FRISCO – It’s been 19 years since FC Dallas brought home a major trophy but Wednesday night in Los Angeles, Oscar Pareja’s men have the chance to reach the doorstep of Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup glory.
A win in Wednesday night’s LHUSOC semifinal against the LA Galaxy would put FC Dallas in their fourth all-time LHUSOC final appearance, the first since 2007, as they seek to bring the title home to Frisco for the first time since 1997 when the then-Burn took down D.C. United on penalty kicks.
“We know that champions get remembered forever so we want to go down in history that we brought something to the team, a championship,” said midfielder Victor Ulloa. “We're going with that mentality as it's the biggest game of the season for us.”
Ulloa came close to lifting his side to an Open Cup two seasons ago when FC Dallas hosted the Philadelphia Union at Toyota Stadium on August 12, 2014. Unfortunately, Ulloa’s penalty kick was saved by Zac MacMath, sending the Union to the final where they eventually lost to the Seattle Sounders.
MacMath saved two penalty kicks that night as FC Dallas attempted to advance to the finals for the first time in seven years on their own soil, but came up short, 4-3, on penalties.
This time around, Ulloa is determined that his team will fare better, building upon their past semifinal experience.
“We're going to stay together as a team, especially strong mentally,” Ulloa said. “We took that experience from 2014 and we're going to grow on it and it'll be a good one on Wednesday.”
Another player that took penalty kicks that August 2014 night was forward Tesho Akindele, who converted the team’s second penalty take after playing the full 120 minutes.
As he’s set to make what would be his sixth career Open Cup appearance, the former MLS Rookie of the Year knows the team is long-overdue for a title.
“I think we have a deeper team,” Akindele said, “which has helped because we've been playing more games this year with the CONCACAF [Champions League] and the Open Cup and I think we're really focused on winning.
“We kind of look back at the history of the team and they won an Open Cup in 1997 and that’s it so we think it's about time we bring some trophies to this team.”
Beyond the players, coach Pareja might have the best perspective of the game’s magnitude, having spent 16 seasons with the team as player, assistant and head coach while never having been a part of a team that brought a title home.
Starting with Wednesday, however, “Papi” has the chance to bring that dream into reality.
“It means a lot,” Pareja said. “It means [a lot] for our community, our franchise and our group because winning trophies for us has always been our desire, our objective.”
It won’t be easy, however, as the squad is pitted against MLS juggernaut Los Angeles Galaxy, who are vying for their third Open Cup title, first since 2005, and a fifth all-time finals appearance. That 2005 edition featured FC Dallas, who the Galaxy beat 1-0 in the final.
However, Pareja trusts his side –– which is currently in the midst of a 12-2-3 run in all competitions –– to be up to the task.
“I think that results always are combination of the hard work [the team] puts on in the field and the eagerness to win –– and we have that,” Pareja said. “That doesn't guarantee you the outcome but we have the talent to do it so we're optimistic and we're going to do what we need to do to make things happen.”
As the teams will meet in Carson, California, the Galaxy have plenty to be confident about as well, having won 17 straight home Open Cup matches, possessing a stacked roster with names like Gerrard, Keane and Dos Santos, and a 2-0 mark against FC Dallas in Open Cup play, outscoring the team 5-1.
Despite this, when prompted about the idea of playing a team of Los Angeles’ stature, Akindele echoed his coach’s confidence following training Monday morning.
“I mean it's a great team. They're full of stars, they're the glitz and glamour, but at the end of the day, it's 11 v. 11,” Akindele said.
“It's 11 players they got versus our best 11 so, none of that really matters once you step on the field.”
You can catch the semifinal tilt from Stubhub Center on Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. on ESPN2. Should FC Dallas win, they would host the final if New England beats Chicago in the opposite semifinal while Chicago would host the final if they win and FCD wins.
