FRISCO — For FC Dallas, the job is done. Well, mostly.
The main goal of the regular season was to reach the playoffs. They’ve done that and likely can even sweeten the deal by hosting at least one playoff match — as four points from the last two matches of the season would be enough to clinch third place in the Western Conference.
FCD’s supporters would be happy to see their team play a win-or-go-home game at Toyota Stadium. After all, the team didn’t sniff the playoffs last year and played a closed-door match at the Portland Timbers during the 2020 season modified because of the outbreak of the pandemic.
“I think here it’s very positive how the fans approach it. I think that’s a good thing,” said goalkeeper Maarten Paes, who arrived from Utrecht in his native Netherlands in the offseason. “In Holland, it’s like if you win, they expect you to win the championship and if you lose they expect you to get relegated. It’s very emotional. Here it’s more [level]. They’re very loyal fans here. We feel that, and they give us a lot of energy during the games.”
Yet, inside the FCD locker room, players are talking about pushing for more, finding motivation internally in an environment in which the external factors are less demanding than other places where many FCD players previously played.
First-year manager Nico Estévez said things may change heading into the final day of the regular season or when the postseason begins, but going into Saturday’s game against the Colorado Rapids, the team has yet to feel true pressure.
“That’s because we’ve installed a way of pushing ourselves so high that anything external won’t be more than what we demand of ourselves,” Estévez said. “Since we’re asking so much of ourselves, we have this hope to reach the goal.”
There is an “x” by FCD’s name in the MLS standings, but center back Matt Hedges pointed out that not only could FCD still fail to finish in the top four of the Western Conference and miss out on the home game in the first round that comes with it, it also could catch Austin FC if the No. 2 team in the West slips in its final two matches.
“It’s not over yet. There are still teams chasing us, we’re still chasing teams in front of us,” he said. “We want to get a home game for our fans, and that’s one of our goals from the beginning of the season. We’re close.”
The drive to keep going and lock up that No. 3 seed and then try to put together a dream playoff run that ends in FCD’s first MLS Cup is something Hedges says comes from inside the locker room, rather than from the coaching staff, from fans or from anywhere other than the players themselves.
“I feel like we have a team full of winners, guys that want to win. That’s what you want to have on your team, and if you have a team full of those guys, then they’re going to push everybody every day,” Hedges said. “All season we’ve been doing that, and it’s a special team because of that.”
Whether it’s an afternoon game against an eliminated Colorado, like Saturday’s contest, or a playoff game with Dallas-Fort Worth fans all of DFW sweeping in to support the team, Estévez knows those players in the locker room will stay locked in on what the next steps need to be.
“Being able to qualify and have a game at home is very important. That’s the motivation as a group, to get that since it hasn’t happened in many years. It could be great,” he said. “After that, we have to continue with our preparation, being able to compete well gives us confidence and prepares us for whatever might come.”
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