FRISCO — Minnesota center back Carlos Harvey scored his first career goal 34 minutes into Friday’s game against FC Dallas, heading the ball in off a free kick sent to the back post by right back Julian Gressel.
The free kick, awarded for a foul committed by FCD right back Shaq Moore, sat three yards to the left of the 18-yard box.
FCD couldn’t come back after that first set piece, finishing their homestand 0-3. Friday’s 2-1 loss to Minnesota United FC was their third game at Toyota Stadium in a week and a half.
The other two losses in this stretch at Toyota Stadium were a 4-2 loss against the San Jose Earthquakes on June 25 and a 3-2 loss to San Diego FC three days later.
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These losses came at a crucial time in the season. Late last month, head coach Eric Quill said that this homestand could either be a “launching pad” or put the team in a “really tough position.”
FCD now sits five points behind ninth place Austin FC, eighth place Colorado Rapids and seventh place Los Angeles FC in the Western Conference standings. Austin, Colorado and LAFC all have 26 points to FCD’s 21.
In order to qualify for a wild-card bid, FCD will need to make its way up to eighth or ninth place before the season ends in October. If the team wants an automatic bid, they’ll have to move up to at least seventh place, where they would qualify for the first-round best-of-3 series.
Aside from playoff hopes, FCD is tied for the least home wins this season. They only have one.
Regardless, 11,004 fans showed up to watch the game and the subsequent fireworks at Toyota Stadium to celebrate the Fourth of July.
It rained heavily in the two hours before kickoff, and fans waited in ponchos and under awnings around the stadium. The rain stopped before the national anthem though and the sky was clear by the time the first half ended with Minnesota ahead 1-0.
The sold out crowd stayed invested throughout the game, wearing light up red, white and blue necklaces and doing the wave, even as FCD went down 2-0 in the 58th minute. Minnesota’s second goal was another set piece, this time a long throw into the box by captain Michael Boxall to left back Anthony Markanich who headed it in.
It wasn’t until the 73rd minute that FCD put one in the back of the net. Striker Peter Musa crossed it just outside the box to striker Logan Farrington who brought the ball down with his chest before shooting it into the right corner of the goal.
Even with the loss, fans got a show. Fireworks were visible throughout the game from across Frisco, even before the team showed their own fireworks.
FCD doesn’t have another game until July 12 and won’t be back in Frisco for until they host St. Louis SC on July 19, more than two weeks away. On the 12th, FCD will play LAFC and then on the 16th they’ll face the San Jose Earthquakes on the road.
Find more FC Dallas coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.