First Touch: #FCDallas
- Updated: July 1, 2015
Photo Credit: David Silverman/New England Revolution
The Revolution look to break their three-game losing streak when they play FC Dallas for the only matchup between the two teams in the 2015 MLS regular season. Kickoff is at 9:00 pm this Saturday, July 4th at Toyota Park in Frisco, Texas. Here are a few things to know about FC Dallas going into the match:
*FC Dallas is in the middle of the pack of the Western Conference standings, holding onto sixth place with 26 points through 17 games. FC Dallas is within striking distance of Seattle (29 points), Portland (28 points), LA Galaxy (28 points), and Sporting Kansas City (27 points), while keeping an eye on the San Jose Earthquakes (25 points) who are on their tail. With four points separating second and seventh place, every game is important for FC Dallas.
*Outside of an unusual 4-0 loss to Colorado, FC Dallas is unbeaten at home so far this season, sporting a 5-1-3 record in MLS play this season at Toyota Park. FC Dallas is coming off a 2-0 home win over in-state rivals Houston Dynamo.
*FC Dallas has had a June full of mixed results, with a 1-1-2 record, not including a comfortable win in the U.S. Open Cup. After a scoreless draw in San Jose, FC Dallas suffered a 3-0 loss at Seattle. FC Dallas returned home to defeat OKC Energy FC comfortably 4-1 in the Open Cup, before drawing on the road at Colorado. FC Dallas then earned their first MLS win since May 9th when they toppled the Houston Dynamo.
*FC Dallas also has a mid-week match on July 1st when they travel to Sporting Kansas City in a fifth round matchup in the U.S. Open Cup.
*FC Dallas will be well represented in the upcoming CONCACAF Gold Cup, as three players will feature for their respective nations in the July tournament. Forward Blas Perez will be representing Panama, while forward Tesho Akindele and midfielder Kyle Bekker will play for Canada. The trio are all expected miss the matchup with the Revolution while training with their respective nations in preparation for the tournament.
*Fabian Castillo is the key offensive threat with six goals, five assists, 42 shots and 16 shots on goal, all of which lead the team, or are tied for the team lead. The 23-year-old Columbian attacking midfielder scored a career-high 10 goals last year, but is well on pace to reach a new high this season.
Two players expected to miss the match due to the Gold Cup have also led the Dallas attack: Panama forward Blas Perez has posed a solid offensive threat, as he has scored five goals in 2015 after leading the team with 11 goals last season. Canada forward Akindele is a late-game threat, scoring three times in nine appearances, six of which were as a substitute. Dallas will need to make up for their absences.
*The primary lineup for FC Dallas and player ratings, according to www.whoscored.com, is presented below:
*FC Dallas has used the 4-2-3-1 formation in 15 of 17 matches so far in 2015. They have an 6-4-5 record in their primary formation. In the remaining two matches, FC Dallas used a 4-1-3-2 (a 1-0 win) and a 4-2-2-2 (a 0-0 draw).
*FC Dallas is led by Colombian national Oscar Pareja, who is entering his second season as FC Dallas head coach. After retiring in 2005, Pareja served as an assistant coach for FC Dallas, an assistant for the United States U-17 national team, and head coach of the Colorado Rapids before FC Dallas traded a first-round MLS SuperDraft pick and allocation money in January 2014 to make Pareja their head coach. Pareja has a 47-29-23 record as a head coach in the MLS, including a 23-17-11 as FC Dallas head coach.
Pareja also had a successful playing career from 1987 to 2005, including spending 1998-2005 in the MLS. Pareja actually made 13 appearances for the Revolution in 1998, before being traded to Dallas for forward Damian Alverez. While Alverez’s Revolution career was over after two appearances, Pareja would end up playing 189 games with Dallas from 1998-2005 scoring 13 goals and being named to the MLS Best XI in 2002.
*This matchup is similar to last season’s battle between the squads, when New England travelled to Dallas in July in the midst of their worst slump of the season. Dallas would prevail, defeating the Revolution 2-0 from goals provided by Andres Escobar and Tesho Akindele. Here are highlights from that match:
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