Seattle batters Dallas with quickfire treble to take commanding semifinal lead
A match short on talking points was flipped on its head early in the second half after Nelson Valdez's opener was followed by a Nicolas Lodeiro three-minute brace.
The trio of tallies from the pair of South Americans gave the Seattle Sounders a massive 3-0 victory over FC Dallas in Sunday's Western Conference semifinal first leg.
Related - Watch: Seattle's Valdez, Lodeiro score 8-minute trio for lead over Dallas
Supporters' Shield winner Dallas will return home for next Sunday's second leg hoping for a miracle after Valdez, Lodeiro, and Jordan Morris outclassed the Toros' backline with a series of probing attacks.
While a three-goal swing for Oscar Pareja's lot is not out of the question, with an away-goal tiebreaker, the U.S. Open winner will have to push forward without refrain while praying that the Sounders don't score a decisive tally.
Not bad for a club who lost its talisman Clint Dempsey to an irregular heartbeat and appeared poised to miss out on the postseason only to go eight matches unbeaten to end the season.
Shot-stopper Chris Seitz was Dallas' savior in the opening half, after parrying away a Valdez point-blank effort before stopping a Morris rocket 10 minutes before the interval to keep the tilt scoreless.
Related - Watch: Dallas' Seitz makes goal-line save to stymie Seattle
Seattle continued the trend of home-team dominance, after the Sounders join Montreal, LA Galaxy, and Toronto FC as sides that won at home in Sunday's semifinal first leg.