Jeff Cunningham scored his MLS-leading 17th goal in the 82nd minute to help FC Dallas remain in playoff contention with a 2-1 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes on Wednesday night.
FC Dallas' Jeff Cunningham flies through the air as he scores against the Los Angeles Galaxy, Sept. 12. Cunningham scored his MLS-leading 17th goal in helping his team beat the San Jose Earthquakes Wednesday.
David Ferreira also scored for Dallas (10-12-6), which has won four of its last five games to move past idle Real Salt Lake and Toronto FC in the standings. Dallas is two points behind the final playoff berth and has two games left, both against higher-ranked teams it hopes to pass -- Colorado and Seattle.
Dallas defender Jair Benitez headed a ball off the line in injury time to preserve the win.
Cunningham's minute goal was one of his easiest of the season. He slotted the ball into an empty net after Dax McCarty-- set free for a 2-on-0 break off a pass from Ferreira -- slid the ball past charging goalkeeper Joe Cannon. Cunningham has scored five goals in Dallas' last four games to pass Colorado's Conor Casey for the MLS lead.
Cunningham helped set up Dallas' opening score in the 49th minute, redirecting a pass from Heath Pearce to Ferreira, who dribbled past Cannon and sent the ball into the open net.
San Jose rookie Quincy Amarikwa scored his first MLS goal in the 73rd minute, but couldn't keep the last-place Earthquakes (7-13-7) from being officially eliminated from playoff contention in their last home match of the season.
San Jose took control for the final 15 minutes of the first half and forced Dallas captain Dario Sala to make two reaction saves. Sala used a right-footed kick save to turn aside a strong volley from Shea Salinas in the 39th minute. Two minutes later, