FRISCO – An embarrassment of riches on the attacking end is nothing new for FC Dallas.
But five games into the 2016 season, the club has a new conundrum – who is going to start between the posts every week.
“I’m always pleased when I see every position being challenged by the players, and the goalkeeper position is a good example of that,” head coach Oscar Pareja told MLSSoccer.com. “Jesse [Gonzalez] has done a great job in the games he’s been playing, and [Chris] Seitz in the last two games has shown he can do the job also.”
Gonzalez burst onto the scene late last season when he leapfrogged Seitz on the depth chart in late August and never looked back, starting every game until Dallas were eliminated by Portland in the Western Conference Championship. He notched five clean sheets and garnered attention from around the league after shining in a PK shootout against Seattle in the playoffs.
But Seitz’s performance over the last two weeks has given Pareja and company even more evidence that the position has legitimate depth, and gives the coach another tough decision to make when Dallas host the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday (9 pm ET, MLS LIVE). In two starts this season, Seitz has only allowed one goal and has made seven saves, including one on a penalty kick.
Seitz was also the man of the match in the team’s 1-1 draw against Columbus last Saturday, thanks in large part to five saves – many of which came from point-blank range. The success though, according to Seitz, started much earlier than two weeks ago.
“I had a really good preseason this year, and I came into it confidently,” Seitz told MLSSoccer.com. “Obviously I knew Jesse was going to get the first couple of games and then he was going to be gone with the [Mexican] Olympic team, so there was an opportunity to seize.”
Coupled with his last two games, Seitz didn’t mince words with what he brings to the table.
“If you look and see what I put together at the beginning of the year, it speaks for itself,” Seitz told MLSSoccer.com.
Gonzalez has also posted two clean sheets, but sandwiched in between is a five-goal performance to forget in Houston. In his first three starts before heading off on international duty with Mexico's U-23s, he made five total saves.
Pareja reiterated he believes both are performing at a high level, especially considering how Gonzalez bounced back from the Houston debacle against Montreal. But according to Pareja, Seitz has stepped up more than enough to be in weekly consideration for the job.
“After [Jesse] went to the national team and the opportunity was created, I think [Seitz] did the job well,” Pareja said. “Now Jesse needs to wait in the line and work as hard as they do it every day.”
Pareja said having to decide between two quality keepers that excel his expectations is a good problem to have. But in the eyes of Seitz and Gonzalez, they’re embracing the competition and aren’t pouting, regardless of who gets the nod week to week.
“We’re both obviously confident in our abilities, and obviously we push each other. But we respect each other and work hard together,” Seitz said. “When you look at all three of us last year, we all did very well. All you can do is continue to perform at a high level.”
