Top goal scorer Petar Musa, Dallas seek first win over San Diego

Field Level Media|published: Fri 24th July, 20:51 2026

Jul 22, 2026; Portland, Oregon, USA; FC Dallas offense Petar Musa (9) and Portland Timbers defense Brandon Bye (5) battle for the ball in the second half at Providence Park. Mandatory Credit: Jaime Valdez-Imagn Images

FC Dallas will attempt to defeat San Diego FC for the first time when the teams match up Saturday night in Southern California.

Dallas' trip to San Diego last season was highly forgettable as it was drubbed 5-0 by the then-expansion franchise.

San Diego posted a 3-2 road win over Dallas last season and the two teams played to a 3-3 tie in Frisco, Texas, earlier this season.

In this year's match, Dallas star Petar Musa scored the tying goal in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time to complete a hat trick.

Musa scored a second-half goal in Wednesday's 2-2 draw against the host Portland Timbers, in the team's first match after the two-month break for the World Cup. He is officially tied for the league lead with 13 goals but now stands alone as the leader after Chicago transferred Hugo Cuypers (also with 13) to Monterrey of Liga MX on Thursday.

Patrickson Delgado scored in first-half stoppage time for the other goal for Dallas (7-4-5, 26 points), which is tied for fourth place in the Western Conference.

"We know from the first half of the season we can beat anybody," Dallas head coach Eric Quill told reporters earlier this week. "There's no question about who we are."

San Diego (4-7-5, 17 points) has struggled most of the campaign after surprisingly winning the West in its first season. The club is tied for 13th in the 15-team conference entering Saturday's play.

The resumption of play after the break continued their issues. Colorado's Loic Williams scored in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time to give the Rapids a 1-0 home win over San Diego.

San Diego head coach Mikey Varas wore a brave face after the match.

"We got a game in three days," Varas said to reporters, "so we have to get our legs and minds and our body right and then turn this around really quick."

Marcus Ingvartsen leads San Diego with 11 goals.

San Diego made a move to spruce up the attack Friday by signing Tunisia World Cup starter Elias Achouri through the 2028-29 season.

The 27-year-old forward still needs to get a visa before he can play for San Diego. He started all three of Tunisia's group play matches in the World Cup.

--Field Level Media

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