FRISCO - As FC Dallas heads to Toronto this weekend for a meeting against the defending champions, we would be remiss if we didn't take a look back on a franchise record that was tied the last time FCD played at BMO Field.
On the night of May 7, 2016, Dallas found themselves out of substitutions when Jesse Gonzalez was knocked out of the game after a collision in the 89th minute. Ryan Hollingshead stepped up to the plate, put on the green jersey and Chris Seitz's gloves and made two stops - though only officially credited with one save. His performance tied a franchise record for lowest career goals against average (0.00), set by Chris Gbandi in 2003, another field player forced to take the net.
"I’ve been training, making sure I’m ready," the defender-turned-emergency goalkeeper said this week. "Every time I’m in Toronto, I step in goal, which is the only one time we’ve been there."
In just one official minute of action, plus the six minutes of stoppage time added that night, Hollingshead calmly stopped a Sebastian Giovinco free kick from distance, stared unphased in the face of Jozy Altidore trying to block his re-start and made a not-so-textbook diving stop on a Will Johnson shot.
"Honestly, it’s crazy because you look around and you’re like, 'Someone else is probably going to step in goal, right?' And nobody is doing anything. I’m looking around like, 'Someone’s going to grab the gloves, right? We need somebody.' And then finally I was like, 'Well, I guess it’s going to be me.'
"We had always joked about it in the locker room, like if this happens, we’re out of subs, goalie goes down, who jumps in? And there were always a couple of names thrown around and my name was one of them, so I was like alright I fancy my chances in goal. So when it came time, everything happened, we kind of looked around, who’s going to step up and do it, and I was like, ‘Let’s go.’ It was a good moment. I’m just glad I didn’t get scored on."
Here's to hoping Hollingshead isn't called into action this time around in Ontario, or any time soon.
