Peter Musa scored the deciding goal on a penalty kick that punctuated a wild sequence early in the second half as surging FC Dallas defeated short-handed Austin FC 3-1 on Wednesday in a Copa Tejas match in Frisco, Texas.
Paul Arriola added a goal and an assist for FC Dallas (8-11-5, 29 points), which has captured two straight contests. Twenty-six of Dallas’ points this season have been captured at Toyota Stadium in suburban Dallas.
Despite the victory, the Toros remain a spot behind Austin in the West standings.
The Verde (8-10-6, 30 points) have dropped three of their past four matches.
Arriola and Logan Farrington combined on the goal that garnered Dallas its initial lead in the 10th minute. Farrington took a clearing pass from the Tsiki Ntsabeleng in the Toros’ zone and dribbled into the offensive end before feeding the streaking, unmarked Arriola on the opposite side of the box. Arriola made quick work of his chance, beating Austin keeper Brad Stuver high into the upper-right corner for his third goal of the year.
The Verde quickly produced the equalizer as Gyasi Zardes found the net in the 16th minute after taking a pass from Dani Pereira and splitting the Dallas defense before besting Dallas goalkeeper Maarten Paes.
Dallas reassumed the lead in a wild sequence beginning in the 51st minute when the Verde’s Owen Wolff was whistled for a handball in the box on a shot by Arriola. Musa stepped to the spot for the penalty kick but was denied by Stuver with a dive to his right.
But a look at VAR ruled that Stuver left his line early to make that save, giving Dallas — and Musa — a chance to make amends. He did so with a kick into the upper-right corner in the 56th minute, and his celebration resulted in a scrum in which Austin’s Sebastian Driussi was assessed a red card in the 60th minute for violent contact.
That forced Austin to play the final 30 minutes plus added time with just 10 men, marking the second straight game the Verde was short-handed for a match’s final stretch.
Dallas added to the lead in the 74th minute as Arriola carried the ball to near the goalie before passing back to Marco Farfan for the easiest of goals.
–Field Level Media
