St. Paul, Minn. – FC Dallas forwards Paul Arriola and Jesús Ferreira helped the MLS All-Stars to a 2-1 win over the Liga MX All-Stars Wednesday night at Allianz Field.
The MLS All-Stars wasted no time and opened the scoring in the third minute through Carlos Vela following a dangerous cross from his LAFC teammate Diego Palacios.
Arriola was the first Dallas representative to see the field as he replaced the goal scorer Vela in the 32nd minute while Ferreira entered the game after halftime. It was a special moment for the 21-year-old U.S. international as he became the first father-son MLS All-Star duo along with his father, David, who played in the 2010 edition during his MVP season.
"When the list came out, they asked me a few numbers (that I wanted) and the numbers that I had on already 9, 7, 10 were taken," Ferreira explained after the game. "So I talked to my dad and 20 was the number that we picked together and then obviously in the Homegrown game a couple years back, I was number 20. So for the picture frame, we picked 20 so it could look good."
The MLSers started the second half brightly and Arriola thought he doubled the lead with a smart finish following Brandon Vazquez’s cutback but the play was whistled for offside. It was an unfortunate break for Arriola whose night ended shortly afterward as he made way for D.C. United’s Taxi Fountas.
"It was great. Obviously great to win, great to play a few minutes and be able to leave healthy and just overall a great experience," Arriola said postgame. "I really enjoyed it, the fans were great, the team played great and I'm unfortunate not to get the goal but really happy just being out here competing with the guys."
Ferreira played a small part in MLS’s second goal has he played the through ball to find Carles Gil who was then fouled in the box for a penalty, which was dispatched confidently by Seattle’s Raul Ruidíaz. Despite a late Liga MX goal from Kevin Alvarez, the MLS All-Stars were able to hang on to win their second-consecutive All-Star game over their southern counterparts.
"Look it's a great experience to be able to have both of the leagues and their All-Stars come together and play a really competitive match not just for us but for the fans, for the league," Arriola said.
Ferreira and Arriola return to action for FC Dallas this Saturday, Aug. 13 against the San Jose Earthquakes at Toyota Stadium.
