Having advanced to MLS Cup in 2010, FC Dallas qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League for the first time in 2011 in an eight-game run full of ups and downs that included a record which will never be beaten. As FCD prepares to learn their opponents for the 2016-2017 CONCACAF Champions League on Monday, take a look back at the 2011 run.
FC Dallas defeats Alianza, advances to group stage
While today, every team starts in the group stage, in 2011 there was a play-in qualifying round FCD took part in, paired against El Salvador's Alianza in a home and home series.
Playing in their first-ever road international competitive match, FCD held on early and then found a goal through Jackson's individual effort to pull out a 1-0 result heading back to Frisco. At Toyota Stadium, Ugo Ihemelu gave FCD an early goal from a corner to go up 2-0 on aggregate and cruised from there to advance to the group stage.
Group stage starts strong
FC Dallas opened the group stage with what looked like the toughest matchup of the round playing at Mexico City giants UNAM Pumas in the DF. FCD put out their strongest 11 against a surprisingly weakened Pumas team and made history. In the second half, a shot from Jair Benitez hit the post, rebounding to Marvin Chavez who scored on the rebound to give FCD a lead.
Dallas would hold on for the 1-0 win becoming the first MLS team ever to win a competitive match on Mexican soil.
Schellas Hyndman's side followed that up with another 1-0 win in a wild match played in Toronto. With weather delaying the match until the next day, Dallas found a goal from Jack Stewart, a loanee defender who played just a few matches with the team, to secure six points from their first two matches.
FCD unable to take advantage at home
With six points from two road matches and two matches still to play against Panamanian minnows Tauro FC, things were looking good for Dallas but they were unable to take advantage at Toyota Stadium.
Colombian midfielder Danny Cruz put FC Dallas up 1-0 against Tauro just 26 seconds into the match for the fastest goal in CCL history. However, FCD conceded a penalty late in the first half and ended up tying 1-1 to move to seven points from three matches.
The week after that, FCD hosted Pumas in a rematch of the Dallas win a month prior. With a strengthened side, Pumas and FCD batled very closely but it was the Mexican winners who finally found a go-ahead goal with just a few minutes left in the match before sealing it in stoppage time to take a 2-0 win. With one point from two home matches, FCD was still in good shape at seven points but needed a win in one of their last two games to advance to the knockout round.
Struggling to the finish line
Traveling the cross-continent trip to Panama, FCD lost a wild match in the driving rain at Tauro FC 5-3. Losing 2-1 at halftime, five goals were scored in the last 15 minuets of the match. Despite the loss, Dallas knew if they could beat Toronto FC at home, they would still advance to the knockout round.
However, FCD was unable to do that falling 3-0 to their Canadian counterparts at Toyota Stadium, still the one and only TFC win in Frisco.
The loss meant FCD did not advance from the group with seven points from six matches.
