FRISCO, Texas — (AP) — Dante Sealy scored his second career goal, finding the net in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time to rally FC Dallas to a 2-1 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes in a season opener on Saturday night.
With his game-winning goal in the 94th minute, Sealy became the third different player in club history aged 20 or younger to score a game-winner in the 90th minute or later, per MLS officials. He joins Eddie Johnson (twice) and Ramon Nunez in accomplishing the feat.
San Jose jumped out to a 1-0 lead just six minutes into the match on a goal by Benjamin Kikanović, matching his total in 24 appearances last season.
FC Dallas pulled even in the 25th minute on Asier Illarramendi's first career goal. Illarramendi notched an assist in seven starts and 11 appearances last year in his first season.
Sealy's only other goal came during the 2021 season with FC Dallas. He has made three starts and 22 appearances in parts of five seasons with the club.
Maarten Paes totaled four saves for FC Dallas. Daniel De Sousa Britto saved seven shots for the Earthquakes.
San Jose leads the all-time series 29-22-22, but FC Dallas improved to 14-12-10 at home.
FC Dallas played without all three of its designated players. Jesús Ferreira is nursing a muscle injury. Alan Velasco is still recovering from an ACL injury suffered in the playoffs last season. The Frisco club may have their newest signing, Croatian striker Petar Musa for the CF Montreal match. Head coach Nico Estevez said after the game Musa would be in Frisco on Sunday and start training with the club next week.
When asked earlier this week about how long it would take for Musa to be in the lineup, Esetvez said he'd like Musa to have "three or four good trainings to play 45 to 60 minutes."
FC Dallas will host CF Montreal on March 2. San Jose travels to play the Los Angeles Galaxy on March 2.
Here is a look at the highlights from the game:
FINAL: FC Dallas 2, San Jose 1
FC Dallas wins the season opener as Dante Sealy, who stood out in preseason in his new wingback role, sealed the deal in stoppage time.
FC Dallas vs. San Jose: 2nd half
94': Goal FC Dallas. Dante Sealy stole the show in stoppage time with a game-clinching goal.
84': Eugene Ansah subs for Bernard Kamungo. Sebastian Lletget subs for Liam Fraser.
61': Ema Twumasi subs on for Herbert Endeley.
46': Second half start.
Halftime: FC Dallas 1, San Jose 1
Halftime surprise: Press box was treated to the new highlight item of Toyota Stadium ... the Texas Monster Dog. This one is going to be a hit.
FC Dallas vs. San Jose: 1st half
25': Goal FC Dallas. Asier Illarramendi played himself the ball off a saved corner kick attempt and fired a left-footed shot from the 18-yard box. All tied up, 1-1.
5': Goal San Jose. Benji Kikanovic buries home a rebound off a save from a foot in front of the goal.
1': Match start.
FC Dallas vs. San Jose: Pregame
FC Dallas will go without striker Jesus Ferreira in the opening match. Paxton Pomykal is also out of the lineup in the midfield. Logan Farrington makes his MLS debut at the striker spot and Herbert Endeley fills in for the midfield.
Drop a question under this tweet, and we'll ask players your question in the locker room after the game.
Tale of the tape
- FC Dallas opens up its 29th season in MLS against the Earthquakes. This will be the 73rd encounter between both clubs across all competitions.
- In 2023, FC Dallas tied both matches 1-1 against the Earthquakes. The goal scorers in the 2023 matches against the Earthquakes were Jáder Obrian and defender Nkosi Tafari.
- The last time Dallas defeated San Jose at home was on August 14, 2022, defeating the California side 4-1.
Where's Musa?
FC Dallas made a splash signing of Croatian striker Petar Musa, who is the club's most expensive signing in its history. Fans won't see Musa on opening day, however, because he is still in the process of getting a work visa. FC Dallas head coach Nico Estevez told WFAA this week Musa's availability is dependent on how long the visa process takes – it could be days or it could take more than a week.
Estevez added that he'd ideally like Musa to have 3-4 "good trainings" before stepping on the pitch for 45 to 60 minutes.
FC Dallas season prediction: Where will the Toros finish?
MLS pundits seem to collectively have high hopes for FC Dallas this season. The range of projected finishes was high, with one writer slating them second in the West and a couple dropping them as low as 10th (missing the 9-spot playoff). But, as a group, the average finish was the West's No. 4 seed, an improvement of three spots from 2023.
Vegas, however, was not as optimistic as the MLS writers. According to Bet MGM, FC Dallas holds the 11th-best odds in the Western Conference out of 14 teams (and 20th-best overall out of 29 total teams) to win the MLS Cup.
MLS ref lockout: Starting the season with replacement referees
MLS announced a week before the full slate of matches that PSRA referees were locked out after an agreement was not reached in the latest CBA negotiations. PSRA members held picket lines in New York City outside of the PRO headquarters and also outside of a hotel in Dallas where a PRO official was reportedly training replacement refs.
WFAA spoke with two referees at Dallas' picket, Joe Dickerson and Allen Chapman. Here is their conversation with us.
New season, new food
FC Dallas unveiled its new concession items earlier this month for the 2024 season, which of course includes monstrous items for all the foodies out there! You can check out what's new on the menu here.
FC Dallas kit bracket: Which one is your all-time favorite?
Throughout the 2024 season, on FC Dallas match days, I will post a poll on WFAA's YouTube community page, asking which kit you think is better. The winner of the FC Dallas kit bracket will be chosen on Decision Day, Oct. 19. All of the polls will be listed in this story.
Today's polls:
Poll will close Saturday, March 2.
Poll will close Saturday, March 2.
Learn the FC Dallas chants!
At the FC Dallas matches, you'll hear some songs chanted throughout the game. If you want to learn them and grow your #DTID (Dallas 'Til I Die) fandom, click here for a breakdown of each song and the corresponding lyrics.
FC Dallas vs. San Jose: How to watch, listen on radio
TV:
- MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+.
- 7:30 p.m. CT
Radio:
- English: All FC Dallas matches will air in English on the official FC Dallas app. FC Dallas broadcasts also return to Talk Radio 1190 and the iHeartRadio app in 2024.
- Play-by-play: Owen Newkirk, Analyst: Steve Davis, Sideline: Garrett Melcer
- Spanish: All FC Dallas matches will be available in Spanish on the official FC Dallas app.
- Play-by-play: Carlos Alvarado, Analyst: Raffa Calderon
Check out wfaa.com/fcdallas for FC Dallas coverage all season long.
More FC Dallas coverage: