FC Dallas begins tough stretch of road games this weekend
FC Dallas begins tough stretch of road games this weekend
Four out of the next six games are away from home.
First, it was a busy schedule, now, it is a busy schedule with a lot of road games.
Four out of the next six games for FC Dallas are on the road, including this weekend’s trip to the west coast to battle the San Jose Earthquakes. The stretch would have been four out of the next five, but to add a fun wrinkle, the match with St. Louis CITY that was abandoned earlier this month will be resumed in the middle of this stretch.
“We’ve had this past week to prepare with three games,” said midfielder Edwin Cerrillo. “It is very mentally fatiguing, but I think we found our strength and our strength with each other. When we’re playing away from home, we know it is going to be a battle. We’re looking at it from an exciting point of view.”
So far in 2023, FC Dallas has a respectable 2-2-2 record away from Toyota Stadium, with their two wins coming in shutouts at Miami and, most recently, in Austin. That is a steady improvement so far compared to the 4-6-7 record away from home in 2022.
“It started last year. It took us a while to get a win on the road,” said FC Dallas head coach Nico Estevez. “The team showed that character and mentality to be a tough team to beat on the road. We carried that from last year into this season, and I think with the things that we learned last year gave us the possibility to win two games. also, against Vancouver, we were close. We have to keep going.”
They’ll need that mentality this weekend against San Jose, a team they haven’t beaten on the road since 2016.
“I love traveling with the boys, so it is going to be fun,” said midfielder Paxton Pomykal. “I think we’ve gone to different stadiums and performed well this year. We’re turning that into a strength of ours.”
Last September, FC Dallas picked up a 1-1 draw with the Quakes in San Jose after downing them the month before at home 4-1. Maintaining that road form won’t be easy since the Quakes are currently unbeaten at home in 2023. Part of that includes one of the league’s top goalscorers in 2023, Cristian Espinoza, and United States men’s national team forward Jeremey Ebobisse.
“They combine really well and have a lot of numbers around the ball,” explained Pomykal. “They’re a fun team to watch and will be a challenge to play against. They have a really good midfield, so it will be a good battle for me. Obviously, some threats up top, just a more complete team this year.”