The Seattle Sounders needed someone to step up to give them an edge in their playoff series against FC Dallas, and Clint Dempsey provided a reminder of how special he can still be.

Skeptics in Seattle were starting to wonder about Clint Dempsey, and whether he would ever step up to justify the millions of dollars spend on bringing him back to Major League Soccer. Two games into the 2015 postseason, Dempsey is doing his part to remind everybody that he is still very much a headliner capable of delivering in the biggest of moments.

Dempsey's free kick goal late Sunday night gave the Sounders a precious 2-1 edge heading into the second leg of their Western Conference semifinal series against FC Dallas. The goal capped a second-half comeback for a Sounders side that has quietly emerged as the favorite to win its first MLS Cup.

Dallas played the role of worthy adversary for much of the night, taking an early lead and pushing the Sounders to the brink in the second half before Andreas Ivanschitz sparked a comeback with an individual strike, and Dempsey completed the turnaround with his free kick beauty in the 86th minute. The goal marked Dempsey's fourth in three matches.

Elsewhere Sunday, the Montreal Impact and New York Red Bulls scored second-half goals to grab series leads, while the Portland Timbers overcame concerns of fatigue to keep the Vancouver Whitecaps from netting a precious away goal in a 0-0 tie at Providence Park.

Sunday's matches may have not matched the excitement of the midweek knockout round offerings, but the conference semifinal openers didn't disappoint either. Best of all, all four series are very much still up for grabs, and while some teams are clearly in comfortable positions, none of the eight remaining title contenders is fully out of the picture just yet.

Here is closer look at how all four conference semifinal series stack up after the first leg:

D.C. United standout Fabian Espindola made it clear after his team eliminated the New England Revolution from the playoffs that he wanted to face the New York Red Bulls next. Espindola got his wish, but after the first leg he may regret asking for the Red Bulls.

The Supporters' Shield holders were the only road team to record a victory Sunday, and they did so in comfortable fashion. Defensively, they limited D.C. United's dangerous chances to zero (try no shots on goal all match), and kept a lively Espindola from causing any real damage (he had some looks at goal, but all of them went wide of the mark). Offensively, the Red Bulls dominated the possession battle, and tested D.C. goalkeeper Bill Hamid a handful of times, including on Dax McCarty's goal.

The Red Bulls produced nine shots on goal to D.C. United's zero, a staggering disparity made more impressive by the fact you never got the sense the Red Bulls were pushing the action as much as they could have. There was a hint of pragmatism in the Red Bulls' approach, as they seemed to coast through the match only flashing a fraction of their full strength because that was all that was required to return home to Red Bull Arena with a lead.

One of the big talking points from the match was a 68th-minute challenge by Red Bulls defender Ronald Zubar that looked red-card worthy but only drew a yellow card. Referee Fotis Bazakos was extremely forgiving, or simply missed a reckless, studs-up challenge that could have changed the complexion of the match — and series. McCarty's goal came just three minutes after Zubar's challenge, and it cost D.C. a chance to close out the match with a man advantage. A red card would also have potentially left the Red Bulls without two of their top three center backs (having already lost Damien Perrinelle to what looks to be a serious knee injury).

United will lament that missed call, but it should not be forgotten that D.C. was the beneficiary of a questionable no-call in the knockout round victory against New England, when a potential late handball in the penalty area against Sean Franklin was deemed ball-to-hand.

Ben Olsen's side would be better served trying to figure out how to generate more offense, and how to keep the Red Bulls from dominating play in midfield once again. Olsen is stuck deciding between a five-man midfield, which will mean benching Alvaro Saborio, or trotting out a lineup similar to the first leg, which was thoroughly outplayed and left Espindola and Saborio struggling for service.

IMPACT SUCCEED IN NEUTRALIZING CREW'S TOP ATTACKERS

Kei Kamara and Ethan Finlay are both coming off career years, and are two of the safest best around to be named to the MLS Best XI, yet the Columbus Crew's dynamic duo provided almost nothing in Sunday's first-leg clash with Montreal. The Crew stars were neutralized by the Impact defense, a big reason why Montreal was able to keep the Crew contained despite their considerable edge in possession.

Kamara and Finlay combined for just one shot and a measly seven completed passes in the final third. Finlay's efforts were particularly woeful, as he managed just one successful pass in the final third and failed to complete a single dribble. In other words, Finlay was a ghost on offense.

The Impact deserve full credit for that accomplishment, with Donny Toia, Nigel Reo-Coker and Ignacio Piatti combining to frustrate Finlay and occupy the space he normally operates best in. With Kamara, it was a group effort led by Laurent Ciman, Victor Cabrera and Marco Donadel, who all worked to smother the MLS scoring co-leader and force others, such as Justin Meram and Federico Higuain, to beat them. The Crew did manage to hold a considerable edge in possession, but the bulk of that was made available in the middle third of the field, where Montreal was content to let Columbus knock it around.

Impact coach Mauro Biello deserves full credit for his team's defensive strategy, which limited the Crew to one goal that happened to come off a poor clearance by Didier Drogba in his own penalty area. Biello has helped transform Montreal's defense into an underappreciated factor in the team's turnaround, and the successful game plan implemented in the first leg suggests the Impact have focused on neutralizing the Crew's two most consistent offensive contributors.

How can the Crew counter? Fullbacks Waylon Francis and Harrison Afful need to get into the attack more, something they are normally very good at but didn't do much Sunday. The Crew also need to take more advantage of counterattacking opportunities, which too often went wasted in the first leg.

