Sep 28, 2024; Frisco, Texas, USA; Orlando City forward Duncan McGuire (13) is challenged by FC Dallas defender Sebastien Ibeagha (25) during the second half at Toyota Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Dieb-Imagn Images
Ramiro Enrique scored in the 18th minute, Rodrigo Schlegel and Facundo Torres added goals four-minutes apart in the second half for a three-goal lead and Orlando clinched a berth in the MLS playoffs after a 3-1 victory over FC Dallas on Saturday night.
The win for Orlando (13-11-7) also secured a playoff spot for Houston ahead of its game at Seattle.
Enrique, who returned to his starting role, scored on a glancing header at the near post of Rafael Santos's cross early in the first half.
Torres’ goal matched Cyle Larin for the most in club history in all competitions at 44. With 17 goals this year, Torres is also one away from matching Larin’s single-season club record of 18 from the Canadian’s 2015 rookie campaign.
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Torres also surpassed his own single-season club record of 25 goal contributions, set in 2022 when he scored 13 goals and added 12 assists in all competitions. Along with his 17 goals, Torres has nine assists in all competitions this season.
Dallas (10-14-7) got on the board in the 78th on Paul Arriola’s penalty kick.
Coach Oscar Pareja secured his 80th victory for Orlando City in all competitions. Pareja played parts of eight seasons for Dallas from 1998-2005, then began his coaching career in its youth academy shortly after retirement.
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"Óscar is a friend of mine, and [Orlando] is a team that is playing very well together, a team that he's been coaching for 4-5 years now," said interim head coach Peter Luccin. "I learned so many things as a player when I was playing under him. But I will say that more than learning, is the fact that when you have more time to train and to be with a team, the synchronization, timing, it is much better. So we saw a team better prepared I will say."
PENALTY NUMBER FIVE FOR FC DALLAS
Captain Paul Arriola scored his second penalty kick of the season, Dallas’ fifth penalty kick this year. Dallas has converted its last eight penalties, dating back to Nov. 7, 2021. Arriola’s goal was his fifth of 2024, tying him with Jesús Ferreira for second most on the team.
"The bad thing is that we've been giving up goals early on, and then the good thing is that we always feel like we can create enough chances to score goals," said forward Arriola. "We just can't keep giving up multiple goals a game and expect to win in this league.
150 GAMES PLAYED IN MLS FOR FARFAN
FC Dallas defender Marco Farfan made his 150th MLS career appearance Saturday night. Farfan has played in 22 games this season, starting 19. He has recorded one goal and one assist for FC Dallas in 2024.
UP NEXT: WEST COASTING
FC Dallas visits the San Jose Earthquakes on Wednesday, October 2 from Paypal Park. The match will kick off at 9:30PM CT. Dallas then travels to Portland for its match versus the Portland Timbers on Sunday, October 6 from Providence Park. The match will kick off at 6:15PM CT
