Seattle, Washington — In the aftermath of LAFC’s drab 1-0 victory over New England, Seattle and Dallas produced an absolute classic. In a 4-3 extra-time win for Seattle, the pair of sides produced a win that will be remembered for years to come.
A hat trick from Jordan Morris advanced the Sounders to the second round, who will take on the winner of Salt Lake City and the Portland Timbers.
A classic is born
Just like the pregame pyrotechnic display, Seattle produced plenty of sparks in front of its home crowd. The home team dominated the midfield early on, attacking the wings before taking shots from distance.
Limiting a team to long shots is typically a safe tactic, but not for Dallas. Heading into the game, Dallas keeper Jesse Gonzalez had allowed 12 goals from outside the box — the most in MLS.
So when Raul Ruidiaz took a shot from 25 yards out, there was only going to be one ending. Diving to his right, Gonzalez could only get fingertips to the ball as it rustled into the bottom corner.
What an effort by @RaulRuidiazM! 👏
He has 4️⃣ goals in 3️⃣ postseason matches ‼ pic.twitter.com/Z8Gkao21yi
— Seattle Sounders FC (@SoundersFC) October 19, 2019
Morris doubled the lead four minutes later before Reggie Cannon clawed one back before halftime for Dallas to set up a classic MLS playoff game.
Corner Craziness
FC Dallas has scored 13 goals in the first 15 minutes of the second half this season; the most in MLS.
So when it came out and dominated the second half, it was no surprise to anyone watching. It was perhaps even less of a surprise when Matt Hedges tied things up off a corner in the 64th minute.
But Jordan Morris scored from the seat of his pants from a corner routine in the 75th minute to bring normalcy back to CenturyLink Field.
But as was the routine of the second half, Dallas scored from yet another corner routine in the 83rd minute. Bryan Acosta was found wide open at the back post with almost too much time and space on his hands. But the midfielder kept his cool to head over Stefan Frei and into the top of the goal.
Overtime heroics
Earning his first-ever career hat trick, Morris scored the vital winning goal in the 113th minute. After Gonzalez had stood on his head throughout extra time, Morris headed home from close range after a defensive block and a save from Gonzalez.
If not for the late goal and hat trick from Morris, a man of the match award may well have been coming Gonzalez’s way, despite conceding several goals on the day.
Model of consistency
A betting man knows not to bet against a streak, and that JUST held true on Saturday afternoon.
Coming into the game, Seattle had won nine straight home playoff games, dating back to 2011. On the flip side, the last playoff win for Dallas on the road had come in 2010.
Additionally, Seattle hadn’t lost to Dallas at home since 2010 and had also never lost a game after trailing 2-0 at some point.
