If diehard Mexico fans thought interest in the MLS playoffs ended when Giovani dos Santos and the LA Galaxy crashed out of the postseason against the Seattle Sounders, they would be very wrong.
Over at FC Dallas, there is a young Mexican youth national team goalkeeper breaking out in style. Meet 20-year-old, 6-foot-4 shot-stopper Jesse Gonzalez, who has taken to first-team soccer like a seasoned veteran.
Gonzalez took over the starting spot in FC Dallas' goal in late August from the injured former MLS All-Star Dan Kennedy and hasn't given the veteran a look in since with some scintillating performances.
"I'm excited about the opportunity that has been handed to me in the club," Gonzalez told ESPN FC recently, adding that keeping the nerves under control hasn't been a problem.
There was a minor setback last Sunday when Dallas fell 2-1 on the road to the Sounders in front of almost 40,000, but over the 11 regular-season games Gonzalez has started since making his debut against Vancouver Whitecaps on Aug. 22, the youngster kept five clean sheets and conceded less than a goal per game overall.
There have also been some headline-grabbing performances -- like against Sporting Kansas City -- and Gonzalez went over 300 minutes last month without conceding a goal. After starting in two of Mexico's three games at the Under-20 World Cup, it is no wonder Gonzalez is talking about 2015 being "almost a perfect year" for him.
There have previously been suggestions that Gonzalez -- who was born in North Carolina and raised in Texas to a father from Toluca and mother from the Mexican state of Nayarit -- needed to become more serious and mature about his profession, but those complaints seem to have been hushed.
The bilingual Gonzalez -- who says he believes he meshes the physical prowess associated with U.S. keepers and the reflexes of Mexican stoppers -- was thrown into the deep end by coach Oscar Pareja and left to sink or swim with the first team, although Kennedy, who Gonzalez has relegated to the bench, has been a crucial guide.
"[Kennedy] is helping me a lot, giving me advice during the games, telling me that there is no pressure and that I just need to play my game," said Gonzalez, speaking in Spanish.
There has been growing interest south of the border in Gonzalez as word of his performances has filtered down. And while the immediate goal for the 20-year-old is to get past Seattle and help Dallas' march toward the MLS Cup, he is also hoping the Mexican national team, and especially under-23 coach Raul "Potro" Gutierrez, has been taking note.
"At the moment they haven't called me up to the Olympic squad but further down the line, we'll see," Gonzalez said. "Right now, I'm focused here on the club. The other will come on its own."
According to Gonzalez, the Mexican national team came in first for him and there was no real decision to make about whether to accept or perhaps play for the United States.
"The opportunity arrived first with Mexico and I decided to go with Mexico," he said. "I've always supported them, my parents are Mexican and I've always considered myself Mexican. It is a source of pride to represent Mexico and I've dreamed of it since being a child."
Gonzalez's hails the impact of El Tri's Dos Santos in attracting attention on a league he says "is growing" and he's aware that there isn't any other Mexican goalkeeper anywhere near his young age getting regular first-team minutes. The closest is Chivas' 23-year-old Antonio Rodriguez.
Obviously, Mexico's full national team is a long, long way off, but it remains a goal of his to play for El Tri. For now though, Gonzalez's priority is keeping that clean sheet against Seattle on Sunday and turning 2015 from an "almost" perfect year into an absolute dream one by lifting the MLS Cup.