FC Dallas Falls in Western Conference Semifinal to Austin FC 2-1
October 23, 2022 – Major League Soccer (MLS) – FC Dallas News Release
Austin, Texas – FC Dallas’ comeback came up short in 2-1 loss to Austin FC in the Western Conference Semifinal match at Q2 Stadium on Sunday night.
ELIMINATION
In their first playoff meeting between FC Dallas and Austin FC, the host club won 2-1. It was Austin FC’s first win between the clubs. FC Dallas is now 3-1-2 all-time against Austin.
FC DALLAS ROAD PLAYOFF RECORD
FC Dallas holds a 3-17-4 record when playing on the road in the playoffs. It also holds a 5-5-2 record when playing clubs for the first time during playoffs. Austin is the 12th different opponent FC Dallas has faced in club history and second different team during the 2022 postseason.
CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS RECORD
FC Dallas is 2-6-1 overall in a conference semifinals match following tonight’s loss against Austin FC. FC Dallas’ last win was November 14, 2010 against LA Galaxy on the road.
PLAYOFF DEBUT
Forward Jáder Obrian made his MLS Playoffs debut by coming on as a sub in the 75th minute. Obrian was the seventh FC Dallas player to make his playoff debut this year joining Maarten Paes, José Martínez, Alan Velasco, Facundo Quignon, Nanu and Joshué Quiñónez.
YOUNG STAR ALAN VELASCO
In his first two career playoff matches, Alan Velasco registered a goal and an assist. His first playoff goal came against Austin FC in the 65th minute of the match.
Lineups
FC Dallas – Maarten Paes; Ema Twumasi (Nanu – 59′), Matt Hedges, José Martínez, Marco Farfan (Jáder Obrian – 75′); Facundo Quignon (Paxton Pomykal – 59′), Sebastian Lletget, Brandon Servania (Franco Jara – 46′); Alan Velasco (Tsiki Ntsabeleng – 88′), Jesús Ferreira, Paul Arriola.
Substitutes not used – Jimmy Maurer, Joshué Quiñónez, Edwin Cerrillo, Nkosi Tafari.
Austin FC – Brad Stuver; Nick Lima, Julio Cascante, Ruben Gabrielsen, Jon Gallagher; Alex Ring, Dani Pereira (Felipe Martins – 84′); Ethan Finley (Emiliano Rigoni – 61′), Sebastián Driussi, Diego Fagúndez (Owen Wolff – 84′); Moussa Djitté (Maximiliano Urruti – 61′).
Substitutes not used – Andrew Tarbell, Jhohan Romaña, Hector Jimenez, Jhohan Valencia, Danny Hoesen.
Scoring Summary:
ATX: Moussa Djitté – 24′
ATX: Sebastián Driussi – 29′
FCD: Alan Velasco – 65′
Misconduct Summary:
DAL: Facundo Quignon (caution) – 29′
ATX: Julio Cascante (caution) 59′
DAL: Matt Hedges (caution) – 72′
ATX: Emiliano Rigoni (caution) – 85′
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, 82°F
Attendance: 20,738
Referee: Joe Dickerson
Assistant Referees: Kathryn Nesbitt, Chris Elliot
Fourth official: Guido Gonzalez Jr
VAR: Edvin Jurisevic
Assistant VAR: Joshua Patlak
FC DALLAS POSTGAME QUOTES
Head Coach Nico Estévez
On the season ending…
“I would like to congratulate Austin FC, the staff and the players on reaching the Western Conference Finals in the second year. I would like to say that, when we go back to the beginning of the year, after the disappointment of the last season, every one of you, I’m pretty sure, had a lot of doubts about what this team could do this year.”
On the team…
“I feel really, really proud of my players, my staff, the entire front office for this club for all the hard work that they’ve done throughout the year that puts us in a position to be fighting for the Western Conference Final. We couldn’t do it tonight, we came up short. In the first half, we didn’t show what we are able to do in the second half. We are a brave team, an aggressive team, and we had the chances to change the score. But I want to send a positive message from the entire season that this team has done. We’re disappointed today, but we learn to come out stronger for the next season.”
Forward Jesús Ferreira
On tonight’s result…
“It’s heartbreaking to end the season like that. We know that everyone gave everything they could throughout the year to get to where we are now. We were unable to get the result this time but we will keep our head cool as we look forward to next season.”
A message to the fans…
“Thank you for supporting us along the way. We would like to thank you for trusting us since day one. We dreamed of bringing the trophy back home at the end of the playoffs to you all. Unfortunately, we were unable to this year but we are looking forward to the next one and we are looking forward to seeing everyone again soon.”
Midfielder Brandon Servania
On the match…
“We didn’t play how we know how to play. So that’s on us. We know it’s a playoff game and you can’t afford to have a slow start in these games because everyone’s great competition, they’re going to take advantage of it.”
On the team this season…
“It’s a great group of guys. We made progress from last year and it still hurts because we know that we could have gone further than we did. But we just learned from what we did this year and we will keep progressing from last year to this year, and then next year be even better.”
Defender Matt Hedges
On the match…
“The first half we didn’t look ready, we didn’t come out like we were ready. We didn’t come out with intensity and it showed. And you can’t win playoff games playing one half.”
On the team’s slow start…
“Our intensity wasn’t where it needed to be. It was the difference in the game. Between the first and second half, (our intensity) was night and day. We pushed the game to where it needed to be.”
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