September Outlook: Can FC Dallas make a playoff push?

After stumbling to Colorado at home, does FC Dallas have enough get into the playoffs?

Photo via FC Dallas

It feels weird (but also kind of awesome) to say that we’re in September now. The calendar has flipped over from the summer months into the fall, and I’m all for it.

FC Dallas has returned to a manageable four-game schedule this month, as the days of playing six or eight games in a single month are a thing of the past. Consequently, each game becomes increasingly valuable as the team continues to trail points in the final playoff spot of the Western Conference.

Let’s examine what is in store for this month and where the points may come from when it is all said and done.

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Vancouver Whitecaps - away - September 7

Coming up first is a pair of big road games, starting with the tricky Whitecaps in Canada. The international break is also going to make this one interesting as both teams have several players called up and unavailable for this match. We will dive more into this as the week goes on.

Real Salt Lake - away - September 18

After getting next weekend off, FC Dallas will hit the road for a midweek match in Utah. They’ve done well there in recent trips (a 3-1 beating last fall was a nice boost to the playoff push then) but RSL has been a top three team in the MLS Western Conference all season and proved to be a difficult team to beat the last time these sides met earlier this season (I’ve tried hard to forget blowing a 3-0 lead).

LAFC - home - September 21

Following the two road games, a back-to-back home stand wraps up the month, first with LAFC coming into town. I do think FCD matches up well with LAFC, but there is no doubt in my mind that this is a must-win game.

Orlando City - home - September 28

If LAFC wasn’t big enough, how about Oscar Pareja returning to Frisco with Orlando? Yeah, this one is going to be emotional for a lot of reasons. The Lions are in the thick of things in the MLS Eastern Conference playoff race, so a win away from home would really boost their positioning.

Outlook

By the end of this month, we’ll have a clear understanding of whether this team deserves a playoff spot or if it’s time to bid farewell to the season and move on to 2025.

Two games away and two games at home. At this juncture, the club can’t afford to lose any more points this season. They must find ways to secure points away from home, but they can’t afford to concede points at home either.

Realistically, they need points in every game at the moment. I believe they can manage to secure four or five points from this current slate, which, honestly, won’t be sufficient.