FRISCO — FC Dallas entered its home opener with one mission: exorcise the ghosts of last season. On Saturday night at Toyota Stadium, the club took an important first step.
FCD secured a 3-2 victory over Toronto FC on the same Frisco pitch where it managed just six wins in 17 attempts a year ago.
“We understood we failed here last year in our stadium, and that is the number one change we want to make this season,” head coach Eric Quill said. “Everybody in the locker room knows that what happened last year is not acceptable.”
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The message clearly landed. From the opening match, Dallas showed it intends to turn its home field into the launching pad for a season in which it aims to become a dominant force in the Western Conference.
“Winning at home is vital for us,” goalkeeper Michael Collodi said.
“You want to bring home wins to the fans. That was something we were disappointed with last year. This season we’re focused on winning as many games as we can at home, every one of them if possible.”
The key factor in FC Dallas’ victory was Petar Musa’s two goals.
Early in the match, Dallas opened the scoring when Musa, assisted inside the box by Osaze Urhoghide, beat Toronto goalkeeper Luka Gavran with a left‑footed strike.
The Croatian forward has been Frisco’s top scorer over the past two seasons and is positioning himself as a candidate to lead his national team at the World Cup.
Musa’s goal was celebrated by the 11,004 fans in attendance at Toyota Stadium, which is currently undergoing extensive renovations that have left half of the stands inaccessible.
Despite the reduced capacity, FC Dallas midfielder Ramiro said the team cannot allow that to affect its performance.
“It’s true the stadium is only at about half capacity and you feel like we’re missing a more involved crowd,” Ramiro said. “But I think the energy has to come from what we do on the field. We have to transmit that energy to the fans.”
Toronto put FCD under pressure in the 14th minute when Djordje Mihailovic scored the equalizer with a right‑footed shot from the center of the box into the bottom‑right corner.
In the 38th minute, Dallas struck again when Logan Farrington sent a left‑footed shot from the center of the box into the bottom‑right corner.
Just as FCD seemed to have the match under control, Toronto responded with a counterattack that ended in a goal from Derrick Etienne Jr.
Still, frustration never overtook the home side. Dallas continued pushing relentlessly in search of the win.
Then, in the 74th minute, Musa appeared once more, heading the ball from the center of the box into the bottom‑left corner thanks to an assist from Farrington.
“It’s great to start the season with a win and score two goals,” Musa said after the match. “We came out from the first minute wanting to show our fans what we want to be this season.”
Saturday night’s victory has FC Dallas players believing this could be one of the most exciting seasons in the club’s 31‑year history.
“Our expectations are as high as they can be,” Collodi said. “We are playing to win. We’re not playing for second place or anything less.”
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