Thanks to an unlikely hero, FC Dallas climbed all the way back from 3-1, to draw with San Diego FC, 3-3 at Toyota Stadium. Despite having deserved a win tonight (and almost losing at one point), the Dawgs find a way to get it done in stoppage time and save a point.
Lineups and Tactics
After spending the previous weekend abroad, FC Dallas arrived back home ready to go… or so we thought? Due to injuries to Anderson Julio and Osaze Urhoghide, the Burn came out in a somewhat unique lineup.
With Petar Musa as the lone striker up top, the home team held a 3-4-3 formation. Kaick and Joaquin Valiente acted as the two forward-midfielders. While Christian Cappis and Ramiro both played a more defensive role in the midfield double pivot.
On the backline, making his 2026 Debut, Nolan Norris got the start for the injured Urhoghide. Sebastien Ibheagha slid over to hold the middle CB role, with Shaq Moore on the other side of him at LCB.
The new’ish San Diego FC (side note – do we have a good nickname for them yet?) held a 4-3-3 formation, with Pablo Sisniega getting his first start of the 2026 MLS season. In front of him, Osvald Søe and Ian Pilcher also earned their first regular-season starts on the backline.
Continuing the trend with fresh faces for San Diego, Alex Mighten and David Vazquez who started at Left and Right wing, respectively, made their first team debut. Most notably absent in tonight’s starting XI was Anders Dreyer, who leads the team in both goals (2) and assists (3).
The Game
In the 17th minute, Moore unfortunately got his hand on the end of a cross from Mighten on arguably San Diego’s first promising build-up of the entire night. Omni Valakari ended up burying his PK opportunity to open the scoring and give the away team an early 1-0 lead.
Things only went from bad to worse nearly 15 minutes later as Dallas conceded their second penalty of the game. This time, Herman Johansson took down Vazquez in the box. Marcus Ingvartsen converted his PK opportunity, and San Diego found themselves up 2-0 after 30 minutes.
“Tonight we went down 2-0 and had a choice to make,” Head Coach Eric Quill said. “The first goal was unlucky, and it would have been easy to say it wasn’t our night. But the guys didn’t do that. They were warriors. They believed, stayed connected, and kept fighting. If you want to be a champion, you need that mentality.”
FC Dallas was able to pull back before the end of the first half. In the 41st minute, the Burn’s high press finally paid off as Kaick won a ball in the box and found a wide-open Musa. His initial shot was saved; however, the follow-up found the back of the net and cut the lead to 2-1 San Diego FC.
The second half began, much like it did in the first half, as SDFC would once again score and extend its lead. In the 51st minute, Valakari tapped in a cross by Mighten for his second of the night. San Diego led 3-1, with 39 minutes left in the game.
However, Dallas would find a bit of luck on their own as Bernard Kamungo found the end of a Norris long ball and chipped it over a diving keeper, subsequently getting taken out. Musa stepped up and buried the PK to cut the lead to one.
As minutes passed, fans began to worry. I even found myself preparing for the worst as I typed out the headline for this post-game and then, bang!
In a moment of brilliance, in the 95th minute, with the game on the line, Kamungo did the unthinkable. Having dribbled through three defenders, he laid it off to Musa, who blasted the ball home to save the draw for FC Dallas.
“Based on the performance, it didn’t feel like we should have been behind,” Coach Quill said. “I’m proud of where this group is after four games, and we’re going to keep getting better. We’ve gone toe to toe with some of the top teams in the league, and I really like this group.”
Although it could be argued that FC Dallas deserved to win tonight, a hard-earned point will never be taken for granted. A large reason FCD was even in position to score a point was because of our Man of the Match.
Petar Musa, once again, showcased why he is one of the leading strikers in the MLS. The first FC Dallas player in franchise history to score two hat tricks. Yes, that is a real stat. His ability to score goals for the Burn has unquestionably cemented him as one of the best to ever do it in Frisco, TX.
“I’m very happy with the three goals today, but it was a team effort,” Musa said. “The guys helped me a lot and were always looking for me in the box, and I’m very thankful for that. We created even more chances and could have scored more, but that’s soccer.”
Up next, FC Dallas welcomes cross-town rival, Houston Dynamo, to Toyota Stadium on Saturday, March 21st at 7:30 pm CT. The Dynamo are currently 2-1-0 on the season.