SANDY, Utah – In the midst of a busy month on three competitive fronts, FC Dallas continued their march toward the 2016 Supporters' Shield with a road point at Rio Tinto Stadium following a 0-0 draw against Real Salt Lake.
After earning the 2016 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup title on Sept. 13 and facing another CONCACAF Champions League group stage match on Wednesday, FC Dallas attempted to add to their Supporters’ Shield and Western Conference leads.
A victory would have put Dallas up by seven points in both races ahead of Sunday’s league action, but the draw kept other teams within striking distance.
And even though the games are coming thick and fast, FC Dallas are not ready to concede any ground.
“We are really committed with this group,” FC Dallas head coach Oscar Pareja said. “Today, at the end of the year and this season, we still are.
“We're fighting for the first spot in the [Supporters’ Shield]. We're not going to give that up and at the same time it's important to qualify in CONCACAF [Champions League] where we're leading the group. It's impossible to have a preference, we just need to be great in the way we do it and see if we can make it happen.”
And on the bright side, grabbing a point was better for Dallas than what happened on their last visit to Rio Tinto Stadium, when they lost 1-0.
“We managed the options well and we managed the [shutout] well,” Pareja said.
Dallas only really tested RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando in the first half, and Dallas goalkeeper Chris Seitz was also sharp for 90 minutes, making four saves on the night, all critical stops.
“He did a great job today when we needed it,” Pareja said. “He shows up when we need it the most.”
Saturday represented Seitz’s eighth shutout of the season and the result kept Dallas on course for what could be a historic domestic treble of trophies.
All things considered, the one point on the road was a reasonable result for Pareja.
“We wanted more than one point, but we understand and we knew that it was going to be a difficult game," he said. "We couldn’t get a point in the last match here."
