Jesús Ferreira scored his team-high 12th goal of the season in the 14th minute, leading Dallas to a 1-0 victory on Saturday night that ended Real Salt Lake’s 10-match home unbeaten streak.
Ferreira connected with a left-footed shot from 8 yards off a pass from Paxton Pomykal after Paul Arriola intercepted a throw-in.
“There was a 10-minute span in the first half where we were careless with the ball, put ourselves in some really uncomfortable transition moments and didn’t handle it well,” RSL coach Pablo Mastroeni said. “They gained momentum and we just didn’t adjust to the decisions that we were making. Again, for 80 minutes, we did exactly what we wanted to do, but in those 10 minutes is where the game was won and lost.”
Ferreira is second in Major League Soccer in scoring behind New York City’s Valentín Castellanos. The 21-year-old Ferreira became the second MLS player with 30 career goals and 20 assists at 21 or younger, according to Opta, behind New England’s Diego Fagúndez.
Maarten Paes had five saves for Dallas (8-6-8).
RSL (9-7-6) outshot Dallas 25-7, including 5-2 on shots on target.
“When you throw in eight guys in the box, the top of the box, you have to be really clean,” Mastroeni said. “It’s tough to break down a team that throws so many numbers in the box. You can train six versus 10 all day long, and rarely does a 10 score on a six, because they’re covering the most dangerous area of the field. Their goalkeeper had a really good night, he came up huge, and when he wasn’t, someone was throwing their body on the line to make a save. It’s one of those games that, again, defies all the stats.”
Zac MacMath saved one shot or RSL.
Both teams play again on Saturday. Dallas hosts the LA Galaxy and RSL visits the San Jose Earthquakes.