FC Dallas will lean on their home-pitch advantage to build on a three-match unbeaten streak when they clash with the San Jose Earthquakes on Wednesday in Frisco, Texas, as MLS returns to action following the midseason international break.
San Jose begins the week in eighth place in the Western Conference while the Toros are in 10th, one place out of the conference’s wild-card match.
The Earthquakes (6-7-5, 23 points) head back to action on the heels of a 1-1 draw June 13 in Portland that produced points for the third time in their past five league matches. Preston Judd scored the equalizer for the Earthquakes in the third minute of second-half stoppage time by cleaning up a shot from Vitor Costa that was blocked on the doorstep by the Portland goalkeeper.
“Although our record to date isn’t what I’d like it to be, we continue to make progress,” said San Jose coach Bruce Arena. “Obviously the next 16 games are going to be critical if we aspire to make the playoffs. So we’ll keep plugging away. But the team deserves credit — they’ve done a good job.”
Cristian Arango leads the Earthquakes’ attack with nine goals over 14 MLS matches and will be keen to continue that run of form this time around. Arango returned against Portland after missing five matches because of an injured left hamstring. The time off since June 13 had to help Arango get back to close to full strength.
Dallas (5-6-6, 21 points) has been much better this year away from home than on its own pitch, with its most recent match a 4-2 win June 14 in Kansas City. Luciano Acosta scored twice in the victory to move into a share of the team lead for goals with Petar Musa (five). Musa and Bernard Kamungo also found the net in the win.
The victory was the Toros’ first in MLS play since April 27, snapping a six-match winless streak (0-3-3). FC Dallas now has points in three straight MLS matches.
“We know we’re better than how we were playing,” said Dallas coach Eric Quill. “We’ve had some honesty with the previous games and growth mindset. Hopefully that takes us into the next stage of where we’re supposed to be. But we need to start climbing and not settle for where we’re at this moment.”
San Jose is looking for its first victory in Dallas since garnering back-to-back wins in 2017 and 2018. The Earthquakes are 0-2-3 in their last five matches in Frisco, including a 2-1 loss to open the 2024 season.
The Earthquakes evened the season series last year with a 3-2 home win in October that ultimately eliminated FC Dallas from playoff contention.
–Field Level Media
