FRISCO - FC Dallas is used to high-stakes match-ups against Seattle Sounders FC. In the last three seasons, seven of the 11 times the two sides have faced one another has come in the months of September, October or even November - crunch time across the league.
Despite this weekend’s rare early-season meeting, both teams still have something to prove.
For Dallas, after their CCL exit, a home draw against RSL in their season opener and then a full two weeks to prepare for Seattle, it’s a chance to get things back on the right foot and kick their MLS schedule back off.
For Seattle, it’ll be a chance to truly start their MLS campaign without the weight of a CCL leg a few days later - especially after a 1-0 defeat at home to LAFC in their opener two weeks ago. Depending on their CCL Quarterfinal result Wednesday night, they could be riding a wave of momentum or looking to get their own focus set solely on MLS play.
“I remember any game that I see as more important than another, even with the timing whether it’s at the beginning [of the season], in the middle - in the spring or in the summer or it’s the last game or the playoffs,” head coach Oscar Pareja said this week. “Every game has different consequences, different atmospheres around it, but I try all the time with our players to leave that one game as the most important.”
“Every game against Seattle is intense just because they’re in conference rivals. In this league, if you lose a couple home games, you’ll be out of the playoffs and looking back at [them] the end of the season [wanting more]…These games matter just as much,” said forward Tesho Akindele. “Even though they play on Wednesday, this league is at a point where it’s deeper now and they can throw in their second lineup and they have players that are just as good as their first team.”
While the weekend off gave Dallas an opportunity to reset mentally and continue to integrate some of new faces on the field, there’s always the concern of keeping momentum high during the week off. FCD played a scrimmage against the U-19 Academy early in the off week and an intra-squad scrimmage on Saturday to try to replicate a game atmosphere, but nothing can carry the same intensity of a real match.
The week does give the home side the upper hand in scouting their opponent and being ready tactically for what Seattle likely brings into Frisco - even a last chance to watch them live on Wednesday night, while the Sounders face a short preparation window in their quick turnaround.
“We’re going to watch and see exactly what they’re doing before we play them early in the season," Matt Hedges said of Seattle's CCL leg. "Sometimes that mid-week game can help you and keep you sharp for the weekend. You know, we had the bye week so we need to be ready.”
“Of course we wanted to stay in Concacaf to avoid this situation [of two weeks between games], and it’s not easy but we still have the legs and the competition in our heads,” defender Reto Ziegler said. “We want to be up there in the standings. We didn’t have the three points in the first game, but we want to respond to ourselves and also to our fans.”
