseason games with a goal (Carlos Ruiz, 2002-03).
• Sounders FC went through the entire regular season without a single goal scored directly from a free kick, one of four teams to do that (also: Columbus, Red Bulls, San Jose). It was the first direct free kick goal for Seattle since last May 31 (Marco Pappa vs. RSL).
• "They talk about it," Schmid said. "They're good pros and Clint said, 'Hey, I got this one. I feel it.' And that's when you're really good at it. ... There's days where you feel it and days where you don't and obviously Clint felt it."
• Making his second consecutive postseason start -- his seventh in a row in all competitions -- Andreas Ivanschitz scored his first career MLS playoff goal. "His work rate has been tremendous in the playoffs," Schmid said. "He also slid to the right side of midfield. But his ability to get up and down, to help us out defensively, to mark people on corners -- he's been a really good team guy in that regard."
• Sounders FC have won just one away playoff game in their history, in eight tries (2002, WCSF vs. Real Salt Lake). "We've always been a good road team because we go to win on the road," Schmid said. "We're going to go to win there. I think if you go to win, sometimes you come out with a tie. If you go for a tie, sometimes you come out with a loss. We're going to go to win, and if a tie is the end result, we'll be happy with that."
• Oniel Fisher and Zach Scott came into the back four, as Leo Gonzalez (adductor strain) and Brad Evans (hamstring strain) were unable to feature. "We're of the mindset that we can score on anybody," Scott said. "We fully expect to go down to Dallas and play Sounders soccer. We attack and we try to win no matter where we go. We're not going to sit back and sit on a 2-1 lead. We're going to go to win."