The Seattle Sounders crushed FC Dallas Wednesday night, from the opening whistle onward, and the catharsis is palpable. The Sounders had seven shots on goal, five of which went into the net. Dallas managed zero shots on goal.
Going forward, the trick for the team is to take the confidence to the next weeks and give themselves a shot at the playoffs. For now, they are enjoying their victory.
The Rave Green are 6-10-2, with a goal difference improving to -2. They stand at ninth in the Western Conference with 20 points (1.11 PPG).
MATCH SUMMARY
Seattle Sounders FC 5 - FC Dallas 0
Wednesday, July 13, 2016
Venue: Xbox Pitch at CenturyLink Field
Referee: Ricardo Salazar
Assistants: Peter Balciunas, Corey Rockwell
Fourth Official: David Gantar
Attendance: 40,101
Weather: Partly cloudy and 72 degrees
SCORING SUMMARY
SEA - Clint Dempsey (penalty) 6'
SEA - Andreas Ivanschitz (Osvaldo Alonso) 18'
SEA - Jordan Morris (Clint Dempsey, Osvaldo Alonso) 22'
SEA - Joevin Jones (Oniel Fisher) 61'
SEA - Cristian Roldan (Andreas Ivanschitz) 73'
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
DAL - Maynor Figueroa (ejection) 4'
DAL - Juan Esteban Ortiz (caution) 33'
SEA - Clint Dempsey (ejection) 33'
LINEUPS & STATS
Seattle Sounders FC - Stefan Frei; Oniel Fisher, Brad Evans - captain, Chad Marshall, Joevin Jones; Osvaldo Alonso (Tony Alfaro 62'), Cristian Roldan, Erik Friberg (Aaron Kovar HT); Jordan Morris (Oalex Anderson 69'), Clint Dempsey, Andreas Ivanschitz
Substitutes: Tyler Miller, Dylan Remick, Michael Farfan, Herculez Gomez
Total shots: 12 (Morris, 4)
Shots on goal: 7 (Morris, 3)
Fouls: 6 (Fisher, 4)
Offside: 2 (Roldan/Dempsey, 1)
Corner-kicks: 6 (Ivanschitz, 5)
Saves: 0
FC Dallas - Chris Seitz; Aubrey David, Maynor Figueroa, Walker Zimmerman, Atiba Harris; Tesho Akindele, Victor Ulloa - captain, Juan Esteban Ortiz (Fabian Castillo 61'), Ryan Hollingshead; Carlos Lizarazo (Michael Barrios HT), Colin Bonner (Kellyn Acosta 27')
Substitutes not used: Jesse Gonzalez, Aaron Guillen, Maxi Urruti, Mauro Rosales
Total shots: 2 (Harris/Akindele, 1)
Shots on goal: 0
Fouls: 13 (Esteban Ortiz/Castillo, 3)
Offside: 0
Corner-kicks: 1 (Lizarazo, 1)
Saves: 2 (Seitz, 2)
POST-MATCH QUOTES
SOUNDERS FC HEAD COACH SIGI SCHMID
Opening statement:
"Obviously it’s different, and we’re happy because it’s a win. It’s great to get goals. We always felt that maybe if we get a goal, the floodgates would open up, so they opened up a little bit for us today. So I am really happy for the group in the locker room because they stayed the course and they got a good victory tonight."
On Clint Dempsey’s red card:
"I haven’t really seen the replay – I thought [Juan Esteban] Ortiz went into him pretty hard with an elbow, and sort of went across his body, but I can’t really comment on Clint’s actions because I haven’t seen the replay."
On if this result feels similar to the 4-0 versus Orlando City in 2015:
"Obviously winning 5-0 feels great – I don’t know if I can compare it to Orlando. I thought last week we played really well and came away with nothing. What you’re always looking for as a coach is that your team plays well and creates chances, and today we were able to finish the chances we created."
On Joevin Jones’ performance:
"Joevin was good. I thought his concentration was really good, not only offensively because he got the goal – whenever a defender gets a goal everybody thinks, ‘Oh he played a good game,’ but I was happy with him defensively. I thought he did a very good job of getting his body in there, getting in front of people. He was really solid for us defensively."
