MATCH NOTES
- Defender Nkosi Tafari scored his second goal of the season
- Forward Alan Velasco registered his second assist of 2023
- Defender Hebert Endeley made his MLS debut
- MLS Box Score
- Postgame soundbites on Imagen
SAN JOSE, California (May 27, 2023) – FC Dallas (6-3-5, 23 points) played to a 1-1 draw with the San Jose Earthquakes (5-5-4, 19 points) at PayPal Park thanks to a stoppage time equalizer from defender Nkosi Tafari.
SUPER KOS
Nkosi Tafari scored his third-career goal in the 94th minute of the match to tie the score at 1-1. It was Dallas’ latest goal scored during the 2023 season. His last goal came against LAFC on March 25.
UNBEATEN STREAK
FC Dallas extended its MLS unbeaten streak to five games, its longest streak since the club avoided defeat for eight games between March 13 and May 15 of 2022. Dallas has earned two wins and three draws since its last loss away to New York City FC on April 22. FC Dallas have won 10 points from losing positions this season, no team in the league has recovered more.
ROAD RECORD
Dallas sits at 2-2-3 away from Toyota Stadium in 2023. FCD finished 4-6-7 on the road in 2022.
DEBUT
Defender Herbert Endeley made his FC Dallas debut as a substitute in the 83rd minute of the match. FC Dallas’ 2023 first-round SuperDraft pick, Endeley has scored two goals in eight appearances for MLS NEXT Pro affiliate North Texas SC.
UP NEXT
FC Dallas plays at Sporting Kansas City on Wednesday, May 31. The match kicks off at 7:30PM CT on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, the FC Dallas App, Talk Radio 1190AM and TUDN 1270AM.
Lineups
FC Dallas — Jimmy Maurer; Marco Farfan, José Martínez, Nkosi Tafari, Ema Twumasi (Herbert Endeley – 84’); Facundo Quignon (Bernard Kamungo – 83’), Edwin Cerrillo, Tsiki Ntsabeleng (Sam Junqua – 10’ (Jesús Jiménez – 76’)); Jáder Obrian, Jesús Ferreira, Alan Velasco
Substitutes not used — Michael Webber, Sebastien Ibeagha, Nolan Norris, José Mulato, Amet Korça.
San Jose Earthquakes — Daniel; Paul Marie (Tommy Thompson – 57’), Tanner Beason, Rodrigues, Miguel Trauco; Jackson Yueill (Judson – 75’), Carlos Gruezo, Jamiro Monteiro; Cristian Espinoza, Jeremy Ebobisse, Benji Kikanovic.
Substitutes not used — JT Marcinkowski, Jack Skahan, Daniel Munie, Michael Baldisimo, William Richmond, Ousseni Bouda.
Scoring Summary:
SJ: Benji Kikanovic (Tanner Beason) – 70’
DAL: Nkosi Tafari (Alan Velasco) – 90’+4’
Misconduct Summary:
SJ: Jackson Yueill (caution) – 25’
SJ: Paul Marie (caution) – 49’
FCD: Marco Farfan (caution) – 69’
SJ: Judson (caution) – 90’
FCD: Alan Velasco (caution) – 90’
SJ: Carlos Gruezo (caution) – 90’+9’
SJ: Judson (ejection) – 90’+10’
Weather: Mostly Sunny, 62°F
Attendance: 13,409
POSTGAME QUOTES FC DALLAS
Head Coach Nico Estévez
On what happened after the match between the teams…
“Soccer is a passionate sport and it was a difficult game where it was heated. We are not proud of what happened. We’re a team that wants to talk about soccer, about playing, and not what happens after. In the locker room we addressed what happened with our players and staff and we’ll try to be better. When things get heated, we have to calm down and help the referees to make sure everything goes okay. We know we didn't do well. We want to learn from this and get better. We have to make sure that when we talk about FC Dallas, we talk about what an amazing game they played today.”
On the team’s perseverance to earn the draw…
“I think the team played with a lot of personality today. We controlled the game totally, had the (majority of) possession and made good chances. We were controlling the game and this is why we have to give credit to this group. If you want to be a top team, it’s not easy. It’s not easy to get wins. Even though the team did a lot of good things today and deserved more than we got, we conceded a goal in a very unlucky way. It was a weird call, it wasn’t clear if (Marco) Farfan touched the guy, I’ll have to double check. There was a strange bounce, too, in front of Ema (Twumasi). Even with that, our team has that belief and that mentality. Until the final whistle, we fight to get something. I told Nkosi (Tafari) in the 89th minute to go forward. Teams that are brave and take risks get rewarded. I’m really happy that our player got at least a point because they put everything into this game to get more.”
On San Jose’s goal…
“Sometimes it's difficult when a type of ball like these, kind of spinning, when it bounces you don't know. I think that the best way is to try to hit it before it bounces. I have to review it. Ema (Twumasi) had a good distance on it. But, one bounce, you don't know where it's going to go sometimes. As you said - go wide and sometimes it gets in. We weren't lucky enough. I would also like to see the replay to see if it’s a clear and obvious goal through the line because as we don't have the technical software to see it, that is difficult. Once they call a goal, it is difficult to take it off but I I like the response that we had as a team.”
On handling substitutions while dealing with so many injuries…
"We have planned other options for other players in case they get tired and we didn't expect that Tsiki (Ntsabeleng) would get injured that soon. We thought to bring Jesus Jimenez earlier but he's coming off an injury. It was too early in the game, we didn't know if we maybe had to take him off."
"We created enough clear chances to score a couple goals but we created a lot of situations to create clear chances. The problem was that our last pass today wasn't very good. And the calmness and the composure that we had in the middle, we didn’t have in the last half there. I think this is the next step. We talk about how to improve from the game against Houston and have confidence, composure, come to disorganize the opponent and we did it. Now it's about can we move this forward to create more clear chances.”
On Nkosi’s role later in the match
“I think Nkosi’s a big guy and to have good crosses it’s better to have a guy like him. He has a good agility that helps him move in tight spaces. He has a good shot. He’s also a little bit crazy, you know. It’s good to send these guys up top and do crazy things as he did - scoring a goal.”
Defender Nkosi Tafari
On the game-tying goal…
“When you score on the road, it’s nice to see the home crowd get deflated and quiet down, I like that. I would have preferred to earn a shutout, but getting the goal is great. As a center back, getting the shutout is the most important thing, while we rescued the point on the road, it will help us in the final stretch.”
On the team’s preparations for the rest of the season…
“We need to get our guys back and healthy. At the moment we have a handful of guys out with injuries, and this is a massive time for us. Summertime is coming up and that is when we tend to struggle, we need to approach it better and be mindful along the way. We need to maintain our high positioning in the table and continue to push for first place.”
On being a key part in the locker room for the team…
“I am a goofy guy, that is just how I am. I like to make people smile because I feel like everyone tends to be serious all the time. Being able to show up and make someone smile is something I aim for every time.”
Defender Sam Junqua
On returning to play in California…
“It’s been great to see friends in the crowd. It always feels home when I come back here, especially when I got to play 70 minutes as well.”
On his feelings about the match and result…
“The game could have gone either way. We had some good moments and they were dangerous at times. We’re a bit disappointed about the goal and the way we conceded. But the response was great and it was a tight game anyways.”
On his goals for the rest of the season…
“I want to keep getting more minutes like this. I’d like to play my part. Today, it maybe wasn’t what I expected it to look like but whatever it may be, playing more and helping the team more is what I’d like to do.”
