No one wants to spend any more time thinking about the loss in North Carolina last weekend for FC Dallas.
But yeah, FC Dallas dropped a 3-2 result to Charlotte FC last Saturday, a result that stings more than the scoreline suggests. Now there is truly no time to stew over it.
Wednesday night, FC Dallas hosts old rivals Seattle for a pivotal late-season six-pointer style match. Seattle is coming off a big 3-0 win at New England over the weekend, and they roll into Frisco on a nine-game unbeaten run that includes four straight wins.
A month or so ago, this wouldn’t have been an interesting game with the way Seattle was playing, but now, it feels like a potential playoff preview.
This truly is a playoff preview, so treat it as one
Yeah, if you are like me, you hate the idea of facing Seattle in yet another playoff series. There is a ton of history there and none of it is particularly good for FC Dallas.
Seattle currently sits 7th in the Western Conference, after spending most of the summer below the playoff line. Dallas is currently 3rd, so there is a lot of time for this one to actually be a playoff series to stress over. Both clubs are dealing with a brutal two-game week after playing on the road at Eastern Conference foes last weekend.
The context matters here. Seattle had the longest winless runs in MLS this season, 13 games. But weirdly, that has turned into a long unbeaten run at nine games. Yeah, they went eight without a win or a draw, then five straight draws before rattling off four straight wins. You truly cannot make up that kind of form.
A large part of that is due to health. They were losing and drawing games when most of their core roster was out injured. Now, they’re healthy and it shows. They’re picking up wins, including ones on the road.
Dallas has to treat this Wednesday night with every bit of intensity that the moment demands of it.
Big D Soccer gives you the why — the tactical breakdowns, the honest assessments, the context that actually helps you understand what you watched on Saturday night.
If you're serious about this club, you should be reading all of it.
Rusnak is running the show
After dealing with Pep Biel in Charlotte, there should be one guy that will keep Eric Quill and his staff up a night going into this one: Albert Rusnak, who has 14 assists on the season now after picking up two in New England. He’s truly the quarterback of this Sounders attack. He’s the player who decides when to play quick and when to slow it down. He knows how to split the defense with a through ball and how to beat them with a good wide pass.
Then you have Dejan Jovelic, who has scored four goals in five appearances since his trade from Sporting KC. Dallas knows he is the type of striker who doesn’t need five or six chances, he just needs a clean look in front of the net to make defenders pay.
You also can’t sleep on former FC Dallas players like Paul Arriola or Jesus Ferreira. Both are healthy and are playing like it. Arriola picked up an assist off the bench last weekend, and will probably love to find a chance against his old club.
Given that both teams will be rotating their rosters a bit in this one, the key will be Dallas finding a way to limit the Seattle’s attack through making sure they don’t dictate the tempo and pace of this one. If Dallas let’s this Seattle group settle too early, it could be a long night.