By: Anthony Miller
It was all smiles for FC Dallas Saturday night as they dominated LA Galaxy 4-1 earning their way into the MLS playoffs.
The scoring started quickly for FC Dallas as Bernard Kamungo struck the ball in the back of the net with his left foot in the fourth minute with the assist from Nkosi Tafari giving FC Dallas a 1-0 lead. Nine minutes later, Ema Twumasi continued the scoring fun as FD Dallas increased the lead to 2-0.
LA would get back into the game with a goal in the 24th minute to make it 2-1. Six minutes later, Kamungo continued his hot night scoring his second goal of the game making it 3-1.
After a collision with LA Galaxy player Edwin Cerrillo, Kamungo was injured and left the game in the 43rd minute. His replacement, Jader Obrian, didn’t need much time as two minutes later, he lit up the scoreboard with a goal as FC Dallas led 4-1 going into halftime.
The defense for FC Dallas held strong as they took care of business in the second half with no scoring. FC Dallas held on to the 4-1 win over the LA Galaxy helping them secure a playoff spot.
Some key game stats includes Kamungo recording his first two-goal game of his career. FC Dallas goalkeeper Maarten Paes finished the game with four saves for the squad.
Four goals is the most goals the team has scored in the first half and the most they have scored in a game during the regular season. They did score four goals in a game in the Leagues Cup when they lost to Inter Miami in penalty kicks.
Looking Ahead To MLS Playoffs
FC Dallas will be rolling into the playoffs as one of the hotter teams closing the season strong. In their last nine games, they have been undefeated recording two wins and seven draws in those contests.
Thanks to their late season success, they avoided the wild card round to start with. They finished the season as the seventh seed as they will take on the second-seeded Seattle Sounders. There is no date currently set for the first game.
Round One is a best of three series. The wild card games for each conference will be played Wednesday night. After those games go final, FC Dallas fans should have better clarity on their playoff schedule.
FC Dallas has done relatively well against Seattle in the regular season drawing twice against them with both being 1-1 games. Draws will no longer happen as there needs to be winners in these games so FC Dallas can’t lean on that to pick up a point.
With the struggles of the summer behind them, FC Dallas looks like a dangerous team going into the playoffs with a favorable matchup for them. Fans have plenty of reason to be excited that FC Dallas could see success in the playoffs.
Featured Image via X (@FCDallas)