On FC Dallas’ starting XI:
"I had a couple of words for my team about that and they reacted appropriately."
On Andreas Ivanschitz’s performance:
"He was good. We wanted him to play a little more on the left wing – push up more, stay higher. Obviously he came through statistically very, very well. He had a good game. I thought he had some moments for us and certainly his passing helped us today."
On Cristian Roldan’s performance:
"It was a nice header for a little guy. He just comes to work every day – he is very honest in that regard. He listens, he learns and he tries to improve. We’ve asked him to play a bit of outside midfielder and he’s stepped into that role very well. I couldn’t be more pleased – he is a guy who gives you everything he has, who wants to grow and wants to improve. From his first year to his second year he has improved a lot."
SOUNDERS FC DEFENDER BRAD EVANS
Overall thoughts on the scoring five goals on a first place team:
"Yeah obviosluy I think we would all rather have five, one-nothing victories but you know at the end of the day it was bound to happen. You always have one of these a year where you kind of blow out a team and someimtes you have it go the other way. It lifts the spirits a bit especially after 22 shots this past weekend and nothing falling for us. You hope it carries into Sunday."
On this game coming after some bad luck:
"I think a little bit of bad luck and I think the guys have worked extremely hard. You’ve all seen it at practice – everyone comes out and works extremely, extremely hard. Even when the chips aren’t going the way that we would like them to, everyone puts their head down and did what they needed to do. Hopefully tonight you reap the spoils of that hard work. But now you get a taste for victory and now you hope to get consecutive results. You hopefully pick up some points and make up some ground."
On getting ready for Sunday:
"Obviously Sunday will provide its own challenges. It’s a rivalry game, so you can throw last place out the window. If they were sitting in first, you can throw that out the window – it just doesn’t matter. We’ll focus on Sunday as it gets closer. We would like to think that these guys can enjoy this victory for the next 24 hours and then we will focus on a big rivalry game. That’s always the idea to win games is to propel you to the next level."
SOUNDERS FC FORWARD JORDAN MORRIS
On overall thoughts on the game:
"It was great. We needed a game like this we have been creating so many chances. It felt good and gave us confidence."
On the feeling after socring so many goals in the first half:
"The whole game changed when we got a PK and a red card early it made it a little easier for us, but we took advantage of it and played really well. You know just put them in the back of the net."
On missing Clint Dempsey for Sunday’s match against Portland:
"We just have to keep the momentum going. It’s a bummer that Clint [Dempsey] got the red card obviously, but it’s a rivalry game so you just have to keep going and we need to get another three points."
On scoring five goals:
"It felt good. You can just see the collective almost side of relief. Everyone is smiling and happy in the locker room. It’s been frustrating because we have been playing well and haven’t been able to score goals. To get some today was awesome."
SOUNDERS FC MIDFIELDER CRISTIAN ROLDAN
On overall thoughts of the game:
"I’m happy we won. Five-zero, five different goal scorers. A very important clean sheet. We haven’t had a clean sheet in a while. Best of both worlds, a lot of goals and zero on our half."
On scoring two goals when it was 10 on 10:
"I think that the goal was to have a shutout at the end of the game. We talked at halftime about how we haven’t had a shutout in a while, so going into the second half they had to push forward because they were down 3-0 so we thought on the counter they would be pretty open.
On the younger players being able to step up:
"We are going to have to have someone else step up for Clint [Dempsey] against Portland on Sunday. It’ll be very important for guys to step up because we have Open Cup games and mid-week games almost every week it seems like. We will see how it goes and have to have a positive attitude and the right mentality.
On how he has grown in the midfield this year:
"I just feel a lot more comfortable with the guys. It’s a different group for sure but I feel a bigger part this year and I think I have more starts now then I did last year already and it’s humbling to see that Sigi still has confidence in me."
FC DALLAS HEAD COACH OSCAR PAREJA
On the game:
"It was a very difficult night for us. Started at three minutes with the red card and PK. After that, we found a team in Seattle that had a lot of intensity and did a lot of good things. For those moments, we couldn’t find the rhythm of the game and you have to give them credit. Throughout the game, we couldn’t find a rhythm. They were much better and did a good job."
