FC Dallas benefited from an early goal from in-form teenager Ricardo Pepi, but then gave up two goals later in the first half before grabbing a stoppage-time own-goal to salvage a 2-2 draw against Vancouver Whitecaps FC at Toyota Stadium on a star-spangled Sunday night.
Dallas looked on the front foot from the opening minutes, and struck first in the 22nd minute, when Jesus Ferreira progressed down the right wing and fired in a pass perfectly placed for Pepi to meet with a diving header for the opener. However, the 'Caps were able to even the score in the 30th minute, with Lucas Cavallini gathering a Cristian Dajome pass that Bressan failed to intercept.
The Canadian international then weaved around the unlucky defender for the finish. Cavallini then nearly got a second goal five minutes later, but John Nelson did enough on defense to prevent the brace and keep the score knotted until just before the half.
But questionable defending stung Dallas again toward the end of the half, with touted 17-year-old Justin Che heading a ball back dangerously toward goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer; the resulting stoppage-time corner kick allowed Andy Rose to find a seam and head in a goal to make it 2-1 just before the break.
FC Dallas kept up their pace and shot advantage when play resumed, and forced Whitecaps 'keeper Maxine Crepeau into some second-half saves, including on efforts by Ryan Hollingshead and Bryan Acosta. Luchi Gonzalez also opted to get Paxton Pomykal into the match relatively early, with a 63rd-minute sub that also saw Dante Sealy bring some fresh legs, and then, in the 75th minute, swapped out defensive midfielder Facundo Quignon for attacker Franco Jara.
Yet another late FCD sub, Andres Ricuarte, was involved in a chance for an equalizer at the outset of a wild eight minutes of stoppage time, taking a free kick outside the box in the second minute of second-half stoppage time but not getting enough on it.
But then the hosts were able to engineer an own-goal, with Pomykal sending a cross into the goalmouth that a just-subbed-on Ranko Veselinovic headed in to his own net. Riding that momentum, FC Dallas tried to capture a late winner, but couldn't extend their luck.
Goals
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: The draw doesn’t move the needle much for either team, but getting a result at this stage of the season is preferable to falling farther into the chasm that a loss would have created. While just 1 PPG won’t get Dallas to a playoff spot in the West, they did at least maintain that pace, which is better than the current trajectory that Vancouver are on.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: The dramatic own-goal at the end wasn’t quite the finish Dallas were probably envisioning when they flooded the final third with fresh attacking subs, but certainly, they’ll take it.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: In between giving up a just-got-beat goal and the friendly fire at the end, Crepeau made seven saves, including a last-gasp one denying Pomykal that preserved the result. And the Canadian stopper showed the form that’s made him a Gold Cup selection.
Next Up
- DAL: Wednesday, July 7 at LA Galaxy | 10:30 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+ | MLS regular season
- VAN: Wednesday, July 7 vs. Real Salt Lake | 10 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+ | MLS regular season
