Statting the Opposition- FC Dallas

By Charles Barnard

RSL continues their season tomorrow with a match against FC Dallas. FCD is a team that started incredibly hot at the beginning of the season. But just like they did last season after a fast start, they have come back to earth and have truly been struggling over the past few weeks.

What has caused this slump? Who should RSL fans worry about going into this match? I once again jump into the numbers to try and get a better glimpse of who this FC Dallas team truly is.

• Dallas has scored 23 goals this season or a goal every 53 minutes.
• They have also given up 22 goals on the season.
• FCD has a -3 goal differential on the road.
• Dallas is scoring 40% of their goals in the first half of matches compared to 60% in the second half of matches.
• The team is giving up 36% of their goals in the first half of matches and 64% in the second half of matches.
• Dallas has yet to record a shutout this season.
• In the 649 minutes that Mauro Diaz has played FCD has scored 17 times or a goal every 38 minutes. In the time that he has not played, Dallas has only scored 5 goals or a goal every 104 minutes.
• FCD has only scored twice in the 373 minutes that Adam Moffit has played. That comes out to a goal every 186 minutes. He has a +/- of -7. 
• The team is a +7 when Je-Vaughn Watson is in the match.

It looks like one of the reasons for the teams fast start was they played 5 of their first 7 matches at home. In those first 7 matches they had a record of 5-1-1. Since that time, they have a record of 0-5-1. 

The other key thing that happened was the injury to Diaz. He was having a great start of the season when he went down with an injury. As you can see above since he has been out the FCD offense has slowed way down. Interestingly enough it was in the 8th match of the season that he got hurt and Dallas has not won since.

Not only has their offense been struggling the past six matches but their defense has been poor as well. In their first 7 matches they were giving up a goal every 70 minutes. In their last 6 matches they have been giving up a goal every 45 minutes.