FC Dallas vs Colorado Rapids
MLS Regular Season, Week 4
March 23, 2019 - 3:55 PM
Toyota Stadium - Frisco, Texas
The jury is still out on FC Dallas early in the Luchi Gonzalez era
FC Dallas have played three regular season games since promoting long-time development academy director Luchi Gonzalez to the position of first team head coach.
The former San Jose Earthquakes and Colorado Rapids striker is the second youngest coach in Major League Soccer (Anthony Hudson is the youngest) and is keen to put his own stamp on the North Texas club after he takes over for Oscar Pareja.
While there's plenty of talent for the 38-year-old to work with, the jury is still out on how this side will fare in Gonzalez’s first campaign in charge.
So far in 2019, fans of FCD have seen a different performances in each of the first three matches. In the most recent outing, Dallas fell to Columbus Crew SC 1-0 on the road. That came just one week after trouncing the LA Galaxy 2-0 and two weeks after a 1-1 draw to the New England Revolution in their season opener at home.
The question that remains - is this group closer to the 2016 side that lifted two trophies, the team that missed the 2017 playoffs altogether or the 2018 team that played well throughout the regular season but fell short in the knockout round of the playoffs?
International duty will test the depth of both sides
Earlier this week, the Chile national team announced that striker Diego Rubio was named to the 24-man roster in advance of their upcoming friendlies against Mexico (3/22) and the United States (3/26). Rubio has started the first three games of 2019 for the Rapids. First in line to make a start for Rubio is rookie Andre Shinyashiki who's appeared in the first three games off the bench.
Dallas will be without three regulars for Saturday's match as Bryan Acosta (Honduras), Carlos Gruezo (Ecuador) and Jesse Gonzalez (US) have all been called up for international duty.
Recent results favor the Rapids
Despite FC Dallas having the edge in the head-to-head series overall, the Rapids have only been beaten once (3-1-6) in the last ten MLS games against FCD. The Rapids only loss in the series since 2014 came during the 2017 season (2-0 on September 27, 2017).
The last time the two sides met was at DICK'S Sporting Goods Park on Decision Day 2018. Late goals from Tommy Smith and Cole Bassett spoiled FC Dallas' chances at a first-round bye in the Audi 2018 MLS Cup playoffs and would send them into the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference. Dallas would crash out of the postseason after a 2-1 loss to the Portland Timbers in the Knockout Round just three days later.
DATE |
SCORE |
RESULT |
|---|---|---|
04/10/2015 |
COL 4, DAL 0 |
W |
04/24/2015 |
COL 1, DAL 1 |
T |
06/19/2015 |
COL 1, DAL 1 |
T |
07/23/2016 |
COL 1, DAL 1 |
T |
09/10/2016 |
COL 1, DAL 0 |
W |
08/12/2017 |
COL 0, DAL 0 |
T |
09/27/2017 |
COL 0, DAL 2 |
L |
10/07/2017 |
COL 1, DAL 1 |
T |
04/07/2018 |
COL 1, DAL 1 |
T |
10/28/2018 |
COL 2, DAL 1 |
W |
What to watch for...
Connor Cape, Radio Play-by-Play Announcer
We all know that FC Dallas and the Colorado Rapids have a history that dates back to the very first MLS season, so this historic rivalry could be a major springboard moving forward should the Rapids grab their first win of 2019 in Texas.
I'm really looking forward to seeing FC Dallas' new system play out in person. They're playing a lot of their young players so far in 2019 which I expect to continue this weekend. With Diego Rubio on duty for his country, we could see Andre Shinyashiki get the start in Rubio's place. Pair that with Cole Bassett or Sam Vines also potentially seeing some playing time and we could be in line to see some of the brightest young talent in Major League Soccer across both teams.
Speaking of the youth, Paxton Pomykal is a player for Rapids fans to watch on Saturday. The 19-year-old came up through FC Dallas' academy and is off to a hot start in 2019. He creates solid chances and gets forward, so it will be fun to watch MLS veteran Benny Feilhaber go up against him.
Finally, Dallas' goalkeeper Jesse Gonzales was called up to the US men's national team, so they'll be playing their second choice keeper. This will provide an opportunity for the Rapids' attack to take advantage and test the backup early and often.
Jordan Angeli, Radio Analyst
The Rapids are still searching for that first win of the 2019 campaign, and I think FC Dallas could be a great opportunity to make that happen. This will be
Kellyn Acosta's
first trip back to Toyota Stadium after being traded to the Rapids last July. I think the US international will have a little extra motivation to show off in front of the club that developed him. He's been putting in a lot more work over the past few games defensively, but I think this match we could see him become a bit more prominent in the attack, especially in Rubio's absence.
Despite last Sunday's tie, it really feels like there is a belief within this group that they are moving in the right direction. A major standout for me has been Dillon Serna who defended superbly against Sporting KC. His ability to get into the attacking third, especially when the ball is getting built up the opposite side, will allow him to be a part of a lot of goal scoring opportunities. Deklan Wynne has also done a fantastic job throughout the first three games in central defense showing off some great depth for Anthony Hudson's side.
