TUKWILA, Wash. — The Seattle Sounders’ next challenge in the Audi 2016 MLS Cup Playoffs is vastly different than their last.
Seattle defeated an FC Dallas team in the conference semifinals that was second in the West in goals scored and posed multiple legitimate scoring threats. FCD played creatively and was dangerous off the dribble and in the air, and as talented offensively as any team in Major League Soccer this season.
It came as no surprise, then, that when head coach Oscar Pareja trotted his team out in an unusual 5-3-2 defensive-minded formation in the first leg on the road in Seattle, things did not go according to plan.