FRISCO, Texas — There are no awards for Player of the Series in the 2016 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, but if there were, the prize for the Seattle Sounders’ win over FC Dallas in the Western Conference Semifinals would belong to Nicolas Lodeiro.
The Sounders’ Designated Player recorded a brace in the first leg last week before icing the aggregate lead with a crucial away goal on Sunday. Lodeiro slid onto the receiving end of a Tyrone Mears cross that beat goalkeeper Chris Seitz in the 54th minute to quell a potential comeback for the hosts.