Petar Musa’s hat trick shows why FC Dallas needs him firing

Some nights, a striker just refuses to let his team lose. Saturday night at Toyota Stadium was one of those nights for FC Dallas forward Petar Musa.

FC Dallas found themselves chasing the game early on against unbeaten San Diego FC. The visitors picked up not one, but two, early penalty kicks to put the sophomore club firmly in control and left Dallas scrambling to keep the match from slipping away before halftime.

But as Dallas fans have seen over the last two years, when Dallas needed a moment, Musa delivered one.

The Croatian striker scored all three goals in FC Dallas’ chaotic 3-3 draw, including a dramatic stoppage-time equalizer that rescued a point and capped one of the best individual performances of the young MLS season.

More importantly, it showed exactly why Dallas bought Musa to lead the attack from Benfica back in 2024.

San Diego entered the match with one of the league’s best defensive starts to the season, having shutout every MLS opponent they had faced so far. For much of the first half, it looked like they were well on their way to extending that run.

Then pressure from Musa, Kaick and Joaquin Valiente in the San Diego penalty area changed the tone. In the 41st minute, Dallas applied the pressure and Musa got the ball where he is the most dangerous in the penalty area, at his feet.

It wasn’t the cleanest goal Musa has ever scored, but it was a pure striker’s goal. The kind that comes from anticipation, timing and a willingness to attack every loose ball inside the penalty area.

And it gave Dallas a lifeline heading into halftime.

But after the break, San Diego struck again with their third and final shot of the game. It seemed like the game was pulling back away from Dallas. Then Bernard Kamungo got free on a counter attack and forced a penalty kick that Musa hammered home to put Dallas within a goal, again.

FC Dallas manager Eric Quill noted afterward that the effort was there, but once again the margins were thin as his club was chasing the game late into the match.

“We showed the character that we’ve been showing a lot this year when we go down,” Quill said after the match. “I thought we created enough chances to win the game. But some of the decision making led to our demise.”

That pattern has followed Dallas throughout the opening weeks of the new season. Moments of quality mixed with mistakes that make life harder than it needs to be.

But Musa made sure that the night didn’t end with another frustrating loss to a conference opponent.

Deep into stoppage time, Dallas finally found the break they had been pushing for. Kamungo intercepted a pass near midfield and drive forward into the penalty area. Instead of forcing a shot for himself, Kamungo slid a perfectly weighted ball across the penalty box for Musa to finish.

One touch. Hat trick. Chaos.

The ball hit the net in the fifth minute of stoppage time, sending Toyota Stadium into a roar and completing a performance that may prove to be one of the defining early moments of the season for FC Dallas.

After the match, Quill didn’t hesitate when asked about his striker’s performance.

“He’s incredible man, he’s the best number 9 in the league for me,” Quill said. “I was just told he is the first player in club history with two hat tricks. Which is outstanding, I wouldn’t be surprised if there is a third and a fourth coming.”

For Musa, the timing of the performance couldn’t be much better.

Just day earlier, the striker had been called up to join Croatia for their upcoming international window in March. The call gives Musa another opportunity to push for a role with one of the world’s most consistently competitive national teams ahead of this summer’s World Cup.

For FC Dallas, this performance reinforced something that has become increasingly clear this early season. When Musa is involved, Dallas’ attack looks dangerous. When he’s not, things can stall quickly.