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MLS FC Dallas

FC Dallas Takes over First Place in the West with Shutout Draw in Vancouver

October 8, 2015 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
FC Dallas News Release


VANCOUVER, B.C. (Wednesday, Oct. 7) - FC Dallas (15-10-6, 51 points) took over the top spot in the Western Conference with a 0-0 draw against Whitecaps FC tonight at B.C. Place.

Returning to the site of his first MLS start on Aug. 22, Homegrown goalkeeper Jesse Gonzalez made his first save of the night in the seventh minute. The routine stop came after a cross was played in from the right flank by Jordan Smith. The pass found Whitecaps FC forward Octavio Rivero inside the area and the 6-2 striker did well to redirect the cross on goal with pace. Fortunately for FC Dallas, Gonzalez was in perfect position to make the save.

Thanks to a stout backline of Je-Vaughn Watson, Matt Hedges, Zach Loyd and Ryan Hollingshead, Gonzalez would only be called upon to make one more save the rest of the evening.

The 19th minute of the match contained scoring chances for each side. Vancouver's Mauro Rosales swung a corner kick into the area for Pa-Modou Kah and the defender smacked a hard header on goal. Kellyn Acosta was alert on the play and used a snap header of his own to keep the ball out of the back of the net.

At the other end of the pitch just seconds later, Michael Barrios centered a pass for Mauro Diaz to strike with his first touch. The Argentine got all he could on an attempt from the top of the area, but once again, the shot was hit directly at the goalkeeper.

Hollingshead nearly made it 1-0 Dallas in the 25th minute. The left back combined with Diaz and Acosta to setup a shot from inside the area. Hollingshead had time to pick his head up and get a good look at goal before bending a shot towards the back post but Vancouver's David Ousted came up with his second save of the match by diving high to his left side and pushing the attempt out for a corner kick.

With no shots on goal for either side in the closing 20 minutes of the first half, FC Dallas went into halftime with a clean-sheet intact for the 21st time this season.

Gonzalez started off the second half with another simple save. This time it was on a shot by Kekuta Manneh. The Gambian hit the shot directly at Gonzalez from 25 yards away after dribbling into the middle from his position on the left flank.

Akindele returned the favor in the 55th minute after being released in on goal by Diaz via a header from midfield. The 2014 MLS Rookie of the Year took the shot from just inside the area but was unable to avoid Ousted, who made an easy save to his left side to keep the match scoreless.

Diaz setup David Texeira with a lob pass into the area in the 64th minute. The Uruguayan took the ball down out of the air beautifully and put a hard shot on goal from a tough angle, but Ousted came up huge with a diving save to his right side.

Second-half substitute Blas Perez came closer than anyone to putting a ball in the back of the net with his chance in the 90th minute. The Panamanian worked hard to carry the ball through midfield before combining with Akindele and Barrios. The return pass found Perez in on goal with a defender on his back and only Ousted to beat. Perez got his shot by the goalkeeper, but the chance skipped centimeters wide of the back post to give both teams a share of the spoils.

Scoring Summary:

NONE

FC Dallas - Jesse Gonzalez, Je-Vaughn Watson, Matt Hedges, Zach Loyd, Ryan Hollingshead, Kellyn Acosta (Ezequiel Cirigliano 70), Victor Ulloa, Michael Barrios, Mauro Diaz (Atiba Harris 88), Tesho Akindele, David Texeira (Blas Perez 83).

Substitutes Not Used: Dan Kennedy, Michel, Rolando Escobar, Walker Zimmerman.

Total Shots: 12 (David Texeira 4) Shots on Goal: 4; Fouls: 11 (Victor Ulloa 3); Offsides: 2; Corners: 9 (Mauro Diaz 7) Saves: 2 (Jesse Gonzalez 2).

Vancouver Whitecaps FC - David Ousted, Jordan Smith, Pa-Modou Kah, Tim Parker, Jordan Harvey, Matias Laba (Gershon Koffie 89), Russell Teibert, Cristian Techera (Darren Mattocks 75), Mauro Rosales (Robert Earnshaw 86), Kekuta Manneh, Octavio Rivero.

Substitutes Not Used: Paolo Tornaghi, Diego Rodriguez, Deybi Rodriguez, Christian Dean.

Total Shots: 8 (Octavio Rivero 3) Shots on Goal: 2; Fouls: 10 (Octavio Rivero 5); Offsides: 2; Corners: 6 (Mauro Rosales 6); Saves: 4 (David Ousted 4).

Misconduct Summary:

NONE

Referee: Ismail Elfath

Referee's Assistants: Eric Boria, Jeff Hosking

Fourth Official: Daniel Radford

Weather: Indoors

Attendance: 19,339

HEAD COACH OSCAR PAREJA

Thoughts on the match:

"Very tactical tonight. For us it was important to grow, so we can have a good performance like this one. That's going to be how it has to be in the next month. We are happy, we think we had a good soccer performance but especially the tactical behavior of the team was outstanding."

Thoughts on the two teams being very even:

"We are. We are very similar. We have a young squad and players with a lot of energy. At the same time we are an ongoing process. It's a very similar team. Today we ended up with a point, which could have been three with a couple options that we had. Also I have to give respect to Carl Robinson who is doing an excellent job here."

