It’ll be home sweet home for FC Dallas on Sunday evening.
After falling to Seattle on the road in leg one of the 2015 Conference Semifinal matchup, Dallas will be fighting to extend their season right where they want to be – Toyota Stadium. The team had the best home record in MLS during the regular season with 13 wins, and they’ll be counting on home-field advantage.
“Now we wait for them in Frisco,” head coach Oscar Pareja said after the game in Seattle. “We will be at home where we have been successful during the year and the series is very open for us.”
One crucial outcome of the first leg was an all-important away goal for FCD. Last season, Dallas was eliminated after consecutive draws by virtue of not scoring a goal at CenturyLink field. A win on Sunday without allowing a Sounders goal would clinch a series victory this time around.
“It’s huge for us. We knew coming on the road we really wanted that away goal. It was good we were able to get that early,” defender Zach Loyd said. “It’s unfortunate that we weren’t able to get out of [Seattle] with a better result, but still coming away with an away goal is a positive.”
On the biggest day of Dallas’ 2015 season, Pareja is confident in his young team’s ability to earn a result for one simple reason.
“This team has character that has shown during the whole season,” Pareja said. “We have that and I don’t have any doubt that we will get a result there.”
