FC Dallas scored the American soccer upset of the year on Sunday, rallying from two goals down in the second half to hand Inter Miami its first loss.
Brazil’s Pedrinho’s 81st-minute score capped a three-goals-in-24-minutes flurry for the visitors.
First-year FC Dallas coach Eric Quill called it “a win for the ages.”
And yet those associated with San Diego FC said they weren’t surprised.
“Because when you watch them, they compete,” SDFC coach Mikey Varas said. “They’re a competitive group. They never give up.”
FC Dallas (4-3-3) visits Snapdragon Stadium on Saturday night looking to extend one of Major League Soccer’s most impressive streaks. The club hasn’t lost a road match since last October, when it fell 3-2 to the San Jose Earthquakes at PayPal Park. Dallas has gone six consecutive road matches without a loss to start the 2025 season, becoming just the third MLS team in the last decade to do so. (Dallas is just 1-3 at home.)
Meanwhile, expansion San Diego FC (4-4-2) continues to struggle.
Varas’ team has lost its last three matches by a total score of 9-3. Last week’s 3-1 home loss to Real Salt Lake might have been the low point of a so-far-charmed season. The match was tied 1-1 in the 54th minute when SDFC defender Luca Bombino was handed a yellow card. Diego Luna delivered on the ensuing penalty kick, giving RSL a 2-1 lead. Sam Junqua added a goal 12 minutes later to put SDFC away.
“We kind of disintegrated into a bunch of individuals the rest of that half,” Varas said, “and that was kind of frustrating.”
More Miami, Messi
FC Dallas’ win in Miami comes with a rather large asterisco.
Perhaps sensing a winnable match ahead of Wednesday’s Concacaf Champions Cup semifinal against Vancouver, Miami rested stars Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba against Dallas.
The strategy didn’t sit well with soccer analyst Alexi Lalas. On his “State of the Union” podcast, the former U.S. National Team star called Sunday’s healthy scratches “disrespectful to a team like Dallas, and Dallas made them pay, and you sent everybody home saying, ‘This was not worthy of our best quality.’ ”
All four standouts were back in the lineup Wednesday, only for Vancouver to beat Miami 3-1. The Whitecaps advance to the Champions Cup final.
Reyes suffers setback
Andrés Reyes’ nightmare season has taken another turn.
The San Diego FC defender “still has some lingering knee issues,” Varas said, and is being evaluated by team doctors.
Acquired from the New York Red Bulls in December for $600,000 in general allocation money, Reyes made his SDFC debut in the club’s April 20 loss to Charlotte. He played 44 minutes before receiving his second yellow card of the game, and was sent off by officials. Reyes was suspended for last week’s loss to Real Salt Lake as a result.
Reyes has been dealing with leg issues since arriving at SDFC. Paddy McNair, who took Reyes’ place when he was sent off, is expected to start against FC Dallas.
Team tumbles
SDFC continues to tumble in MLSSoccer.com’s power rankings. After ranking as high as No. 4 in the 30-team league on April 8, the club is now down to 14th. ESPN is kinder, ranking SDFC eighth, down from sixth a week ago.
“Things suddenly feel a bit more Expansion Team for San Diego,” MLSSoccer.com’s J. Sam Jones wrote. “Teams have tape on them now, and they’re starting to suffer defensively. The growing pains had to come eventually.”
FC Dallas rose to 16th in MLSSoccer.com’s power rankings after upsetting Inter Miami. ESPN.com ranks the club 15th.
Said SDFC midfielder Anibal Godoy: “This league is like this. The MLS is sometimes crazy: You win two games, and you’re at the top of the table. You lose two games, and you’re dropping. There’s so (much) up-and-down.”
