In a season full of ups and downs, FC Dallas left no doubt on Decision Day.
Coming into their final regular-season game with their Audi 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs hopes far from guaranteed, FCD were emphatic in Saturday's 4-1 rout of the LA Galaxy. The lopsided result not only clinched their postseason spot, but ensured the Western Conference's No. 7 seed, skipping the Wild Card round entirely.
"It's really important to win in the way that we did. ... Everything we planned, it worked," head coach Nico Estévez told reporters after the match.
"This year has been a difficult year with a lot of adversity, and we know how hard we had to work, how much we have suffered, and how much we didn't deserve to be in the last day trying to get a spot. I'm really, really proud of the players."
Kamungo shines
Bernard Kamungo, in particular, was emblematic of the type of perseverance Estévez preaches. The 21-year-old's MLS journey boasts an incredible story in its own right, from life in a Tanzanian refugee camp to signing with FC Dallas after impressing in an open tryout. Just days after several assists in his United States U-23 national team debut, Kamungo's first-half brace was the catalyst for Dallas in a must-win game.
"He shows his character and mentality as a person and a player," Estévez said of the young attacker. "He doesn't care about the opponent. He doesn't care about the situation of the game. He just goes outside and competes, and that's the best way that he can do it."
Full steam ahead
Dallas certainly feel they're better than their seventh-place finish indicates; Estévez mentioned it multiple times in his post-match media availability. They've weathered serious adversity this season, fighting through injuries to key players and grinding out results, even when goals eluded them. On the other side of that, Estévez feels they can lean on those experiences to make noise against the in-form Seattle Sounders in their Round One Best-of-3 series.
"Last year, everything went well. We didn't have injuries, we scored goals, and we clinched earlier. We were able to go in a different pace," he said. "But this year with all the adversity, the frustration of not winning when we deserve it, I think it's making us strong and helps us to carry into the game today and to put the team into that position... I think we have to use that mentality and the things that we have done very well and we have learned on the road, to be a really tough team to play."
Homegrown midfielder Paxton Pomykal summed up FCD's journey, ending the year nine games unbeaten (2W-0L-7D) but routinely settling for draws before a Decision Day scoring outburst.
“I wish he didn’t leave it down to the wire like that but it just shows the resilience of the team to have the right mindset coming away to LA, against a team that had nothing to lose and putting a strong performance together like that," said Pomykal.
"That’s a testament to who we are as a team. We had a stretch of games where we tied a bunch, but at the end of the day, those points helped us out and put us in a position to take care of our own destiny today. Now we don’t have to play on Wednesday [in the Wild Card game], which is great."
