SEATTLE - The Seattle Sounders are officially headed back to the Western Conference Semifinals, where a very familiar foe awaits.
The Sounders will take on FC Dallas in the next step of the 2016 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, with the teams clashing in the first leg of the conference semifinals on Oct. 30 at CenturyLink Field (6:30 p.m. PT; FS1/KIRO 97.3 FM/El Rey 1360AM) before wrapping the series on Nov. 6 at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.
The Sounders booked their spot in the conference semis for the eighth straight year thanks to a 1-0 win over Sporting Kansas City in the Knockout Round on Thursday night at CenturyLink Field.
This will mark the third straight year the Sounders and FC Dallas will meet in the postseason, with the two teams splitting the results in 2014 and 2015. The Sounders topped FCD in two-game series two years ago before Dallas avenged that loss last year via a dramatic penalty kick shootout in Frisco.
FC Dallas won the season series between the two clubs in 2016 with two wins at home: 2-0 on May 14 and a come-from-behind 2-1 win on Oct. 16. The Sounders won the only meeting between the two teams in Seattle on July 13.
The Sounders lead the all-time regular-season series 10-5-5 and the teams have split the all-time postseason results, 1-1-2.
The Sounders are 7-3-3 all-time at home in the postseason and are the only team in MLS to reach the conference semifinals each of the past eight years.FC Dallas won the MLS Supporters’ Shield for the league’s best regular season record for the first time in franchise history this season, but suffered a damaging loss when playmaker Mauro Diaz suffered a torn Achilles tendon earlier this month. Diaz scored five goals and added 13 assists for FCD this season.
The Colorado Rapids and LA Galaxy will face off on the other side of the bracket in the conference semifinals, with the Galaxy hosting the Rapids on Sunday before the teams close the series on Nov. 6 in Commerce City, Colo. The Rapids went unbeaten against the Galaxy (1-0-2) during the regular season.
