FRISCO, Texas – There were celebrations galore at Toyota Stadium on Saturday night.
On the day that MLS announced FC Dallas midfielder Fabian Castillo’s inclusion to the MLS All-Star game, it was the Colombian winger himself who proved to be the difference between one point and three, scoring a stoppage-time goal to give FCD a 2-1 win over D.C. United.
“It was a great day to be able to celebrate it,” Castillo said of his All-Star selection, speaking via translator. “Especially on behalf of my family. It was very special.”
For much of the night, it was a game of inches for the home squad, who now is tied atop the MLS standings and is alone atop the Western Conference.
Dallas dominated the game for much of the 90 minutes, despite the fact that the match nearly ended in a draw. They outshot DC 8-2 in the first half, with three of those being on target, and fired a multitude of shots that were within a foot of being either a goal or a save by D.C. goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra.
But they had nothing to show for it until Kellyn Acosta’s first career MLS goal in the 72nd minute.
“We were very frustrated, especially when we had so many chances and couldn’t get any in,” Castillo said. “We thought the game might end up in a tie or maybe even a loss, but we just kept working and we ended up winning.”
Up until D.C.’s equalizer in the 77th minute, the Dallas backline also had a milestone to celebrate. Not only was it defender Zach Loyd’s 28th birthday, but the defense made it an MLS season-best 348 minutes without conceding, with D.C.’s lone tally ruled an own goal against Dallas’ Matt Hedges.
The biggest celebration, however came in stoppage time, when for the second time this season – the first being the season opener against San Jose – the club showed its resiliency by hanging tough until the final whistle was blown.
This time, they have their All-Star midfielder to thank.
“That’s this team,” said head coach Oscar Pareja when asked about the word “resiliency” after the match. “I probably cannot pronounce it well, but I find it a pretty good description of this team.”
While Castillo knew before the match that he had earned a trip to Colorado, Pareja said that the rest of the team did not find out until afterwards.
Even with Castillo in the know, he had more important things on his mind entering tonight’s heavyweight fight, according to Pareja.
“We told him last night, and the answer from Fabian was ‘Coach, let’s get the three points first,’” Pareja said of Castillo, who has eight goals on the season. “That says a lot.”
In the end, the celebration that the team is savoring the most, even if temporary, is the fact that FC Dallas is back where they were a couple of months ago: atop MLS.
“I thought the will of the team to go and fight for the three points, that was incredible,” Pareja said after the match. “That was a magic night for the whole team, and I can’t be more proud.”
