FRISCO, Texas – For the first time since last century, FC Dallas are riding a five-game win streak.
With a dominating 4-1 effort over the Portland Timbers on Saturday night at Toyota Stadium, Dallas are now one win away from tying a franchise record for consecutive victories.
The winning streak, moving them four points clear atop the Western Conference, is also the longest of any MLS team this season.
“The ball’s bouncing right in our way,” said midfielder Victor Ulloa. “Results are bouncing right in. We’ll take everything.”
It’s a confidence and swagger that was lacking two months ago when they managed just two points from a five-game road trip. Now FCD are riding high after recording 16 points from their last six games.
“I think the confidence is there for everybody that’s on the field,” midfielder Ryan Hollingshead said after the match. “Every time we step on the field, we believe 100 percent that we’re going to win the game. And there was definitely a part of the season earlier in the season when we didn’t have that same feeling.”
When things were going sour, head coach Oscar Pareja provided a myriad of factors as to why his team couldn’t secure a positive result, from lack of concentration on defense to tough scheduling.
Another reason he pointed to was the team’s youth.
Throughout the current win streak, Dallas have seen their younger players start to grow into form – tonight’s examples being midfielders Kellyn Acosta and Michael Barrios.
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Barrios, in his first season with Dallas after being brought in before the season to mirror Colombian counterpart Fabian Castillo, recorded his second and third career MLS goals to stake his team to a 2-0 first-half lead, just two weeks after scoring his first.
Acosta scored his second career MLS goal after recording his first last week. He also notched his first career assist by beating three Portland defenders who were closing in to find a wide-open Barrios.
“We’re growing. We’re still young. The boys understand the game that way,” Pareja said after the match. “But now I see a combination of good energy and that young spirit on the field with some matureness that we are getting through the games.”
Dallas’ last two wins are especially telling, considering the last one came over Eastern Conference leading D.C. United and Portland are also in playoff contention in the West.
“I’m happy because those performances we can keep building on,” Pareja said. “The first half was excellent. I thought we beat a really good team, one of the most organized teams in the league. That makes us even happier.”