Thoughts on moving forward and being top of the table:

"We need to keep growing. The teams are not going to get any easier from now on. Coming to this place and getting a good result and a clean sheet is important for our confidence and our defence. It's going to be hard, but I see my team growing."

Thoughts on goalkeeper Jesse Gonzalez:

"As you can see today is another clean sheet for him in a very important game. A game that means a lot for both teams. He is like the team, he is growing. He is a young man that is working his way into the big game and today he made great strides forward."

On tactics next going into the next game:

"It's not going to be the same. I am pretty sure it is going to be different. We're at home, we are going to get those points. We need those points. But Vancouver has a tremendous side and they are going to make it very difficult. I have a lot of respect for them."

Thoughts on how to achieve success in the playoffs:

"Performances like this one, where we can go away and get points, get a clean sheet and look solid in the back and create chances. Leaving with the feeling that we even could have gotten three points. Those performances will make us stronger in the playoffs."

CENTER BACK MATT HEDGES

Thoughts on the match:

"We played really well. One of our best away performances of the year. Defensively, we eliminated chances. One header off the crossbar. But other than that we played as a unit extremely well."

On relationship with his goalkeeper:

"He's growing every game and gaining confidence. The more we can help him out in being organized and being solid, the better he'll get every game."

Thoughts on top spot:

"It's huge. The first two spots get a bye. That's a good opportunity for those two teams to get to play a team that comes off a game or two. So it's really important for us to get one of those top spots and get our rest for the playoffs."

On stopping Vancouver offensively:

"Limit the counterattacks is something we have struggled with doing the last couple times we played here. It's something Vancouver is extremely good at. They have quick guys so we tried to stay really organized. That was key to limiting their chances."

MIDFIELDER TESHO AKINDELE

On what to improve for MLS playoffs:

"We have to work on our finishing. I think today we played great defence and had a couple of opportunities to score, myself included, but we didn't put them away and that is something we have to do if we want to win the cup."

Thoughts on coming back to BC Place to play Honduras (with Canada):

"It's going to be really exciting. It's going to be a chance for the West Coast to see the team, obviously we always play in Toronto. I think it's good for the fan base and good for the team"

VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC HEAD COACH CARL ROBINSON

On whether he is happy with today's performance:

"I'm happy we're in the playoffs. I think its credit to every single player in there and staff member. We managed to get into a very tough, competitive Western Conference with two games to go. Performance, I think we need to be better. We can be better. It's probably one of our okay games of the season, so we'll accept that."

On how difficult it is to break down teams like Dallas:

"Very hard. They are a very good team. I think the two teams, the two organizations are pretty similar in a lot of aspects. They were happy to soak up the pressure and they did it very well, and trying to catch us on the counter. You know, when we hit the cross bar in the first five, 10 minutes and we have a goal line clearance and it doesn't go in, you just hope it doesn't come back to haunt us. In the last minute, we could have lost it. It was one of those games, end to end, great to watch, nail biting stuff. Point to point."

On concern that the team peaked in the summer:

"I'm sure you'll say that and you will write that, which is fine. But no, I've got Jordan Harvey who became a father today, him and Kim, special moment for him, 9:30 this morning. I hope he doesn't mind me telling you, but he had three hours sleep. He wants to play today, to help the club and help the team. I've got Pa-Modou Kah, whose groin is hanging off him, but wanted to play through the pain. I've got Octavio who has a sore Achilles. I've got great character in there, so we know we can be better, myself included. I always include myself in that. We're in, so we just have to refocus now. We'll set different targets and we'll move on."

Thoughts on David Ousted's performance:

"He was great. Last week I'm sure people were criticizing him for the mistake he had and he held his hand up. As I said, character guys in that locker room and he bounced back today and has made some fantastic saves, showed a lot of composure. Because it's easy to buckle when things go against your people, say negative things about you, but he doesn't do that. He had a very good game."

On whether his approach changes in terms of away match in Dallas:

"We've not got a brilliant record in Dallas, I think that's saying it politely. It's a game of football, we've achieved a lot of firsts this year and we'll try and achieve one there next week when we go. But whoever is fit to play, will play, no doubt. We'll go there and give it our best shot."

GOALKEEPER DAVID OUSTED

On it being a missed opportunity:

"A little bit. I think it says all about this team. We're in the playoffs, but we're disappointed because we wanted to win this. I think it's a good sign that this team is disappointed at not winning at home and there's still more to come from us. We need to find that these last couple of games and going into the playoffs."

On pushing forward with players missing:

"It's tough right now. A lot of people are dropping and getting niggles and injuries. It's definitely tough, it would be for any team having guys like [Cristian] Techera, Pedro Morales, and then [Mauro] Rosales injured. It's no excuse. Like I said before, the guys coming in just need to step up. They're here for a reason, they're here because they're good enough to be here and they get their chance now."

On his own performance:

"It was good. I said all along that last week was what happens sometimes, you make mistakes, but it was back to my high standards and that was nice."

On making the playoffs:

"It says everything. What is it, five, six [points] to number one [separating from] four, five, six? It's so tight this year and we know that we need to win a couple more games to put ourselves in a good position coming into the playoffs. We'll see where we end up next Wednesday and at the end."

Next FC Dallas home game is Wednesday, October 14th at 8:00 PM vs Whitecaps FC at Toyota Stadium. Purchase your tickets at www.fcdallas.com.

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