The 2025 season has been a long and difficult one for FC Dallas.
After starting the season strong on the road, the club stumbled in some early home games. FC Dallas hovered above the playoff line for the first couple months of the season, but after a blowout loss in San Diego at the beginning of May, the club was in a tailspin for a couple of months as the summer heated up.
All of that has changed since the middle of August. FC Dallas manager Eric Quill has shifted formations, transfered out an expensive Designated Player, added in some players that fit the collective group better, and the result has been six straight games without a defeat.
In the last two weeks, the club limited Colorado and Austin defensively, while the attack continued to come alive due to the combination of Petar Musa and Logan Farrington.
For Quill, getting over the playoff line for the first time since May isn't enough as his team now has a difficult task in front of them with three of their last four games away from home starting with this weekend's game at Portland.
“Staying humble and hungry,” said Quill. “We have to understand that we’ve achieved nothing even though we’re playing well. We know there is a ways to go, and we have to go to a place that is tough to play and stay hungry.”
A win for Dallas on Saturday would give them three straight wins for the first time since the 2020 covid-shortened season. Quill sees this as an opportunity to continue to battle with their backs up against the wall.
“We have a winning mentality right now and our backs are still against the wall," said Quill. "We don't look at streaks, its all day-to-day and be the best version of ourselves. We have to go there and be aggressors and get after it."
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Defender Osaze Urhoghide sees the challenge ahead in Portland on their turf as an x-factor going into this weekend.
"The turf can sometimes be difficult to play on and in an environment like Portland, turf can change how the game plays, the way the ball bounces, and how you pass the ball," said Urhoghide. "It can be a difficult environment, but we're going to be focused on the three points."
A win on Saturday would not only extend the unbeaten streak and help the playoff chances, but it would also mean the club is picking up its first victory at Providence Park since 2016. According to Quill, the club has to stay locked in for the entire game and find ways to silence the Portland crowd.
"Their crowd is second to none and it is arguably the best enviornment in the league," stated Quill. "They're passionate and loud the whole game. Their side feeds off of it, you see it game after game. We have to stay really locked in for 95-plus minutes if we're going to get a result."
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