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MLS FC Dallas

FC Dallas Wins, 1-0, vs. San Antonio FC to Advance to Round of 16 in Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup

June 7, 2018 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
FC Dallas News Release


SAN ANTONIO, Texas - FC Dallas advanced to the Round of 16 in the 2018 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, defeating San Antonio FC, 1-0, tonight at Toyota Field.

Making his first start for FC Dallas, rookie center back Jordan Cano saved a goal off the line in the 26th minute of the match. The SMU product tracked back to the goal line when San Antonio FC's Omar Gordon came free down the right side. Goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer came off his line to challenge Gordon when he cut back to avoid a tackle. The shot clipped Maurer and dribbled towards goal, but Can was in position to knock the shot down and clear it away.

Cano's center back partner, Matt Hedges had the best opportunity for FC Dallas in the first half on the opposite end of the field in the 40th minute. Hedges took control of the ball near midfield, dribbled past two San Antonio defenders and found space outside the area to get off a shot. The defender picked up his head and fired a 30-yard shot that whistled just wide of the post to SAFC goalkeeper Matt Cardone's right side.

Maurer made a kick save on Gordon and Hedges stepped in-behind the goalkeeper to save a quick second shot off the line just before the halftime whistle.

FC Dallas head coach Oscar Pareja made his second substitution of the match at halftime, brining on Santiago Mosquera for Paxton Pomykal but FCD's first sub, Michael Barrios made the difference. The Colombian intercepted a pass in the attacking third and quickly put Tesho Akindele in on goal. Akindele took the chance well, finishing low to the corner with his first touch to make it 1-0, just 10 seconds into the half.

Barrios nearly put FC Dallas up two goals in the 87th minute. Mosquera put a ball though for Barrios and the Colombian sped down the left side of the box before firing a shot. The strike beat Cardone but smacked off the far post.

Lineups:

FC Dallas - Jimmy Maurer, Maynor Figueroa, Jordan Cano, Matt Hedges, Reggie Cannon, Victor Ulloa, Jacori Hayes, Paxton Pomykal (Santiago Mosquera 46), Tesho Akindele (Kellyn Acosta 83), Cristian Colman (Michael Barrios 43), Ema Twumasi.

Substitutes not used: Kyle Zobeck, Chris Richards, Jesus Ferreira, Brandon Servania.

SAFC - Matt Cardone, Darnell King, Ryan Felix, Greg Cochrane, Mike Seth, Mikey Lopez, Maxi Rodriguez (Ethan Bryant 90), Jose Escalante, Omar Gordon, Alex Bruce (Connor Presley 68), Sonny Guadarrama.

Substitutes not used: Diego Restrepo, Chris Christian, Cyprian Hedrick, Ryan Roushandel, Pecka.

Scoring Summary:

DAL: Tesho Akindele (Michael Barrios) 46

Misconduct Summary:

DAL: Reggie Cannon (caution) 52

Weather: Clear, 100 degrees

FC Dallas Head Coach Oscar Pareja

General thoughts on the match...

Happy with the result, of course. Advancing in the cup with some variations and opportunities to some other players that haven't been playing lately. They gave us a lot of trouble, especially in the first half. They created some chances, they were very dangerous. I think in the second half we settled, we were much more synchronized with the model and some players that came in and lifted us up. The second half made us look more like us. The first half was very challenging for us.

On the change to the backline...

[Omar] Gordon was giving us a lot of trouble. They were getting behind and we wanted to add one more midfielder in their half and that's why we brought Santi in and the switch with Maynor and Matt was to let Matt deal with Gordon and Maynor gave us some distribution from there. We wanted from Maynor to just give us that pass, that long pass to Mikey and Santi, and I thought that went well. I think we settled in the second half with that move.

On Jordan Cano...

I'm very happy to see Jordan, Paxton and Ema just do a terrific job for us today. Always, the first game isn't easy. There's always a challenge there because there are many emotions in it. We needed to just wait for them to settle in the game and that took us time. That is why San Antonio took advantage of it and created some damage in the back, but the boys played well. They should be proud to advance in the cup.

FC Dallas midfielder Ema Twumasi

On making his debut...

I was very excited to make my FC Dallas debut today and most importantly I'm very happy for the win. We came out here, we grinded out and we got the result.