On if he saw the red card:
"I did see it. I thought it was something that could be handled better."
On having a mixed lineup tonight:
"I have a group of players that has 37 points and nobody has given them those points. They have fought hard during the season and despite the terrible result, I back them up 100 percent. They have had a difficult week of traveling, but we’re not going to use that as an excuse. What I have in this group is a group of players who have this club and this team at the top of the table. We’re going to turn the page, learn a lesson and face Chicago in three days. That’s the league. That probably humbled us a little."
On bringing in Fabian Castillo during the second half:
"He was given some time in the game and we needed to choose tonight. We have a game in three days at home. We just came from San Jose directly to Seattle. We have the Open Cup in the middle of the week – it’s an important tournament for us. Then after that, we have Colorado away. So it didn’t make sense for me to rest many players tonight against a great team like Seattle. But at the same time, I wanted to bring them into the game – [Michael] Barrios, Fabi [Castillo] – and to rest others."
On playing down a man for most of the game:
"Difficult circumstances. It was hard to bounce back after the PK and red card. We didn’t adjust well and that’s our responsibility. At the same time, in the context of what has happened in the week with all this heavy traveling and all these things make it more difficult. Also, give the credit to Seattle. They played very well and did a lot of good things tonight that we couldn’t control. So putting all of this together is a reflection of that result. It’s hard to take a result like that away from home. There’s a lot of work to do still, but I want to say that the group that I have in that locker room has put together 37 points and I’m very proud of those guys."
On the red card issued to Maynor Figueroa:
"I thought everything could’ve been handled different. I’ll leave it there. I respect the referee’s decisions and don’t want to get deep into it. It’s just his opinion."
FC DALLAS MIDFIELDER TESHO AKINDELE
On whether the result can be explained by roster changes:
"I think it was more the red card that we got early. Like we got a red card in the third minute, so it was always going to be hard to win the game."
On struggling in the final third:
"I guess, I mean once they were up a couple of goals, they could just sit in a little bit more, and we had to be a little more desperate. I think that’s what happened."
On what they can take away from the game as they prepare for their next match:
"I think it’s just one of those that you just try to forget and move onto the next one."
FC DALLAS MIDFIELDER KELLYN ACOSTA
On his individual performance:
"I played okay, I got a few touches on the ball, but it was a difficult game to come into. We were already down 3-0 by the time I came in, and down a man, so that didn’t really help our cause. I mean it was just hard for us to get into the game. They took it to us from the first minute. The early red card really hurt us and we were just trying to fight back. It was just really tough trying to bounce back from 3-0."
On whether the energy from the crowd made the red card and early deficit more difficult to overcome:
"Yeah I think the crowd kind of influenced the ref a little bit. I mean they started getting calls their way. I mean that’s part of the game, that’s how it is. The crowd kind of got into it and behind them and they used it as motivation to keep pushing. They ended up pouncing on us, and they put five [past us]. It was tough for us to get into the game and the crowd, they’re like an extra man for them, so it was really difficult."
On how they prepare for a quick turnaround against Chicago:
"I mean it was a difficult game, but we have to put it behind us. Tomorrow, or the next couple of days, we’ll kind of review the material and see what went wrong and then kind of just bounce back. I mean it is part of the game. Quick turnaround for a game on Saturday, and also an Open Cup game on Wednesday. So we’ve got to be mindful of that, recover well, and then just try to get as many points as we can. So we kind of just keep pushing, put this game behind us and keep working hard."
REFEREE RICARDO SALAZAR (THROUGH POOL REPORTER)
On why he issued Clint Dempsey a red card:
"The foul was on Mr. Ortiz of Dallas, and then Clint put his hands to his face, to the opponent’s face. That’s considered violent conduct and we had no choice but to show him the red card."
On why Juan Esteban Ortiz was issued a yellow card on the same incident:
"The yellow card was for persistent fouling on Ortiz. That was, I believe, his fourth foul."