- Winger Paul Arriola scored in his fifth consecutive match. Just one goal away from Jeff Cunningham’s club record of six consecutive matches.
- Forward Franco Jara contributed with a goal and an assist after coming on in the 63rd minute.
- Homegrown forward Jesús Ferreira recorded two assists in the match, bringing his total to four for the season.
- MLS Box Score
Orlando, FL (May 28, 2022) – FC Dallas (7-3-4, 25 points) defeats Orlando City SC (6-5-3, 21 points) 3-1 thanks to a brace from Paul Arriola and a goal from Franco Jara on Saturday night at Exploria Stadium.
Game Summary
First Half:
- 8’ – SHOT (DAL) – Paul Arriola played a ball into Alan Velasco whose long range effort went high over the crossbar of the goal defended by Pedro Gallese.
- 16’ – SHOT (DAL) – Velasco found Arriola on the wing and he attempted a left-footed low driven shot that was saved by Gallese.
- 28’ – CHANCE (DAL) – Arriola and Jesús Ferreira link up in the box and his cross towards Velasco was cut out by Robin Jansson.
- 45’+1’ – SAVE (DAL) – Mauricio Pereyra’s shot from the outside of the box was pushed over the goal by Maarten Paes for a corner kick.
- 45’+4’ – GOAL (ORL) – Ercan Kara was able to redirect the ball with his head to score and give Orlando the 1-0 lead, following a free kick cross from Pereyra.
Second Half:
- 56’ – SHOT (DAL) – Facundo Quignon attempted a half-volley at the edge of the box but his shot went wide right.
- 59’ – SAVE (ORL) – Kara’s bicycle kick was heading to the bottom left corner but Paes was able to keep it out.
- 67’ – GOAL (DAL) – Franco Jara’s cross from the right side was met by Arriola who smashed it past Gallese to tie the match at 1-1.
- 70’ – GOAL (DAL) – Ferreira’s through ball fell into the path of Jara who chipped Gallese to score and give FC Dallas the 2-1 lead after coming on as a sub.
- 84’ – GOAL (DAL) – Arriola snuck his shot in the bottom right corner past Gallese to extend FC Dallas lead to 3-1.
FC Dallas Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Nico Estévez
On the comeback…
“We weren’t good enough in the first half. I don't think Orlando was much better than us. The half time talk was that we weren't good enough in that first half. We can complain but we need to come in and win and play our way. God had a plan for us and that plan was to play the way we wanted to play and get the win. We made a couple adjustments offensively and defensively that helped us out. It was more of the mentality and intention of coming out there and having the determination to change the game. I remember last weekend, Saturday night late in the night I received a text from Franco Jara apologizing for the way he played and not being able to convert the chance he had. I told him no worries, that he will give us a lot during the season. The way he responded today with a goal, I am so happy for him. For Paul this is why we paid big money for a player of his quality. We see his potential in what he can do and he's the best winger in the league. He’s showing up every weekend and is always working hard.”
On the team’s mentality…
“I think it is not easy to do what the team did today. To prevail in Orlando, that is a very difficult place to get points and get a win. Going behind and having that feeling after losing the last two games, everything is on your shoulders and everything is on your mind. For us to be focused on ourselves we can control our destiny and this is what I told the guys. We are better players. We are not doing the things that we have to do to win this game. We have to go out there, show up and show the extra extra effort, the extra help the tension and everything and then all we'll be able to come back and steal 45 minutes to play. This is what the guys did and I am so proud of it.”
FC Dallas forward Franco Jara
On the halftime talk…
“I think we had to convince ourselves that this game was winnable. We had to change our attitude and be more aggressive. That is what we did in the second half, we came out calm and more comfortable in ourselves. Whenever we play like that, we know that we can beat anyone in the league with that mentality.”
On receiving confidence from Nico…
“Nico is an excellent person on and off the field. I have the confidence to talk to him like the way I did. It didn’t feel forced because Nico is someone you can talk to and tell them how you are feeling. When you have a coach that gives you the confidence and supports you like Nico, the only way is up. His text message helped me a lot because I want to improve every time. He gives the whole team so much confidence and helps motivate every single one of us.”
FC Dallas forward Paul Arriola
On the team’s comeback win…
“It’s a great win, it’s a great team win. I’m happy to contribute to the team but overall I thought our second half was big time. We knew that Orlando was coming into this game after playing 120 minutes midweek in the heat and we know how exhausting that can be, but we didn’t execute our game plan in the beginning of the game. I think we didn’t really control the game and we didn’t settle or get control and tempo and that worked against us. We gave up a goal but at the beginning of the second half we had a great response to it. From a player’s perspective, you’re just thinking about getting the next one. We got the first one, and then Franco (Jara) had an amazing second goal. I was happy to be able to finish it off at the end, where we’ve been lacking a little bit on the road. There’s a lot of stuff still to learn but it’s interesting how we’ve come out so well in the first half of away games, but tonight it was a little different. We ended up using it to our favor.”
On his time with FC Dallas so far…
“It’s been great. I’ve said it before, I wanted to come to Dallas, I wanted to be a part of something special. I’m just happy to be a part of this club. I just try to be the best player that I can be for my team and teammates. I’ll just try to continue and play well and stay healthy for my team and for myself. I’m just really going through a good moment and trying to capitalize on that. I want to keep my head down and keep going because we haven’t accomplished anything yet, I haven’t really accomplished anything that’s on my goals list right now. So, I’m just going to keep going and stay healthy and keep helping the team.”
