FRISCO - By this time of the season, MLS teams in the same conference are generally pretty familiar with one another, but that can’t be said in 2014 for FC Dallas and the LA Galaxy. That will all change very soon.
Having met just once way back in the middle of May, FCD is gearing up for a pair of games against the Galaxy over the next four weeks starting with Saturday’s crucial tilt at the StubHub Center.
“They’re on a good run and they have great players like Robbie Keane and I remember when we played them in May, Keane gave me a lot of problems,” said midfielder Victor Ulloa. “I’ve watched video plenty of times and this time I’m going to keep an eye on him and try to shut him down.”
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Indeed, Saturday’s match features two of the four Western Conference teams that look to be a lock for the 2014 MLS Cup Playoffs as well as the two hottest teams in Major League Soccer since July 1. The LA Galaxy are 9-2-4 since the beginning of July, a 2.06 PPG average that is second only to FC Dallas who is 7-2-1 in the same span for a 2.2 PPG average.
“It’s a team who has a lot of talent up front and has very busy and active players in the middle with Juninho and Sarvas, but it’s a team that gives opportunities in the back also,” said head coach Oscar Pareja. “I see like any other team in the league a lot of strengths and a lot of weaknesses. With all respect, we want to prove ourselves and we have a lot of strengths and weaknesses too but we’re going to go confront them and see.”
For FC Dallas, playing the Galaxy means stopping the aforementioned Keane and Landon Donovan, a job that has proven difficult over the years. As a member of the Galaxy, Donovan has 12 goals and six assists against FCD in 20 career games while Keane has tallied five assists in just six career matches against Dallas.
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“Matt [Hedges] and I have been talking about this game for a couple weeks with the matchups with Keane and Donovan. For us these are opportunities to play against great players and to not only grow as a team but grow as a unit,” said Zach Loyd. “We’re excited about it and going in there with a lot of confidence coming off a big win last weekend.”
Loyd puts it best saying “any time you play LA the stakes are a little higher,” but as previously mentioned, FC Dallas is the best team in MLS since July and there seemed to be a note of excitement in every player’s voice this week when talking about the match. With six points separating second-placed LA from fourth-placed Dallas, FCD's playoff destiny is certainly in their own hands as we head to the season’s crescendo.
"They’re hitting their stride, but I think we’re on our stride too,” said Ulloa.
