The San Jose Earthquakes will travel for their second consecutive match in the Lone Star state this time facing FC Dallas on Saturday, Aug. 20. The match will kick off from PayPal Park at 7:30 p.m. PT and will be broadcast on NBC Sports California Plus, KNBR 1050 (English), and 1370 KZSF (Spanish).
The Quakes will look to continue earning points on the road after their 3-3 road draw against second-place Austin FC last weekend. San Jose are undefeated in their last five visits to Dallas (2-0-3) and have only lost one game in their 12 matches (4-1-7) against the Texas side dating back to 2016.
San Jose played to a 1-1 road draw against FC Dallas in their last match at Toyota Stadium on Sept. 11, 2021. Despite having success in recent years, Quakes interim head coach Alex Covelo knows it will not be an easy task and acknowledges what the opponent is capable of.
“Dallas is a team that knows very well the way they want to play, defensively and offensively,” said Covelo on a virtual media availability on Wednesday. “They like to have the ball to attack with and have so many mechanisms to attack the space behind the lines that can lead in the middle. Defensively its very clear the way that they press. But at the same time, we are going to arrive there prepared and knowing where we can be dangerous against them. In the last games, even if we didn’t get the results that we wanted, we are a team that can compete against anyone.”
With ten matches remaining in the regular season, earning points, especially on the road, is crucial now more than ever in order to make it over the MLS Playoff line. Defender Paul Marie, who scored a long-distance goal last Saturday, recognizes the improvements in the back line to prevent damage in the upcoming games.
“On the defensive side, I think we still have a lot of difficulties to close down the game and finish it,” said Marie. “We’re still in the process of understanding what we can do better together as a team. In my opinion, a lot of times we get too exposed and too open. Moving forward, that’s what we are going to try to do better defensively.”
FC Dallas holds a 9-7-9 record this season (36 pts.), occupying third in the Western Conference. Dallas is seeking first win against San Jose since Oct. 25, 2015, when the home side took a 2-1 victory. The Texas squad is led by All-Star forward Jesus Ferreira who has scored a team-high 12 goals. Dallas’ potent attack also includes American Paul Arriola and Argentine Alan Velasco, who have combined for 12 goals and eight assists.
