Eddie Johnson scored a brace and Lamar Neagle recorded a goal and an assist as Seattle Sounders FC (4-3-3, 15 points) defeated FC Dallas (7-2-3, 24 points), 4-2, Saturday night at CenturyLink Field. Michel added a goal and an assist for Dallas as Seattle extended its unbeaten streak to six games (4-0-2).
Seattle has now scored four goals in back-to-back games for the first time in club history, and the eight-goal output over a two-game span matches the franchise record.
Sounders FC scored in the 16th minute when Osvaldo Alonso headed a goal kick to Johnson behind the Dallas defense. Johnson held off two defenders and slotted a right-footed shot inside the far post.
Seattle doubled its lead in the 31st minute when Brad Evans played a through-ball between the defense to a streaking Neagle, who dribbled around the keeper and slotted it into the back of the empty net. It was the third goal of the season for Neagle-all in the last two games.
Seattle’s 2-0 lead marked the first time this season that Dallas trailed at halftime. However, the Western Conference leaders responded with two set-piece goals early in the second half to level the match.
In the 54th minute, Michel took a free kick outside the top right corner of the box that found Kenny Cooper for a flick header inside the far post. The goal ended a 272-minute shutout streak for Michael Gspurning, the fifth-longest in MLS this season.
Michel tied the game at 2-2 in the 61st minute when he bent a corner kick over the defense and into the far top corner of the net, just out of the reach of Gspurning.
Sounders FC responded just a minute later when Neagle slipped Johnson into the box, and the striker juked Raul Fernandez to created space, and pounded his shot into the top of the net. It marked the ninth-career multi-goal game for Johnson, and his first since September 8, 2012, against Chivas USA.
Johnson leads the team with four league goals and five goals across all competitions. With 59 career MLS goals, he is now 24th on the all-time list.
Seattle made it 4-2 in the 83rd minute following a Fernandez save on a powerful Johnson header. The rebound rolled to Evans, who found Obafemi Martins in the box who slipped it into the net for his third goal of the season.
It marked the first assist of the season for both Alonso and Evans, who have 12 and 18 in their careers, respectively. With two assists in the match, it was the first time in Evans’ career that he recorded multiple assists in one game.
Sounders FC is unbeaten in its last 36 matches (29-0-8) when scoring first, the longest active streak in MLS. Seattle has outscored their opponents 12-4 in the last five games.
Midfielder Servando Carrasco was included in the starting lineup for the fourth straight game, the longest streak of consecutive starts in his career.
Sounders FC was forced to use two of their subs on injuries. First, Osvaldo Alonso suffered a left groin injury and was replaced by Shalrie Joseph 31st minute, then Leo Gonzalez was bloodied by a Blas Perez elbow to the face and was replaced by Zach Scott in the 78th minute. Perez was issued a red card on the play.