On his positioning...

It's something we went over in practice over the last couple of days. It's a position I have played before, so I'm kind of familiar with the position, so when Oscar told us to switch to that formation, I was aware of what I was getting myself into and I was ready for the task.

On getting butterflies starting his first game for FCD...

It's something you've always wanted to do growing up. You want to play professional and the time was there to get my FC Dallas debut and I was excited for the moment and I'm very happy to get it over with, so I'm looking forward to more games and more opportunities in the future.

FC Dallas forward Tesho Akindele

Overall thoughts on the match...

It was a good match, I think the first half they came out with a lot of energy, which we knew they would. We kind of weathered the storm, and then in the second half we had the better of them. And yeah, we got the win.

On his goal...

It was great for me. It was kind of like the dream start for the second half. It was too bad for them, they made a huge mistake, but that's what we do. We capitalize on the other team's mistakes.

On his confidence moving forward...

I just want to let the coaches know when I get the chance, I'm going to do something with it and that's all I can do. Hopefully they'll be thinking about me the next time they're putting the lineups together.

FC Dallas defender Jordan Cano

Overall thoughts on the match...

It's a very big win for the team and very happy to have made my debut and for the team to get the win on the road. To move on in the cup and keep competing, and hopefully lift the trophy at the end.

Did you have any butterflies?

Yes, surprisingly a lot more than I expected, you know. I've been playing, although it's my first professional debut with an MLS team, I got a couple of games in with Oklahoma City earlier. I played for 22 years now, so yeah, it's definitely different than anything I've ever played in, so it was a little bit faster and it took for the nerves to calm down and for me to settle in. I just settled in, and just stuck to what I was good at and stuck to the simple things and did my job.

On his goal line clearance...

I don't really know, honestly. I saw Jimmy was coming out so I was in position to get closer towards the goal line. They took a shot and I honestly don't remember what happened at that point. They took like two deflections and I just stuck out my leg in the direction I thought the ball was going to go into. I found the ball at my feet and was like 'Thank God'. I was very happy to get that.

On adjusting to three on the back line...

We played that in college a lot more, so I was pretty used to it. We have to adjust, and there's no excuses no matter what you do or who you are. You got to come out here and do your job. Whoever they tell you to play, you have to go out there and do your best. I adjusted to whatever Oscar asked, so we were ready.

On the depth of the team...

We've been playing really well collectively as a team, and we have a lot of pieces that can come in and play at any time. Our team is very deep and we're showing that this year, especially when guys get hurt or when guys are tired from the game before. That's going to take us very far, and we've done a good job of winning all these games.

SAFC Head Coach Darren Powell

On the match result...

FC Dallas is one of the best teams in the MLS and we went toe to toe for 90 minutes, I'm not frustrated with that. We couldn't be more proud of our players and their efforts. You see several players just trying to keep the ball in dangerous areas and keeping the opportunity alive. All in all, we felt that tonight we gave them a good game.

On the team's takeaways...

We play game by game as always. We learned from the first game playing against Midland and learned things there about our players. But we also learned quite a bit about our players tonight and their character, and their determination. If we can continue with that intensity throughout the league season, they'll close out with good stuff.

SAFC Defender Greg Cochrane

On the match result...

Anytime you can test yourself against the higher opposition it's a good challenge. It doesn't happen every day and from that point you have to enjoy it. FC Dallas is a good team, they're second in the West in the MLS, so we knew it was going to be a challenge and I thought we put up a really good fight.

On the team's mindset after the match...

It's one thing if you feel like they dominated the whole time, but that wasn't the case tonight. We created countless chances and I believe Omar was our most dangerous player. It was unfortunate that we couldn't put one away, but that's the way the game goes sometimes. Tip the hat to Dallas because they defended well, but we're moving on.

SAFC Midfielder Sonny Guadarrama

On the match result...

We played a team who is on top in the MLS, so that gave us a good test. We came out and improved ourselves and I think the game could've gone either way. There are no what if's in soccer and they put their chance away and took two off the line for us. We're obviously upset about the score, but we have to take away that we had a good game against a very good opponent.

On the team's response after trailing...

The team responded well. Us players that were on the field, we weren't afraid and we wanted to prove ourselves. Overall we had a very good game, but unfortunately we couldn't take the win.

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