FRISCO, TX. – Santiago Mosquera and FC Dallas hosted Colorado Rapids on Wednesday night. It was a crucial six-pointer between two teams below the red line in the Western Conference playoff race.
RMC Hangover: Santiago Mosquera, FC Dallas Smoke Colorado Rapids
The two sides battled in the first half with each hitting the post in the opening half. Both played direct and pressed the other to create turnovers and go for goal.
Santiago Mosquera opened the scoring in the 41st minute. Matt Hedges played the ball directly to Michael Barrios on the wing. He went forward with Colorado catching up. He played the ball into space for Mosquera to get to it and score.
FCD proved effective on set pieces on the night. Four minutes into the second half Franco Jara scored on a corner, off a header that went unchallenged.
Mosquera made it 3-0 in the 57th minute. He won the ball from Keegan Rosenberry on a bad turnover, ran on goal, and scored on an accurate shot the bottom far corner on Clint Irwin.
Colorado pulled one back after a triple substitution. Andre Shinyashiki scored on a turnover, as Nicolas Mezquida won the ball outside the box. He found Shinyashiki at the top of the box who took a touch and beat Kyle Zobeck.
The comeback hopes were quickly dashed in the 78th minute as Mosquera scored off a deflection on a corner. The match ended 4-1.
HAT TRICK HERO ‼️‼️
Santiago Mosquera, have yourself a day. pic.twitter.com/gqcDd654NX
— FC Dallas (@FCDallas) September 17, 2020
Three Takeaways:
Mosquera hattrick: With Zdenek Ondrasek departing Dallas, there’s a question of who would step up to score the goals. Mosquera had just one goal on the year going into this game and exploded for a hattrick to get his team the win.
Rapids backline rotation: Head Coach Robin Fraser rotated the squad significantly for this match. Austin Trusty made just his second start for the club. Drew Moor and Clint Irwin started for the first time since MLS is Back. The three struggled in communication and coverage.
Playoff implications: This was a massive win for Dallas. They didn’t play in Orlando and have had some turnover in the squad. They could be competing with Colorado for a final playoff spot and this win could go a long way in them making the playoffs.