The Crew defense didn't have nearly as memorable a first leg, at least not for the right reasons. The center back tandem of Michael Parkhurst and Gaston Sauro had a rough evening, with Sauro drawing a yellow card (and nearly seeing a second yellow after briefly losing his cool in the second half). Parkhurst's night was looking like it would be the latest in a steady run of consistent efforts before Johan Venegas forced him into a turnover that led directly to the go-ahead goal. Sauro knows what to expect from Drogba now as the second leg approaches, and he has to understand he can't afford to get tied up with the former Chelsea star. As for Parkhurst, the veteran just has to put Sunday's blunder behind him, because the Impact are a safe bet to keep pumping balls to Drogba, who is sure to try and go after Parkhurst.

IVANSCHITZ STEPPING UP AS THIRD SOUNDERS STAR IN ALONSO'S ABSENCE

The absence of Osvaldo Alonso and Brad Evans from the Sounders' starting lineup Sunday left some major voids, but it also created some opportunities for other players to step up and pick up the slack for the missing starters. Andreas Ivanschitz did just that, contributing on both sides of the ball, and snatching momentum away from FC Dallas with his outstanding run and finish for Seattle's second-half equalizer.

Acquired during the summer, Ivanschitz didn't draw quite as much fanfare when he arrived as Panamanian defender Roman Torres or even Paraguayan forward Nelson Valdez, but the 32-year-old Austrian brought along an impressive resume and plenty still left in the tank, even if it took him some time to show it. Since breaking into the starting lineup, Ivanschitz has played a key role in Seattle's now-10 match unbeaten streak. He provided the assist on Seattle's second goal in last week's 3-2 win against the LA Galaxy, and he gave the Sounders a sorely needed spark Sunday when things were looking bleak.

Now, the Sounders have taken control of the series and look like a good bet to knock off the top seed in the West. It isn't a foregone conclusion — Dallas posted the best home record in the league this year — but the Sounders are on a roll and now appear to have Clint Dempsey heating up at just the right time.

What can Dallas take away from the first leg? Fabian Castillo was a terror going at Sounders right back Tyrone Mears, and will need to deliver a big game in the second leg, while Mauro Diaz took advantage of the absence of Alonso to find space to operate in the middle of the field, which he used to his advantage when he set up Castillo's goal Sunday.

Oscar Pareja will definitely need more from David Teixeira, who was largely invisible Sunday. Pareja might want to consider a change there because Chad Marshall did well to smother Teixeira and render him invisible. Tesho Akindele is an option, as is veteran striker Blas Perez, though it has been two months since Perez started for FC Dallas. Whoever plays up top needs to be more active than Teixeira was Sunday because it will take more than Castillo and Diaz creating chances to knock off a surging Sounders side.

TIMBERS DIDN'T SCORE BUT SHOWED PLENTY IN FIRST-LEG DRAW

When is a home draw almost like a win? When your team is less than three days removed from a marathon late-night match that featured 120 minutes of soccer followed by a 22-kick penalty shootout, and when you can overcome the inevitable fatigue and hangover from an emotional victory and keep your opponent from scoring an away goal.

Not only didn't the Timbers look like the tired team Sunday in their Cascadia showdown with the Vancouver Whitecaps, they closed the match out with energy. Only some heroics from Whitecaps goalkeeper David Ousted kept the Timbers from carrying a considerable edge heading into the second leg in Vancouver.

Make no mistake — Caleb Porter will have to feel a bit disappointed in not finding some goals Sunday. But he had to be proud with how his team responded after Thursday's grueling victory against Sporting Kansas City — the kind of match that would have left most teams dead on their collective feet. What we saw instead was a Timbers side that held the edge on Vancouver in every possible category: shots, shots on goal, crosses, corner kicks and possession. Unfortunately, the only stat that mattered stayed a big zero for the Timbers.

The Whitecaps continue to struggle to generate consistent attack without playmaker Pedro Morales, who is battling through injuries that have hampered him since May, which is the last time he started in consecutive matches. Morales made a 13-minute cameo Saturday, but the Whitecaps will need more creativity from him or Mauro Rosales for lone striker Octavio Rivero to receive the service he needs to be effective. The big problem for Vancouver is that a hampered Morales or Rosales in the starting lineup leaves the Whitecaps with a defensive liability in midfield, which isn't what you want when facing a Timbers side boasting an in-form Darlington Nagbe, as well as Diego Valeri.

The one player Vancouver needs to step up is Kekuta Manneh, who boasts the speed and skill to cause problems for Portland's defense. Manneh was quiet in the first leg, managing two shots on goal while producing just one successful dribble in the attacking half of the field. Timbers fullback Alvas Powell deserves some credit for helping keep Manneh under wraps, but the fact remains the Whitecaps need much more from the young winger if they are going to win the series.

One young attacker who impressed in his second playoff cameo is Dairon Asprilla. The man who set up the extra-time equalizer in the comeback victory against Sporting KC was back it Sunday, going at defenders and making things happen. He wasn't successful with any of his four attempted dribbles, but he still managed to go at defenders more often during his 29 minutes on the field than Manneh did in his 77 minutes. In fact, Asprilla managed more successful passes, defensive contributions and attempted dribbles as a sub than the man he replaced, Lucas Melano. That just might lead Porter to consider starting Asprilla in the second leg.