Nicolas Lodeiro scored on a penalty kick late in the first half as the Seattle Sounders continued their home mastery against FC Dallas with a 1-0 victory on Tuesday.
Goalkeeper Stefan Frei made three saves to earn the shutout as the Sounders extended their unbeaten streak against Dallas at Lumen Field to 16 matches (13-0-3). Dallas’ only win in Seattle came in May 2011.
The Sounders (10-11-2, 32 points) moved above the playoff line in Major League Soccer’s Western Conference, surging from ninth to sixth place. Seattle has never missed the playoffs since joining MLS in 2009.
FC Dallas (9-7-8, 35 points) had a two-match winning streak snapped.
The goal came in the 39th minute.
Seattle controlled the ball near midfield before Cristian Roldan sent a long lead pass to fellow U.S. international Jordan Morris just inside the top of the 18-yard box. Dallas goalie Maarten Paes was a bit late coming off his line and crashed into Morris just after he had jumped in the air to chest the ball to his feet.
Lodeiro improved to 4-for-4 this season and 18-for-18 in his MLS career on penalty kicks by putting his shot into the lower left corner of the net as Paes went the other way.
Lodeiro nearly doubled the advantage in the 44th minute on a free kick from 23 yards out near the top right of the penalty area, but Paes made a leaping save at the near post.
Paes also finished with three saves.
Dallas’s best chance came on a 25-yard shot by Brandon Servania in the 29th minute. The attempt skipped off the turf and Frei had to dive to deflect the ball just wide of the left post.
Jesus Ferreira had a header from the middle of the box in the 86th minute that Frei was able to handle easily.
Seattle forward Raul Ruidiaz, who had missed eight of the previous nine matches due to hamstring injuries, came on as a substitute in the 65th minute.
–Field Level Media
