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MLS FC Dallas

FC Dallas Defeats D.C. United 4-3 to Earn First Road Win of the Season

August 24, 2024 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
FC Dallas News Release


WASHINGTON, D.C. - FC Dallas (9-11-6, 33 points) earned their first road win of the year by defeating D.C. United (6-12-18, 26 points) 4-3 at Audi Field on Saturday night. Four different goal scorers in the first half helped secure the three points.

FOUR IN 45

FC Dallas netted four goals in the first half for the first time this season. The last time Dallas scored four in a half was on October 21, 2023 at LA Galaxy (4-1). This is the second time in 2024 that FC Dallas has scored four or more goals, with the first occurrence on June 19 against Minnesota United. The team had four different goal scorers in the first half, a first since October 6, 2019.

ARRIOLA'S RETURN TO DC

Paul Arriola scored his fourth goal of the season in his first return trip to face his old club D.C. United. Arriola has now scored in three consecutive MLS matches.

A DALLAS DEBUT ON THE ROAD

Newly acquired defender Ruan and midfielder Manuel "Show" Cafumana made their FC Dallas debuts today after appearing in the starting eleven. Ruan previously played with D.C. United in 2023.

TOWERING OVER EVERYONE

Defender Nkosi Tafari scored FC Dallas' equalizer in the eighth minute of the match. The goal is Tafari's third of the season matching a career high he set last year. Midfielder Sebastian Lletget played the cross in via a corner kick for his sixth assist of the season. This is Dallas' eighth set piece goal of the season.

THEY LOVE DA BOY

FC Dallas midfielder Sebastian Lletget scored his second goal of the season, his 28th goal in MLS. He also registered two assists in tonight's match. This is the first time this season Lletget has scored and assisted in a match.

TSIKI TAKA

Tsiki Ntsabeleng delivered his first goal of the 2024 season and his second career goal for FC Dallas. Logan Farrington intercepted a backpass and laid it off to Sebastian Lletget who recorded his second assist of the night to set up Ntsabeleng at the back post.

UP NEXT: THE HOMECOMING

FC Dallas returns to Toyota Stadium on August 31 versus the Colorado Rapids on Star Wars Night presented by UT Southwestern Medical Center. The match will kickoff at 7:30PM CT and will air on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, the FC Dallas app in Spanish and English, and Talk Radio 1190 AM in English.

FC DALLAS POSTGAME QUOTES

Interim head coach Peter Luccin

Thoughts on the team's performance...

"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. 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."

On Show Cafumana and Ruan's debuts...

"Top, top games from both of them. They gave us freshness, bite, aggressiveness and football. This is exactly what we were looking for and exactly the philosophy of FC Dallas. So they fit perfectly into what we want. Beautiful game from those two, very good in the first half. We struggled a bit in the second half but even struggling we fought. I'm very proud of everybody but now we have eight games left. Be happy today, rest tomorrow and come back on Monday and think about the Colorado game."

On forward Petar Musa's late scratch...

"This year we've had a lot of obstacles in our path. We had to change the lineup because Petar (Musa) had something with his foot so we had to change 30 minutes before the game per the rules. But it builds the character of the team. Beautiful effort from Logan (Farrington), great game from him. He's been working hard, it's not easy in his first year at this level but he's doing excellent. Very happy with him."

Midfielder Sebastian Lletget

General thoughts on the match...

"I am so proud of this group. The last two weeks helped us grind as a group. Peter (Luccin) really pulled us together and we wanted to fix things that we felt were not good enough. We showed a lot of that today, but as a group we still want to minimize the amount of goals we concede as a group. We move forward and we got the first three points away from home and that is huge for us."

On earning the first road win of the season...

"It's going to be tough and we know that. To get this type of win against this team, crowd and environment is a big boost of confidence for us heading into these next few road games."

Defender Sam Junqua

On winning on the road...

"That's huge to win on the road. It's clear that we're gonna have to perform a little bit better on the road down the stretch. And so this was really important for us. We got eight finals now ahead of us. One of the things we highlighted was being a little bit more direct and scoring some more goals. And we did that tonight, so we can be happy about that."

On the next match versus Colorado...

"Home matches are going to be really important right now. It's a team that we've played earlier this season, and we know them well enough. We've been playing them every year, and it's going to be a must win."

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