SEATTLE – It wasn’t a storybook homecoming.
But a warm welcoming or festive reunion wasn’t why Jesús Ferreira returned to Texas. The forward and his new Sounders side were in search of a win and if it had to be in front of a FC Dallas crowd that celebrated his growth from a child to a young man, then so be it.
Ferreira was traded to Seattle in January and the reception for his first trip back to Toyota Stadium in Frisco was “not a lot of cheers or boos,” according to the broadcast crew. By the end, it was the Sounders smiling about a 1-0 win.
The result is Seattle’s first victory on the road. It ended a four-match winless skid and extended the unbeaten streak against Dallas to six matches.
The Texas crowd saw a Ferreira they’re more familiar with. Injuries and issues getting results forced Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer to start forward Danny Musovski up top with Ferreira and Pedro de la Vega pinched underneath.
It was de la Vega’s first start since March 8 when he suffered a quad injury. He was an immediate spark in the attack as his efforts led to Seattle’s goal.
The Argentine uncorked a shot from distance that dinked off the far post. Musovski timed his run perfectly to tap the rebound into goal to put the Sounders up 1-0 in the 17th minute.
It was Musovski’s first MLS goal of the season. The journeyman has been hampered by a back injury since a draw against San Jose to close last month.
As the opening half wound down, the sides suffered key injuries. Dallas forward Petar Musa was subbed off two minutes into stoppage time due to an ankle injury. The Croatian, who leads FCD with three goals and three assists, needed a stretcher to leave the field.
Sounders center back Jackson Ragen suffered a right hamstring injury approximately one minute later. Schmetzer subbed him off at halftime for Kim Kee-hee. The latter was signed in February and made his season debut, last playing for the Sounders during their 2019 MLS Cup-winning year.
De la Vega is on a minutes restriction and he was replaced by Danny Leyva at the break.
Seattle (2-3-3) played its most complete match in a month, which irritated Dallas (3-3-2) players as the game developed. Luciano Acosta, a 2023 league MVP acquired from FC Cincinnati in February, boiled over in the 63rd minute when he received a yellow card for dissent.
The Dallas captain had an opportunity for an equalizer in the 69th minute but hooked the attempt wide of the near post.
The Sounders were without midfielder Albert Rusnák (adductor) and defender Alex Roldan (quad) but gained forward Jordan Morris on the bench.
Morris is on a minutes restriction, pushing Musovski into the starting lineup. Schmetzer also opted for Kalani Kossa-Rienzi as a wingback over another start for Georgi Minoungou, who was an experimental forward in last week’s 3-0 loss to San Diego.
Schmetzer was forced to sub Musovski off in the 73rd minute, also relieving Kossa-Rienzi. The coach opted to reinforce the defense by putting Reed Baker-Whiting and Cody Baker in the match and moved Ferreira to the forward position instead of calling on Morris.
Ferreira had a clear chance in the 84th minute off a nice pass from Leyva that went directly into the grasp of Dallas keeper Maarten Paes.