Seattle, WA (July 16, 2023) – FC Dallas (8-9-6, 30 points) earns a point on the road after a 1-1 draw with Seattle Sounders FC (10-8-6, 36 points) on Saturday night at Lumen Field.
SUPER BERNIE
Forward Bernard Kamungo scored his third goal of the season with a diving header to tie the score 1-1 in the first half. The Tanzanian forward scored his first FC Dallas goal in his home debut against Real Salt Lake on April 15 before scoring the game-winner in his first start against LAFC on July 1. Kamungo is now FC Dallas’ second-leading scorer behind Jesús Ferreira with 10.
FC DALLAS DEBUT
Forward Eugene Ansah made his FC Dallas debut when he entered in the 69th minute of the match. The 28-year-old is the 27th different player to appear for FC Dallas this season and ninth player to make his MLS debut. Ansah signed with the club on June 19, 2023 after spending five seasons in the Israeli Premier League and began training with FC Dallas following his arrival on July 10.
RECORD IN SEATTLE
FC Dallas is now 8-14-9 all-time against Seattle, 1-10-4 on the road and has drawn three of the last four times at Lumen Field. Dallas ended a season-long four-game road losing streak with tonight’s decision.
UP NEXT
FC Dallas hosts Charlotte FC on Friday, July 21 for Leagues Cup play. The match kicks off at 8:30PM CT on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, the FC Dallas App, Talk Radio 1190AM and TUDN 1270AM. For more information on Leagues Cup and to apply for credentials, please click here.
Lineups
FC Dallas — Maarten Paes; Sam Junqua, Nkosi Tafari, Sebastien Ibeagha, Geovane Jesus (Dante Sealy – 46’); Facundo Quignon, Edwin Cerrillo, Sebastian Lletget; Alan Velasco (Eugene Ansah - 69’), Jáder Obrian (Herbert Endeley – 88’), Bernard Kamngo (Tsiki Ntsabeleng - 69’)
Substitutes not used — Jimmy Maurer, Nolan Norris, José Martínez,, Paul Arriola, José Mulato.
Seattle Sounders FC — Stefan Frei; Alexandre Roldán, Yeimar Gomez, Jackson Ragen, Nouhou Tolo; Joao Paulo (Nicolás Lodeiro - 65’), Obed Vargas; Cristian Roldan, Albert Rusnak, Leo Chu; Raul Ruidiaz.
Substitutes not used — Stefan Cleveland, Reed Baker-Whiting, Cody Baker, Abdoulaye Cissoko, Joshua Atencio, Freddy Montero, Jordan Morris, Heber.
Scoring Summary:
SEA: Sam Junqua (own goal) – 32’
DAL: Bernard Kamungo (Sebastian Lletget) – 42
Misconduct Summary:
DAL: Geovane Jesus (caution) – 44’
DAL: Sebastian Lletget (caution) – 47’
DAL: Tsiki Ntsabeleng (caution) – 82’
SEA: Albert Rusnak (caution) – 87’
Weather: Partly Cloudy, 75ºF
Attendance: 18,171
FC DALLAS POSTGAME QUOTES
Head Coach Nico Estévez
On the reaction to the result and performance…
“This was an important week for us returning to identity and style of play. We want to be the team that, when we don’t have the ball, we fight, battle and press and help each other. And when we have the ball, we want to be brave from the back and have the control of the possession to get to the opponent’s box. We did well in some areas but in the second half I wasn’t happy with how we didn’t control possession and create chances. We have to improve but in the first half at least we did a better job. This week, getting back to who we are and our identity, we did a decent job in those areas and I’m glad we got the point.
On the importance of the draw before the summer break for Leagues Cup…
“After having two bad results against DC United and Colorado, you could think that the team may have a lack of confidence but I think they responded really well. They said ‘Okay, this happened, we need to respond and go for it.’ And this is what we saw during the best minutes of the game when we had that control and aggression to score. It’s important that the team responded playing away. We knew it was going to be a hard game and we know how difficult it is to score in set pieces and other areas. The effort the team put in at the end of the game, especially the last 10 minutes to keep the result, it was really good and reminded me what we can do when playing away. From here, we can build for the future and come back stronger when MLS resumes.”
On Bernard Kamungo big-game abilities…
“He is a player that competes well and you can see that he's always willing to score, when a player is always willing to score, he gets into greater sports and it makes him have the opportunities and the chances to do it. I think he is a player that has a special motivation when he plays and I don't think it is just against the big teams. He had a period to grow and to get confidence and then from there. We can keep helping him to be a better player.”
Goalkeeper Maarten Paes
On the importance of getting a result on the road…
“It’s very important for the mentality that we have on the road. It’s unlucky to concede a goal but it’s important to get a point on the road after a rough stretch that we’ve had. It gives us a lot of confidence heading into Leagues Cup.”
On his performance tonight…
“It’s been a tough week for me because I lost my grandfather this week. I had to put the emotions away, but after the game I was emotional. I dedicate this game and performance tonight to him.”
On Bernard Kamungo’s goal…
“It was a special goal, it was a great cross from Sebastian (Lletget). It reminded me of Robin van Persie’s goal in the 2014 World Cup. A great header and a great cross. It was great scoring after conceding an own goal. We played a good game overall, especially in the first half. We were able to grind the result out in the second half and it tells you a lot about this team.”
Forward Bernard Kamungo
On his game-tying goal…
“It was just one of those, you’ve got to feel it as a player and I had a feeling to make a run into the box. I saw it right when Sebastian (Lletget) got the ball. I felt that this was my opportunity to score and change the game. Seb got the ball and I was wide open in the box and he curled a cross in and I managed to get the goal off that. It was a team goal. I wasn’t the only one who played a part in the goal.”
On rising to the occasion and scoring against some of the best teams in MLS…
“Well, I just don't think about it, it is just one of those when you're given an opportunity to play, you just got to show everybody and make sure you perform at your best. I just want to help the team, that's what I try to do.”
On his goal celebration of pointing to his head…
“It was actually my brother who told me to do that celebration. I’m not the one who came up with the idea, it was my brother but I love it. Everybody around here loves it.”
