Seattle Sounders FC vs. FC Dallas | How to watch and stream

Dylan Butler

Audi 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs – Conference Semifinals
Seattle Sounders FC vs. FC Dallas
Lumen Field – Seattle
December 1 – 9:30 PM ET

TV: FS1, FOX Deportes, TSN 1/5, TVA Sports

STREAMING:
FOX Sports App in US

In a rematch of an epic matchup in last year's Round One, Seattle Sounders FC and FC Dallas square off again at Lumen Field Dec. 1 in the Western Conference Semifinals.

The Sounders looked very much like the defending MLS Cup champions in a comprehensive 3-1 win over LAFC in Round One Tuesday night with their "big three" of Raul Ruidiaz, Jordan Morris and Nico Lodeiro playing on another level in the most impressive win of the opening round.

FC Dallas rallied for a late equalizer scored by 17-year-old Ricardo Pepi and then ousted the Portland Timbers on penalty kicks to book their spot in the Conference Semifinals and a return match with the Sounders.

The Sounders and FC Dallas played out an instant classic over 120-plus minutes in Seattle last year, with the final stroke of a Jordan Morris hat trick settling a wild 4-3 win for the home side.

Seattle Sounders FC

On a night when the East's top two seeds — Philadelphia Union and Toronto FC — were knocked off, the Sounders put forth a professional performance for the ages in a 3-1 win over LAFC on a rainy Tuesday night in Seattle. Ruidiaz led the way with a goal and two assists and the Peruvian Designated Player now has eight goals and six assists in seven playoff matches. Lodeiro and Morris also played a role in all three goals and if not for the woodwork, the Sounders could have won the match 5-1.

“This was not an easy game. You saw Philly and Toronto lose. This is MLS, I mean this is like 2020, it's crazy. And so yes I'm in a good mood tonight. The team performed well,” Brian Schmetzer said after the match. “The team performed up to their level against a quality opponent. Now you've got a [regular] season ending win against San Jose, you’ve got a first playoff game win against a tough opponent, and we're starting to build some momentum. I can feel the team building some momentum. And that's what makes me happy.”

As happy as Schmetzer and the Sounders were to advance, they know a balanced mentality is necessary to continued playoff success.

“I do read it. I try and make sure that I measure the commentary by who it is, when it is, how it is, who we’re playing against,” Schmetzer said of the headlines his team is receiving. “There's a lot of things that I go and process through when I read what people put out there. But it certainly is of interest to me to make sure that the team doesn’t get carried away with their own press. That’s something that I always, we as a staff, always try to make sure they don’t get too high and too low.”

Now the Sounders are 90 minutes (and maybe more) away from inching closer to their fourth trips to MLS Cup in the last five years. They’ll have to navigate past No. 6-seeded FC Dallas at Lumen Field and then possibly travel for a Western Conference Final, but they’re only two games away from having another trophy on the line.

“You need good players, you need good fans, you need good ownership, you need good organization,” Schmetzer said. “We have a lot of things going for us here. You need good assistant coaches, they do a great job. It requires a lot of work, but it’s something that I’m very proud of that this franchise has been successful."

Updated team roster
Injury Report:
- OUT: Danny Leyva (M) - right quad strain
- OUT: Gustav Svensson (M) - undisclosed injury
Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: Nicolas Lodeiro (M)
International duty: None

FC Dallas

FC Dallas' season hung in the balance before Pepi struck for the stoppage-time equalizer before Luchi Gonzalez's side advanced on penalty kicks at Providence Park Sunday.

"It's natural. It's not forced," Gonzalez said at his postmatch press conference about Pepi. "He's a young man that's worked really hard through the youth program, the academy. He's always been humble, but really hard-working, and his natural talent — he doesn't depend on his talent. He tries to show a great mentality, to learn and to be patient and to give everything at his opportunity. So tonight was a product of that and I know he's still going to learn a lot going forward, he has a great future. But he certainly showed that he can step in on the biggest the stage, in a pressure moment when we need it most, and deliver. So I think it's just the beginning for a player that's going to support this club and have a career in the league."

Now after using the underdog tag as motivation against the Timbers, FC Dallas can use revenge from last year's wild 4-3 defeat as their impetus against another Cascadia foe.

"We learned lessons last year that were hard. You can't concede four goals and go through," Gonzalez said on Wednesday. "You can, but it's going to be very difficult. So we need to make sure we protect our half, protect our box and our goal in a way that doesn't allow it to be such an open game. Seattle is a team that I think can hurt you on open-play counters, it can hurt you if you sit low, so we need to know when to vary our defensive blocks and read the game and make sure we get pressure on the ball and compete with them.

"Is that a high-pressing moment, is that sitting back lower? We have to do both well. It's not going to take just one or the other. We have to be able to adapt entirely to the game and to their individuals and so we have to have our best game of the season. That's for sure."

Gonzalez knows all about Seattle's "Big Three" and believe his team are up to the task of trying to keep them in check,

"You could see it in their last game against LAFC," Gonzalez said. "Those three players stepped it up for them, and have stepped it up for them consistently. And when one is missing or one is off or two or off, the other seems to fill the void. So that's important for us to recognize. I have all the respect for them and those individuals and the way they're set up tactically and protected. That's a great challenge for us, it's not going to be easy. It's going to be the hardest challenge of the season so far. But we're certainly excited to try our best and control what we can control.

"Those are hard players to control but we believe we've also got the unit to step it up and not depend on any one individual but have the unit do the job the way we know we can."

Updated team roster
Injury Report:
- OUT: Paxton Pomykal (M) - hip injury
- OUT: Bryan Acosta (M) - undisclosed injury
Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: Fafa Picault (M), Andres Ricuarte (M), Ema Twumasi (M)
International duty: None