FC Dallas beats LA Galaxy; heads to MLS Cup for first time ever

by PegNews wire

FC Dallas will now travel to Toronto to take on Eastern Conference Champion Colorado on Sunday. Watch it at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN.

Photo by Jamie Walzel

FC Dallas fans

FRISCO — FC Dallas earned its first trip to MLS Cup Sunday night with a 3-0 win over the Los Angeles Galaxy at the Home Depot Center.

“We had no excuses. We were outplayed,” said LA Galaxy Head Coach Bruce Arena. “We were beat on most matchups on the field, and we were outcoached. Dallas deserved the victory. I give them a lot of credit and wish them the very best in the Cup Final.”

Goalkeeper Kevin Hartman made four saves in the first 25 minutes to weather the storm until MLS MVP candidate David Ferreira got FC Dallas on the board first in the 26th minute. On the play, defensive midfielder Daniel Hernandez played a long ball over the top of the Galaxy defense. Forward Atiba Harris shielded off a defender long enough for Marvin Chavez to gain control of the ball on the right flank. With the ball, Chavez cut inside before delivering a cross to Ferreira, who cut back quickly to open a shooting lane between defenders Omar Gonzalez and A.J. De La Garza. Ferreira struck the ball well from the top of the box, beating defenseless goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts with a shot that caught the far side netting.

Hartman continued his stellar form with a one-goal lead. He denied Landon Donovan on a breakaway attempt in the 31st minute. Then, defenders George John and Ugo Ihemelu got forward to attack, giving FC Dallas a 2-0 advantage in the 54th minute. The play began with an FC Dallas corner kick taken by Ferreira. The Galaxy cleared the ball twice, only to have Chavez knock it back into the area. The second loose ball was controlled by Ihemelu at the top of the area and sent wide to streaking outside midfielder Brek Shea. Shea touched the ball inside before sending a ball low to the back post, where John was waiting to finish off the cross.

FC Dallas weathered another barrage of pressure from Los Angeles before grabbing a 3-0 lead in the 73rd minute. Harris outworked multiple defenders to gain possession in Dallas’ attacking third of the field before finding Ferreira who delivered a cutting ball to Chavez at the back post. Chavez dribbled in against Ricketts and picked out the back post for Dallas’ third goal of the match.

With the win, FC Dallas earned the first MLS Cup appearance in franchise history. The Dallas side will travel to Toronto to take on Eastern Conference Champion Colorado on Sunday, November 21 at 7:30 p.m. CT on ESPN.

“Right now, I think Colorado is a good team and they will probably be a little bit more acclimatized to that weather than we are,” said FC Dallas Head Coach Schellas Hyndman. “At the same time, we will be at our best. These games only come so often in one’s lifetime. If it is good enough, then we are going to win the MLS Cup. If it is not good enough, we know we will have given our best.”

Source: FC Dallas