Recap: Explosive Weekend for FC Dallas and North Texas

FC Dallas found a crucial away win in DC, 4-3, but North Texas faltered 4-0 in St Louis. What does this weekend mean for both teams?

Last Saturday, FC Dallas arrived in Washington DC for a crucial matchup against an Eastern conference foe. A lot was on the line, whether the Burn could maintain their decent form after flaming out of the Leagues Cup and if they could find some way to win on the road, a feat that has eluded them in 2024. Points are important, no matter who you play, but this one was becoming a must win for Dallas, especially with a mostly healthy roster.

And guess what? They got the job done under interim head coach Peter Luccin, scoring 4 goals and holding on as a ten man DC United pushed for an equalizer.

Sebastian Lletget was in particular a standout performer for the boys from Frisco with a goal and 2 assists, enough to earn him a slot as Player of the Week for MLS.

There were beautiful moments of soccer throughout, as Dallas passed their way through DC’s line and found a scoring touch that they often lacked this season.

Was it a domination? No. DC found an early goal from Christian Benteke that had many Dallas fans nervous. And for moments even in the second half, DC United pressed and pushed and looked dangerous.

Luccin was pleased after the match, though he acknowledged the things that needed improving.

“So many emotions right now. It was a beautiful first half, we played amazing soccer and scored great goals. Very proud of the soccer we played on that field, it’s not easy. We knew they needed the win as well, we’re in the same position more or less in the rankings. That’s why it was so important. Games like this, 4-2 in the first half, with a man up, we should have managed it better,” Luccin said to media. “But at the same time the emotion, when they scored the third goal, we could’ve gotten scared or panicked. We stopped playing and they pushed us. But it’s a win on the road. And after 12 games, a win on the road is a win. We’re getting closer to our goals and again, it was a beautiful first half. Now we need to be a little bit more responsible.”

The high-scoring match was also due to DC being in a similar position as Dallas, trying to piece together results to push toward a playoff spot this late in the season.

As an important note, Jesus Ferreira returned to action in this one, looking a bit rusty but nonetheless a good thing to have the team talisman in the mix. Petar Musa was a late scratch, but Jordan Farrington stepped in quite confidently to lead the line, unlucky not to earn himself a goal. The big debuts of Ruan, who capped his first start with an assist, and Show Cafumana delighted fans. Show in particular may be a sneaky good signing for this team.

This was a big match for the team. Getting three points on the road can silence some of the doubts and help them focus on each crucial match ahead. The playoffs will be a fight, but they are a possibility for this squad.

As to North Texas, this past weekend will be one to forget. The young squad, at the top of MLS Next Pro, traveled to St Louis City and got ran out of town by 4 goals. Simply put, this was one of their worst performances of the year.

“Just not a great performance by us tonight. We started very disorganized in the first half, and they took advantage, creating chances and scoring two goals and two more goals in the second half off counterattacks,” North Texas head coach Michel told media. “A lot of individual mistakes tonight, but let’s move on. Players are frustrated, but it’s time to reorganize and prepare for Colorado this weekend.”

Sometimes, especially in Next Pro, these results happen. When North Texas has faltered in the past, they’ve managed to turn things around quickly, so we’ll see what holds for them as they prepare to face Colorado in this final stretch of the season.

Fun note: Nolan Norris started with North Texas after earning minutes more recently with FC Dallas and the US U20s. While his return was welcome, no doubt, he would love to have been able to do more to salvage a result in St Louis.

“We are really disappointed, there is no other way to say it. We did not show up, and once we tried to get into the game it was too late. Credit to St Louis CITY2, they showed more than us,” Nolan said after the match. “Individually we need to look in the mirror, including myself. It’s a frustrating night in the office. We have nights like those, and sometimes we need those nights to humble ourselves and push forward.”