Tyrone Mears made the steal of the season.
The Seattle Sounders led 3-1 on aggregate but were desperate for an away goal to all but ice the Western Conference Semifinals against FC Dallas last Sunday. In the 54th minute, it happened.
Mears rumbled full-steam ahead down the right flank trying to get on the end of a through ball from Erik Friberg. Mears came up just short, though, as Dallas defender Walker Zimmerman got there first. But Mears didn’t hesitate or back off.
He picked the pocket of Zimmerman — Dallas’ penalty-kick hero in its 2015 playoff win over the Sounders — who tried to dribble out of his own end. Mears took three touches to the end line and fired a low cross to an oncoming Nicolas Lodeiro, who buried his third goal of the series and gave Seattle an insurmountable lead.
Mears had one of his best games of the season, capped off by his third assist of 2016 that sent the Sounders through to the Western Conference Championship.
