Playoffs Out; Playoffs In: FC Dallas and North Texas' Postseason Hopes Diverge

FC Dallas hoped to keep slim playoff hopes alive, but Orlando brushed the home team aside. Meanwhile, North Texas found a late goal to secure the No. 1 overall seed in Next Pro.

Hey readers, we are going live tonight at 8 PM CST, and we have a lot to talk about with FC Dallas’ poor performance at home and North Texas securing the No. 1 seed. Here are some highlights. Hit us with your questions in the comments that you want us to discuss tonight.

FC Dallas Postseason Hopes Fade

Down to the final few hundred minutes of Major League Soccer regular season, FC Dallas faced a tough task - compete against one of the top 4 teams in the MLS Eastern Conference and former FC Dallas head coach Oscar Pareja. Find a result, and they might extend a late hopeful surge into the playoffs.

Despite another home sellout, FC Dallas’ story would come to a close in Frisco on Saturday evening, as Orlando quickly passed through, over, and around the home side’s defense. Three goals from the visitors showed a gulf of class between the two teams. It was not the performance that Luccin and company desired.

Speaking to the media after the match, Luccin was frustrated. “We played with fear.”

Paul Arriola did answer with a penalty kick off of an Orlando foul late in the second half, and for a moment, Logan Farrington appeared to have scored a second goal to give some life to the home side. Arriola was ruled offside in the build up, so the goal was nullified.

While FC Dallas are not officially disqualified from the postseason, the remaining scenarios are as slim as to be impossible. They would need Minnesota or Portland to lose out, and likewise, Dallas would need to win every game, including two on the road, to claw themselves in.

Our take is that 2024 is cooked. The questions will begin to shift to what players deserve to stick around and how FC Dallas should handle the coaching search. Did Peter Luccin do enough to earn more time? We’ll find out soon.

North Texas Finds a Way

It was an unusual match for North Texas, because interim Head Coach Michel chose to rotate in some young players for this road match against Sporting Kansas City 2. It made some sense, as the team will close out at home against Minnesota United FC 2. For the first half and a stretch of the game, rotating the young players led to advantage after advantage for SKC. A first half goal had the home side mostly in control.

In the second half, despite some adjustments that improved the effort and opportunities, North Texas found themselves defending their goal frequently. The stalemate was broken when 17 year old Isaiah Kaakoush, making his professional debut, laced a shot that snuck through SKC’s goalkeeper’s hands. It was a fortunate goal but a big goal. With a draw, North Texas would secure the No. 1 seed in the Next Pro playoffs.

The ensuing PK shootout would also go comfortably to the visitors.

Michel indicated that he chose to leave some first team guys at home to give them a rest ahead of the final home match and then a postseason run at Choctaw Stadium. To get a result in such a situation says a lot about the talent on this team. They will want to close out the season in fine form as they prepare to earn further hardware.

And, hey, it gives FC Dallas fans some postseason action to look forward, supporting these youngsters in the coming weeks.