SEATTLE – For Seattle Sounders head coach Sigi Schmid, Saturday night’s 3-0 romp over FC Dallas at CenturyLink Field was less of an across-the-board rout and more of a tale of two distinctly different halves of soccer.
The first half was a scoreless deadlock that saw the Sounders narrowly escape two prime goal-scoring opportunities that Dallas didn’t quite convert, including a huge diving save from goalkeeper Stefan Frei in the 31st minute to barely deny FCD midfielder Kyle Bekker of the go-ahead score.
But the second was an old-fashioned demolition, as the Sounders exploded for three goals from Lamar Neagle, Obafemi Martins and the unlikeliest of offensive threats, veteran fullback Leo Gonzalez, who slotted home a 90th-minute dagger off a cross from Neagle to seal the deal for Seattle. The Sounders are now once again sitting pretty atop the Western Conference and Supporters’ Shield standings with 29 points and a 9-4-2 record.
“I thought in the first half they were the better side,” Schmid told reporters after the game. “We gave them way too much space in the midfield to play, and as a result they caused a lot of problems, a lot of danger for us. …We were just way too loose.
“In the second half, we were much better. We got tighter to people, we created more turnovers as a result. We moved the ball quicker, which was another thing we talked about at halftime, and we ended up with three goals.”
The highlight moment of the night for the Sounders was certainly the goal from Gonzalez, one of the most popular players in Seattle’s locker room who hadn’t scored a goal since a 2010 golazo against the New England Revolution – the only goal of his MLS career until Saturday.
“Just a class veteran finish right there,” Sounders midfielder Brad Evans said. “He only scores good goals.”
Gonzalez, who has ceded the starting left back role to Dylan Remick for much of the season, basked in the glow of the moment following the game in a rare postgame media session for the 34-year-old Sounders mainstay.
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“During the game, I’m just thinking positive and maybe at any moment I can come into the game,” Gonzalez said. “Fortunately we found two goals, and I had the opportunity to come in. …I’m so happy because it was my first goal [of the season]."
Neagle’s goal was also a welcome sight for the Sounders after he had one controversially taken off the board last weekend in a loss against Sporting Kansas City on a disputed offside call.
“He was like the team,” Schmid said of Neagle’s overall performance. “First half wasn’t very good, second half was much better. He scored a good goal. I thought his passing was better tonight, especially as we moved into the second half. And even when we shoved him out wide, he was still able to have an impact on our offensive play by setting up that third goal.”
