FC Dallas ends winless streak with win over Minnesota United

Updated: May 17, 2023, 05:14 am

Fafa Picault and Jesus Ferreira scored first-half goals and Jimmy Maurer finished with three saves as FC Dallas snapped a four-game winless streak with a 3-1 victory over Minnesota United on Saturday night in Frisco, Texas.

Reto Ziegler also scored for Dallas, which won for the first time since its MLS opener on Feb. 29, when it defeated the Philadelphia Union, 2-0. The Toros withdrew from the MLS is Back Tournament when 10 players tested positive for COVID-19.

Dallas forward Ricardo Pepi, at 17 years and 234 days, became the fourth youngest player in MLS history to start a game and had an assist.

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Hassani Dotson scored for Minnesota United, which lost its second straight game. Gregory Ranjitsingh had four saves for the Loons.

Dallas, shut out in three consecutive games, scored twice in the span of 1:28 early in the first half while building a 2-0 lead.

Picault scored the first one in the 11th minute, cutting across the top of the penalty box and then firing a curling right-footed shot inside the right post for his first goal of the season. It also snapped a 281-minute scoreless drought for the Toros dating back to Pepi's goal in the sixth minute of stoppage time in a 2-2 draw with Montreal on March 7.

Ferreira, the son of 2010 MLS MVP David Ferreira, then made it 2-0 with his first goal of the season in the 12th minute, taking a pass from Pepi at the right corner of the six-yard box and booting a right-footed shot into the far corner.

Jesus Ferreira
Jesus Ferreira
Andrew Bershaw/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Minnesota coach Adrian Heath, upset with his team's start, replaced four of his starting attackers after halftime and a lengthy lightning delay and it paid off when one of the subs, Dotson, blasted in a left-footer from about 10 yards above the penalty box into the left corner of the goal to cut it to 2-1 in the 55th minute.

The Loons nearly tied it three minutes later when forward Raheem Edwards hit the left post with a shot from the right side of the box and again in the 65th minute when Toros defender Matt Hedges nearly had an own goal when he deflected a shot off the crossbar.

Ziegler then sealed the win with a left-footed penalty kick into the right corner in the sixth minute of stoppage time after James Musa tripped Michael Barrios in the box.