FRISCO, Texas – Fredy Montero scored two sensational goals in a matter of two minutes to extend Seattle’s winning streak to five and give the Sounders a 2-0 road win over FC Dallas on Wednesday night at FC Dallas Stadium.
The first of Montero’s pair of scores came in the 68th minute when the Seattle striker received the ball on the right side of the box and outmaneuvered FC Dallas defenders Hernán Pertúz and James Marcelin.
Montero left both in a daze as he buried the ball in the back of the net to give Seattle a 1-0 lead. FC Dallas goalkeeper Kevin Hartman, who had a seven-save game against Colorado last Saturday, had absolutely no chance at stopping the powerful shot.
FC Dallas tried to kill Seattle’s momentum by bringing on a hobbling Brek Shea, but Montero quickly silenced the crowd with another scintillating goal, this time on a diving header that crushed any dreams of an FC Dallas comeback and put the Sounders in the driver’s seat with a comfortable two-goal advantage.
Shea, who missed the weekend game against Colorado with turf toe, sat on the bench for the first 68 minutes of the match. The star FC Dallas midfielder failed to rally the troops and other than a shot that missed wide right from outside the box, was ineffective.
Despite missing suspended defender Leo González, Seattle’s backline did a tremendous job stopping the FC Dallas attack, which was missing leading goalscorer Blas Pérez and midfielder Daniel Hernandez, who were also both out with suspensions.
Without captain Ugo Ihemelu, FCD turned to rookie Matt Hedges. In his firs MLS start, Hedges performed admirably, but it was clear Seattle was at an advantage offensively.
OPTA Chalkboard: Montero provides spark off the bench
The Sounders put the pressure on early and nearly scored in the 18th minute when captain Mauro Rosales missed twice from about the six-yard line. Andy Rose fed Rosales the ball in the box, but Hartman made a nice save on his first attempt and was denied on his second attempt by the right post.
FC Dallas failed to get anything going offensively. Perhaps their best chance at finding pay dirt came in the 39th minute when Seattle goalkeeper Bryan Meredith was forced to make an acrobatic save on Scott Sealy’s header.
With the loss, FC Dallas have yet to win a game in their last five matches and fall to 3-5-3. They will travel to face Columbus on Saturday.
Seattle are off to the best start in club history and move to 7-1-1 with the victory. They'll host Real Salt Lake on Saturday.
MLSsoccer.com Men of the Match
Rank |
Player |
What We Saw |
1 |
<span style="font-size:12px;"><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/fredy-montero">Fredy Montero</a></span> |
His second-half cameo was exactly what the Sounders needed after a grueling first half. Two goals guided Seattle to fifth straight win. |
2 |
<a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/bryan-meredith"><span style="font-size:12px;">Bryan Meredith</span></a> |
Goalkeeper looked assured throughout the game in keeping a clean sheet, but especially in the first half, where he made four saves. |
3 |
<span style="font-size:12px;"><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/players/fabian-castillo">Fabián Castillo</a></span> |
Energy and willingness to run made him Dallas' most constant threat throughout the match, even if he couldn't find many clear looks at goal. |
