- FC Dallas winger Kalil ElMedkhar starts in his first MLS match.
- Maarten Paes recorded five saves in today’s loss.
- MLS Box Score
Commerce City, Colorado (October 1, 2022) – FC Dallas (50 points, 13-9-11) fell to the Colorado Rapids (42 points, 11-13-9) 1-0 in the club’s final road match of the regular season on Saturday afternoon at DICK’s Sporting Goods Park.
ELMEDKHAR
Forward Kalil ElMedkhar made his first MLS start for FC Dallas. The 23-year-old has made 10 substitute MLS appearances since joining the club in 2021 from the University of Kentucky. It was ElMedkhar’s fifth league appearance of 2022 and his seventh overall after playing twice in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
REGULAR SEASON ROAD RECORD IN 2022
FC Dallas finishes 4-6-7 in regular season play away from Toyota Stadium in 2022. Dallas was 2-10-5 on the road in 2021. FC Dallas is 6-17-4 overall in the final road match of the season.
SCENARIOS FOR HOSTING A PLAYOFF MATCH FOLLOWING WEEK 33
FC Dallas still has the opportunity to host a Round 1 playoff match in the Audi 2022 MLS Cup Playoffs based on results of other matches this weekend. There are a number of scenarios that need to happen, however, for that to occur following the conclusion of Week 33 action. A loss by the LA Galaxy against Real Salt Lake plus a Portland Timbers loss against LAFC and a Minnesota United FC draw or loss at San Jose Earthquakes would have Dallas hosting a playoff game at Toyota Stadium in the first round of the postseason.
UP NEXT: FC DALLAS HOSTS SPORTING KANSAS CITY IN SEASON FINALE
FC Dallas hosts Sporting Kansas City presented by Socios.com for its final regular season match. The match will kick off at 4PM (TXA 21, FCDTV Network, KMPX-29, Talk Radio 1190AM KFXR and TUDN 1270AM).
FC DALLAS POSTGAME QUOTES
Head Coach Nico Estévez
General thoughts on the match…
“We knew it was going to be a difficult game playing against a Colorado (Rapids) team that has a good record at home. Their unbeaten streak at home is now at eight. Playing at a high altitude, playing on a new pitch made it difficult for the players on both teams to play the game the best way. Playing on the road in Colorado has not been the best, and the record shows it. The line between winning and losing is very thin. We had chances to not lose the game and also to win the game. We did not convert our chances and that showed in the scoreline. We need to be more ruthless and have more quality to finish games off. This kind of game is a preview of what to expect in the playoffs. We are going to create limited chances in close games like these but you need to know when to finish those chances. Once you are in the playoffs games are going to be more closed and even because they are going to be tight games.”
On the team’s mentality heading into MLS Decision Day…
“It’s the same as we had today, to come in and win and get three points. We have to wait for the results of the other games today and tomorrow to see what position we finish. But for us, we want to make it ourselves and not wait on other results. We came here with the mentality to win and we didn’t do it and now our game at home, in front of our fans and families, we’ll have the right mentality against Kansas City.”
Midfielder Sebastian Lletget
Reaction after today’s loss…
“Upset with ourselves. I’m upset with myself. I had a good chance to tie it up. It just didn't go in. I thought we had better chances than them but, on the day, I think we weren't as sharp as they were. We knew this place is always historically tough to go to but, you know…yeah…we're pretty upset with ourselves.”
What this means for playoff positioning now…
“You know, you feel devastated but, again, we have to remember that, thankfully, we have another chance, you know, to at least give ourselves the best chance next weekend. I know it's technically out of our hands but we gotta just reward ourselves for all the hard we’ve done. I mean, I thought we’d done really well to get to this point, so I guess that’s why it's even more disappointing today.”
