It's not necessarily seen as one of the marquee games across MLS, but over the history of the series, FC Dallas and Los Angeles have played as many epic games as any matchup in the league. With the Western Conference rivals meeting up for the first time in 2013 this weekend, let's take a look back at the top five games between FC Dallas and Los Angeles in the Frisco era:
1. FC Dallas 3, LA Galaxy 0 - November 14, 2010
One of the proudest days in franchise history, FC Dallas defeated Los Angeles 3-0 at the Home Depot Center in the 2010 Western Conference Final to win their first Conference Championship and advance to the franchise's first MLS Cup. Still the last time Los Angeles has lost in an MLS playoff series, David Ferreira opened the scoring for FCD before second-half goals from George John and Marvin Chavez sealed the epic playoff victory.
2. LA Galaxy 6, FC Dallas 5 - July 31, 2007
No one who was at this game will ever forget it. FC Dallas and LA met in the now-defunct Superliga with a spot in the semifinals on the line for the winner. Down 4-0 after just 18 minutes, FCD staged a furious comeback scoring three consecutive goals to make it 4-3 with ten minutes to play at an electric FC Dallas Stadium. FCD and LA combined for five goals in the last ten minutes plus stoppage time in this wild game that is still the highest scoring in stadium history.
3. FC Dallas 4, LA Galaxy 0 - July 27, 2008
They say revenge is a dish best served cold, but in this case, it was very much the opposite. The Galaxy schellacked FCD earlier in the season by the score of 5-1 in a game that eventually ushered in the Schellas Hyndman era, so when Los Angeles returned to Frisco for a game played in the blazing July heat, you knew there was going to be some payback coming. In Hyndman's first win as FC Dallas manager, Kenny Cooper scored twice with Dominic Oduro and Abe Thompson adding goals in the 4-0 win that really could have been twice that many.
4. FC Dallas 6, LA Galaxy 3 - September 12, 2009
With much of the framework in place for the team that would go on to MLS Cup in 2010, FCD staged a furious late-season run that nearly resulted in an unlikely playoff spot. That run of five wins in six games started with a stunning defeat of the Galaxy at the Home Depot Center. In the win, Jeff Cunningham scored twice en route to winning the 2009 MLS Golden Boot while Dallas grabbed four goals in the last 20 minutes of the match to start the wild end to the season.
5. FC Dallas 2, LA Galaxy 1 - May 1, 2011
One of the most unforgettable games in FC Dallas Stadium history, this one had it all. A freak spring storm blew through Frisco forcing the game to be stopped in the 83rd minute with the score tied 1-1. If that was all, it would be one of the crazier games in recent memory, but there was a final twist in this one. With maybe 500 diehards left in the cold, wet stadium after the nearly hour-long delay, FC Dallas won the game on a stunning Brek Shea goal. Was it a cross? Was it a shot? We'll never know, but this goal seemed to spark Shea in his rise to becoming one of the top players in MLS.
There's certainly many crazy ones that we may have left off the list, what FCD vs LA game do you remember most?
