Seattle Sounders Face Two Crucial Road Tests Against FC Dallas and Toronto FC

After an exciting victory against Kansas City before the Qwest Field home fans last Saturday, the Seattle Sounders take to the road for two important matches this week.

Road activity commences Thursday, April 22 at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas against a hungry host FC Dallas searching for its first win of the season. That match will kick off at 5 p.m. Pacific Time and will be telecast live on ESPN2.

The next road test for the Sounders will come Sunday at BMO Field against Toronto FC in a contest that will begin at 11 a.m. PT.

The Kansas City victory energized the Sounders home base and invested Coach Sigi Schmid and his club with a feeling of enhanced confidence because of being able to finish matches strongly.

As the Kansas City match neared its conclusion, Mike Fucito ended a scoreless deadlock in the 90th minute. Schmid’s concern over playing a match to its conclusion remained constant, however, and with good cause, as a determined KC squad, seeing an opportunity to escape with a tie and a valuable seasonal point, stormed down the field near the close of added time near the Sounders’ goal.

At that point veteran team captain Casey Keller, one of soccer’s premier goalkeepers, once more proved why he has become a legend by hurling his lithe body forward and blocking a KC goal attempt, preserving the victory.

As soon as the save was completed Keller could be seen gesturing and talking to his players. In the manner of Schmid, he was lecturing his mates about finishing strong and maintaining a sturdy defense until the final whistle sounded.

The last Sounders road foray produced a mixed result. The team played aggressive and inspired football against the defending MLS Cup champion Real Salt Lake in forging a 2-2 tie, but the players walked slowly off the field in the manner of a losing squad since a 2-1 lead evaporated near the close of added time.

During the week going into the Kansas City contest Schmid talked frequently about his team playing as “warriors,” in the sense of playing intensely until the final whistle.

No doubt this same theme was heard around the Sounders’ training facility this week in preparation of this week’s road tests against Dallas and Toronto.

While Dallas currently resides in last place, such a statistic can be misleading, especially in the context of soccer being a game where the tie factor comes into frequent play.

Dallas has lost only one match, its last contest, 2-1 last Saturday on the road against the same New York Red Bulls that hung an upset home loss on Seattle in Week Two. Dallas had earlier played to two draws at home for an overall record of 0-1-2, with two points.

When the Sounders take the field in Toronto Sunday they will be facing a home club with a record of 1-3-0 and three points. Toronto’s last outing resulted in a 3-1 loss at Colorado last Sunday.

The Sounders were unbeaten against both Dallas and Toronto last season. The victories were both momentous. The Emerald City squad scored a come from behind win against Dallas in its regular season home finale October 24 to seal Sigi Schmid’s record-breaking 125th victory.

Toronto marked the Sounders’ first road victory with an impressive 2-0 shutout recorded April 4.