The pressure is on FC Dallas to get maximum points, or close to it, from their four remaining games should they want to climb back into the Western Conference picture for the Audi 2019 MLS Cup Playoffs.
That path starts Wednesday evening at the Seattle Sounders (10:30 pm ET | TV & streaming info), though it’s not simply a road trip to the Pacific Northwest. Dallas will be looking to rebound from a 4-0 loss at the Chicago Fire last weekend, creating real estate for the LA Galaxy to vault above the playoff line ahead of FCD.
Right back Reggie Cannon, who was just in the US men’s national team camp with Seattle forward Jordan Morris and midfielder Cristian Roldan, is mindful of the game’s magnitude.
“Seattle is obviously on fire [right now],” Cannon said, referencing Seattle’s 3-1- stretch. “They have a lot of great players, some I’ve been in camp with, so I’m very excited to see all of them again. But this game is going to decide it, so it’s going to give us the momentum to push or it’s going to flatten us out. Anything can happen, but I know this team is ready to bounce back."
That sort of tone was reiterated by Dallas head coach Luchi Gonzalez, whose team is just 3-10-2 on the road this year.
“Everything is about responding,” Gonzalez said. “Things are going to happen in the past, and we’ll learn from them, the good and the bad. I think what defines you is how you react and how you respond. This is a group that’s done that individually, as a group, as a family. I’m proud to see them go through that cycle and we have another opportunity, another challenge. It’s going to be really hard, it’s going to be a really hard challenge in Seattle.”
To rebound and keep postseason dreams flickering, Dallas will look to post their first shutout since a 0-0 draw July 27 with Real Salt Lake. They’ve allowed over two goals a game since.
Defensive midfielder Edwin Cerrillo has a sense of what needs to change on that front.
“We need to go back to that and find the balance of wanting to get numbers forward and also relying on our defenders to do it all themselves,” Cerrillo said. “That isn’t going to work, so we all need to work as a team to find the balance.”
Doing that is complicated by the how the Sounders have scored four goals in their last two games at CenturyLink Field.
Should that recent history repeat itself, Dallas could see the gap widen between themselves and a playoff spot. It’s within touching distance, though the room for error is disappearing.
“In Seattle, in that environment and with a team that’s doing well recently, we have to be up for it,” Gonzalez said. “It’s not just the first 10 minutes or us conceding or scoring the first goal, but for 90-plus minutes of staying in the game, staying in as many moments as possible."
