FRISCO, Texas – FC Dallas finished the 2019 MLS regular season in seventh place in the Western Conference with 48 points (13-12-9). It was the fifth time in six seasons that Dallas reached the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, claiming the seventh and final spot with a 6-0 win over Sporting Kansas City on Decision Day at Toyota Stadium. Here's a closer look at the 2019 season, by the numbers.
| MONTH | % | W | L | T |
| March | .700 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| April | .625 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| May | .100 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| June | .600 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| July | .625 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| August | .583 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| September | .250 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| October | 1.000 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
2019 TEXAS DERBY
FC Dallas defeated the Houston Dynamo, 5-1, on August 24 at Toyota Stadium to retain the cannon named "El Capitán" and win the 2019 Texas Derby. FC Dallas lost to the Houston Dynamo, 2-1, in the first leg of the series on May 5, 2019.
FC DALLAS DEFENSE
FC Dallas finished seventh in the league – and fourth in the West – with 46 goals allowed during the regular season (16 at home and 30 on the road). LAFC led the league with only 37 goals allowed in 2019. FCD ranked 22nd in the league when allowing first goal with a 1-11-2 record and .143 winning percentage. The team allowed 20 goals in the first half and 26 goals in the second half.
FC Dallas finished second in the league with 11,933 Academy product minutes in the 2019 regular season behind Real Salt Lake (12,265 minutes), effectively surpassing 2018's Academy product minutes total of 7,953. FC Dallas started five Homegrown players in six consecutive matches (from March 30-April 27). On June 22, FC Dallas had seven Homegrown players appear in one match, five players started (Edwin Cerrillo, Jesus Ferreira, Jesse Gonzalez, Paxton Pomykal, Brandon Servania) and two players came off the bench (Ricardo Pepi, Bryan Reynolds). FC Dallas had seven Homegrowns appear in a match (five starters and two subs) for the second time this season on August 17 vs. Montreal. FC Dallas is tied with RSL, who played seven players on March 23 against LAFC, for the MLS record.
FC Dallas had 15 different goal scorers this season. FC Dallas players who scored in 2019: Jesus Ferreira (8, most in franchise history by a Homegrown), Zdeněk Ondrášek (7), Dominique Badji (6), Ryan Hollingshead (6), Reto Ziegler (5), Michael Barrios (5), Paxton Pomykal (2), Bryan Acosta (2), Brandon Servania (2), Santiago Mosquera (2), Francis Atuahene (1), Carlos Gruezo (1), Reggie Cannon (1), Bressan (1) and Matt Hedges (1).
FC Dallas set a new franchise record for the most home goals scored in a season with 38 goals, surpassing the previous record set in 2000 with 37 goals. FCD scored 33 goals at Toyota Stadium for four consecutive seasons between 2014 and 2017, but fell a goal short in 2018.
The North Texas club fielded the youngest roster in MLS in 2019, with an average age of 24.12 years at the start of the season. On October 6, 2019, FC Dallas clinched a spot in the playoffs with the fourth youngest team in MLS history (average age of 24 years and 197 days). The youngest team to punch a ticket to the playoffs was the 2007 FC Dallas team with an average age of 24 years, 126 days.
FC Dallas’ game against San Jose on June 8 saw Ryan Hollingshead play in his sixth position on the pitch for FCD. Hollingshead started at defensive mid, filling in for Carlos Gruezo and Bryan Acosta, who both left for international duty with their respective national teams. He played at left-back (including left fullback), right back, center back, left midfield and right midfield throughout the 2019 season. Hollingshead scored his season career-high sixth goal, on Saturday, Aug. 31 against FC Cincinnati and finished first in the league in total duels won (236) and in ground duels won (165) and ranked eighth in the league with 55 interceptions.
BOOTS ON THE PITCH
Michael Barrios played in 96 consecutive league appearances, making his streak the second longest uninterrupted appearance streak by an outfield player (and the fifth-longest overall in MLS history). The all-time record for a field player is held by Chris Klein (141; 2005-09). Barrios was tied with San Jose Earthquakes striker Chris Wondolowski, but Wondolowski missed the Quakes’ win vs. Portland on April 6 ending his streak at 91 appearances. Barrios missed his first game since June 19, 2016 on May 11 vs. the New York Red Bulls due to yellow card accumulation.
Jesse Gonzalez recorded his 200th career save for the club on April 13 against the Portland Timbers, a feat that has only been done by four others in franchise history (Mark Dodd (495), Matt Jordan (458), Dario Sala (328) and Kevin Hartman (239)). Gonzalez moved ahead of Hartman and is now third among FCD goalkeepers with 271 saves. He earned his first Team of the Week honor following his performance at Mercedes- Benz Stadium where he made a season-high seven saves in the 2-1 win over Atlanta United FC on April 20. A week later, Gonzalez earned a spot on the Team of the Week bench after recording his second shutout of the season against San Jose on April 27. Gonzalez tied his season-high saves record on Sunday, September 29 against the Colorado Rapids.
Ten FC Dallas players earned their MLS debut this season: Bryan Acosta started in the home opener against New England on March 2, Edwin Cerrillo subbed in the final 11 minutes against LA Galaxy at home on March 9, Johnny Nelson debuted in his home state on March 16 vs. Columbus, Zdeněk Ondrášek and Thomas Roberts both came in during the second half of the home match against Colorado on March 23, Homegrown Brandon Servania subbed in on the road against Philadelphia on April 6, Bressan subbed in the final three minutes vs. Portland at home on April 13, Bryan Reynolds came in the final minute of the match against LAFC in LA, Generations adidas player Francis Atuahene debuted and scored against San Jose on the road on June 8, and summer addition Edwin Gyasi subbed in against Minnesota United at Allianz Field on July 13.
FC Dallas players Edwin Cerrillo, Paxton Pomykal and Brandon Servania, along with the U.S. U-20 National Team, advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2019 U-20 World Cup in Poland running from May 23 to June 15 before falling to Ecuador, 2-1, on June 8. The U.S. is the only team to advance to the quarterfinals in three consecutive World Cup tournaments. The U20’s defeated tournament-favorite France, 3-2 in the Round of 16 on June 4. Brandon Servania scored in the first group match against Ukraine on May 24 and won a penalty kick in the 1-0 win vs. Qatar on May 30. Paxton Pomykal captained the squad for four matches.
FC Dallas’ two representatives at the 2019 MLS All-Star game Matt Hedges and Paxton Pomykal combined for 62 minutes in the All-Stars’ 3-0 loss to Atlético Madrid on Wednesday, July 31 at Exploria Stadium in Orlando. Defender Matt Hedges earned his first start in his third MLS All- Star game, partnering with former FCD teammate and fellow center back Walker Zimmerman for the first time since the latter’s departure to LAFC. Hedges played the entire first half, making a team-high three tackles and registering the best passing accuracy of any All-Star with 96.7%. Paxton Pomykal earned his first MLS All-Star appearance via a Commissioner’s Pick which recognized the 19-year-old’s breakout season. Subbing on for LAFC’s Diego Rossi in the 73rd minute, Pomykal had 10 touches, nine passes and drew a foul before the final whistle.
