FRISCO, Texas — FC Dallas’ midfielder turned forward turned midfielder Marvin Chávez continued his recent form, scoring the lone goal in a 1-0 victory over Chivas USA on a scorching Sunday evening in north Texas.
The goal — a deflection off a former teammate and Chivas USA center back Heath Pearce — marked the Honduran international’s third goal in the last two league games after he notched a brace against the New York Red Bulls last Saturday.
Chávez’s goal and the entire 90 minutes were played in an intense heat as game time temperatures reached 102 degrees — a new record high at Pizza Hut Park — and also featured first-half water breaks during the opening 45 minutes.
Chivas USA welcomed back MLS all-stars Nick LaBrocca and Heath Pearce to the starting lineup four days after their second-half appearances in the All-Star game against Manchester United.
For the home side, head coach Schellas Hyndman, whose side had returned just 24 hours earlier from a flight-delayed trip to El Salvador, rested captain Daniel Hernandez as the team sits in between CONCACAF Champions League play-in matches against Alianza FC, handing rookie Bobby Warshaw his third career start.
Early on, Chivas USA came out winning the possession battle and nearly had an early goal from their lone striker Justin Braun, but his forward-lunging efforts to get his body on a Jorge Flores cross were not enough to get a touch on the ball.
The home side settled into the match after the first 10 minutes and Luna showed life up top, launching a volley from outside the box. His attempt, however, flew over goalkeeper Dan Kennedy’s crossbar.
All-Star midfielder Brek Shea showed more of his talents, firing a shot from 19 yards out with two defenders chasing, but the resulting attempt just skipped past the far post.
In the 26th minute FC Dallas was rewarded for its offensive persistence. Rolling down the left side, Shea floated a well-weighted cross to forward Ruben Luna. The Mexican Under-20 player collected the ball and hit a striding Chávez. "The Son of the Wind," with all of his body behind the ball, ripped a shot right at Pearce, who in turn deflected the shot into his own goal.
FC Dallas nearly added to their lead 13 minutes later, but center back George John’s header off a Ricardo Villar free kick hit the post and trickled away from goal.
Chivas USA looked to have equalized early in the second half on a Pearce header in the box, but he was whistled for bringing down Jair Benítez.
The shutout marked FC Dallas’ eighth in their last nine games and, for the defense and goalkeeper Kevin Hartman, their 12th shutout of the season.
FC Dallas next have a midweek game against Alianza FC at Pizza Hut Park in the second leg of their Champions League play-in match on Wednesday before traveling to Los Angeles to play the Galaxy on Saturday evening.
Chivas USA also play on Aug. 6 when they travel to New England to play the Revolution.
SCORING SUMMARY:
DAL -- Marvin Chavez 4 (Ruben Luna 1) 26
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
CHV -- Zarek Valentin (caution; Reckless Tackle) 16
DAL -- Bobby Warshaw (caution; Reckless Foul) 49
DAL -- Bruno Guarda (caution; Reckless Tackle) 53
LINEUPS:
Chivas USA -- Dan Kennedy, Zarek Valentin, Michael Umana, Heath Pearce, Ante Jazic, Michael Lahoud (Alejandro Moreno 59), Simon Elliott (Paulo Nagamura 64), Blair Gavin, Jorge Flores (Ben Zemanski 81), Justin Braun, Nick LaBrocca.
Substitutes Not Used: Francisco Mendoza, Marcos Mondaini, Mariano Trujillo, Zach Thornton.
FC Dallas -- Kevin Hartman, Zach Loyd, George John, Ugo Ihemelu, Jair Benitez, Marvin Chavez (Eric Alexander 62), Bruno Guarda, Ricardo Villar, Bobby Warshaw (Jackson 56), Brek Shea, Ruben Luna (Maykel Galindo 70).
Substitutes Not Used: Daniel Hernandez, Victor Ulloa, Andrew Wiedeman, Chris Seitz.
Referee: Elias Bazakos
Referee's Assistants: -Adam Garner; Eric Boria
4th Official: Armando Villarreal
Time of Game: 1:51
Weather: Clear-and-102-degrees
Attendance: 10,023
