All season long, much of the attention on the Seattle Sounders focused on Nicolás Lodeiro, Raúl Ruidíaz and Jordan Morris, and rightly so. Lodeiro and Morris are 2020 Landon Donovan MLS MVP finalists, and the trio were selected to the MLS Best XI. All three scored against LAFC in Round One of the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs as well.
But when the Sounders needed someone to step up in their Western Conference Semifinals match against FC Dallas on Tuesday, center back Shane O’Neill scored in the 49th minute on a header off a Lodeiro corner kick to record his first goal in a Sounders uniform and lead Seattle to a 1-0 win.