Expand / Collapse search
Watch TV
Menu

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2024 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper.

Sports

FCD tests unblemished record against Seattle

By Sports Network
Published | Updated

Frisco, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - FC Dallas will aim to maintain its perfect start to the season when the club welcomes Seattle Sounders FC to Toyota Stadium on Saturday.

Oscar Pareja's men have taken the maximum points through their first three contests of the season, catapulting the club to the top of the overall MLS table.

Dallas most recently claimed a 2-0 victory over the Philadelphia Union at PPL Park.

The two sides were even until Andrew Pfeffer received a straight red card for a nasty elbow thrown in the direction of Mauro Diaz, reducing the Union down to 10 men. Dallas took advantage in the second half as goals from Tesho Akindele and Ryan Hollingshead clinched all three points.

Blas Perez has three goals in as many games for Dallas while Akindele, Hollingshead and Castillo have each added a goal apiece, giving Pareja a great deal of depth in attack.

"That's the mentality that we want to develop on the team," Pareja told the club's official website. "That everybody feels involved and everybody feels important whether they are starting or coming from the bench."

Dallas will need that depth on Saturday as the club will be without several key players as Perez, Je-Vaughn Watson, Kyle Bekker, Moises Hernandez, Atiba Harris and Jesse Gonzalez have all been called into their respective national team camps.

Seattle will experience similar absences, but its missing players have been key contributors thus far.

Marco Pappa is unavailable due to his commitments with the Guatemalan national team, and Clint Dempsey and Osvaldo Alonso will miss the meeting with Dallas through injury. Meanwhile, Chad Marshall and Tyrone Mears, two stalwarts in the Sounders defense, have been nursing minor injuries and may not feature in Saturday's clash.

"It shouldn't affect the match at all, because I think both teams pride themselves on their depth and the competition for spots," Sounders head coach Sigi Schmid told the club's official website. "It's up to the guys who are on the field to do the business. ... We feel confident in the depth of our team.

"We've got players who can play, and it's their opportunity to step forward."