Anderson Julio scored his first goal since late May to help FC Dallas battle back to tie the Portland Timbers 2-2.
Dallas battled to tie the game twice to remain in the playoff race in the Western Conference and extended its unbeaten run to seven games. Petar Musa scored his 17th goal of the season and is now one goal away from tying the club's all-time regular season mark.
Both teams traded good chances in the first half, but it was the Timbers who went into the halftime break with a goal advantage after earning an own goal from Ramiro in the second minute of stoppage time. The Timbers had a corner kick that Ramiro accidentally headed into his own goal.
Dallas would tie the game up in the 73rd minute on Musa's penalty kick goal. Ramiro played a long ball through the Timbers defense where Logan Farrington was able to get on the end of the pass in the penalty area. Farrington was immediately brought down in the penalty box. Musa stepped up and scored the penalty kick.
The Timbers regained the lead in the 81st minute. Kristoffer Velde and Cristhian Paredes played a clever combination with one another at the top of the Dallas penalty area. Velde tapped the ball over the Dallas defense where Parades was making a run and he easily beat Jacob Jackson to give the Timbers the lead.
Four minutes later, Dallas tied things up for a second time in the game. A long ball was played into the penalty area where Musa got a head on the ball back to Farrington, who then played the ball back to Julio. The Ecuadorian took a touch before firing a shot that got a friendly deflection into the back of the net.
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Instant Reaction: Man, this team's fight to the end is something else right now. Going down right before halftime on an own goal, and then battling back after giving up another goal after Musa tied things up, we're seeing a team that isn't ready for their season to be done.
Random Stat for the night: With the battle back, Dallas has now earned 20 points this season from a losing position.
About the Subs: Eric Quill went to his bench first in the 65th minute by bringing on Pedrinho and Anderson Julio for Kaick and Patrickson Delgado. Later in the match, he subbed off Farrington for Lalas Abubakar. In the final minutes of the match, Diego Garcia made his MLS debut off the bench when he came in for Chris Cappis.
Man of the Match: Musa is on the hunt for that record and is showing it here.
Where does this fit into the season: With this draw and San Jose's win on the night, FC Dallas slides into 10th place with 38 points. Dallas does have a game in hand on the Quakes with three games to go.
What’s next for FC Dallas: FC Dallas kicks off their final month of the regular season next weekend when they return home to battle the LA Galaxy. This will also be the final regular season match in 2025 at Toyota Stadium.
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