FC Dallas Shuts Down San Antonio

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FRISCO, Texas  – FC Dallas earned passage into the fifth round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup with a 2-0 victory over NASL side San Antonio Scorpions tonight at Toyota Stadium.

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FC Dallas will now travel to Houston to face the Dynamo early next week. The winner of that match qualifies for the quarterfinal round of the 101-year-old tournament.

FC Dallas’ Chris Seitz earned his second shutout, and the first at Toyota Stadium this year, but the goalkeeper was kept busy throughout the first half. After making a straightforward save on an Eric Hassli deflection in the 17th minute, Seitz was tested by San Antonio forward Billy Forbes in the 32nd minute. Forbes broke through off to the right side of the six-yard box and attempted to pick out the back post, but Seitz got down to make a diving save. The deflection fell to a wide-open Hassli but the Frenchman was unable to keep his shot on frame.

San Antonio was back at it again in the 36th minute when Freddie Braun went by his marker on the left side and fired a shot, low to Seitz left side. Once again, the 27-year-old goalkeeper did well to make a diving

save that looked destined for the side-netting of FC Dallas’ goal.

FC Dallas head coach Oscar Pareja shifted Fabian Castillo up front to start the second half in place of Tesho Akindele, who left the match at halftime. Andrew Jacobson slid into Castillo’s position on the left flank. The move gave Dallas a distinct advantage in possession through the early minutes of the second half.

Dallas’ best chance came in the 53rd minute when Castillo won the ball back and slipped a pass inside to Andres Escobar. The Colombian quickly played a one-two pass with Blas Perez and would have been in alone on goal if not for a well-timed slide tackle by San Antonio defender Julius Jones.

Drifting into the center of the pitch during the half, Jacobson provided the cutting pass that finally broke down San Antonio’s defense in the 74th minute. The long ball was read perfectly by Castillo, who brought the ball down in stride, ran at San Antonio’s Jeremy Vuolo, and got off a left-footed shot that split the goalkeeper’s legs on its way into the back of the net.

Dallas took a two-goal lead in the 81st minute when Escobar raced up the left flank to catch late substitute David Texeira and make a fine overlapping run. Texeira, who had entered the match just three minutes earlier, put a perfect pass on Escobar’s foot and the 23-year-old finished off the chance with a well-struck ball that beat Vuolo at the near post.

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