Corner after corner, the Seattle Sounders came at FC Dallas with everything after conceding an opening goal to Brek Shea.
However, Dallas held on to prevail 1-0 in a close contest at Qwest Field on Wednesday night.
“It got kind of hectic there for a while and we were just doing our best to weather the storm, so to speak,” George John told MLSsoccer.com over the phone after the match. “There were some scary moments, but we did a good job.”
“They really put the heat on us,” added head coach Schellas Hyndman. “That last 20 minutes was really a tough time for us.”
FC Dallas, the goal scorer Shea and a resilient backline survived the wet climate and artificial turf to extend their shutout streak to a new franchise record of 489 minutes. With the clean sheet against Seattle on Wednesday, FC Dallas bested their previous mark of 415 minutes without conceding a goal, which they set last season.
Everyone in camp was thrilled with the new record, including John.
“It’s a good testament to the backline and our communication as well as the leadership with Kevin Hartman and Daniel Hernandez," John said. "I didn’t know it was a record, but that’s great.”
The shutout streak dates back to May 1 against the LA Galaxy and extends through six opponents, helping the team sew together a seven-game unbeaten streak.
WATCH: Loyd keeps shutout streak going
John won header battles, cut off dangerous passes and sent away air balls from Seattle’s hot pursuit in the games last 25 minutes of the match. The defender was quick to hand out the credit, but fact of the matter is the 6-foot-3 center back was everywhere to been seen on the pitch in his home state.
“I missed all of preseason, as did Ugo Ihemelu, so we didn’t really have a lot of time to mesh with each other,” said John. “Now we kind of know each other’s tendencies a little bit better. We are kind of on the same page, things are clicking, and the ball is bouncing our way.”
For Hyndman, setting the mark has his team going in the right direction.
“We go into every game thinking that we are going to find a way to get three points,” said Hyndman. “Our guys played with extreme determination and desire to get a result so a great win for us.”
The next battle for Dallas fortress-like defense lies in the Texas Derby this Saturday at Houston against the Dynamo.
