FC Dallas Weekly

Record: 2-0-1 (7pts) 1^st in Western Conference

This Week: W 3-1 vs. Chivas USA

            FC Dallas continued its hot start this weekend with a 3-1 victory over Chivas USA. Fabian Castillo opened the scoring in the 71^st minute with a tap in after a Mauro Diaz free kick bounced in his path. Diaz then played supplier for Je-Vaughn Watson with a luscious through ball and Watson side stepped the goalie to double the lead. Erick Torres pulled a goal back for Chivas in the 81^st but Michel restored the two goal lead in the 86^th with a deflected free kick. The win sees FC Dallas move into first place overall in the MLS through three games played. Both teams entered the game with a win and a tie, and this is a good win very early in the season. Chances were hard to come by in the first half, with neither team really threatening. FC Dallas did a good job in possession, keeping the ball for about 60% of the game. After no goals in the first 70 minutes of the game, fans were treated to 4 in 15 minutes. The game ended on a sour note for FC Dallas as Hendry Thomas was shown the red card in stoppage time for a bad foul. The final 10 minutes of the game also saw 3 yellow cards between the two teams as the game got very aggressive and scrappy.

FC Dallas midfielder Je-Vaughn Watson (#27) and FC Dallas midfielder Mauro Diaz (#10) celebrate with Michel (#31) after putting FC Dallas back in the lead

            What this win does for FC Dallas is continue a great start to the season. A 1-1 draw away from home the previous week against defending champion Sporting KC is also a good result. The preseason talk was that FC Dallas is a transition team, and that they are missing the defense to really compete for a playoff spot and beyond. There is some evidence to that, as FC Dallas gave up 2 goals to MLS newcomers Montreal. However, if they can continue to score 3 goals a game, they will win games. The real test will come when Dallas plays in a tough road environment like Seattle and might be forced to sit back for a good part of the game. While the result of the game is positive, there is some bad news as Adam Moffat and Andrew Jacobson both had to leave the game due to injury. Both hurt their left ankles, and Jacobson’s injury is described as a significant ankle sprain which will see him miss some time.

Next up for FC Dallas is a home game against the Portland Timbers. Portland was one of the pre-season favorites to win the title, but they’ve struggled out of the gate with two ties and 2-0 loss to Colorado. But this is a good team and FC Dallas will have their work cut out for them.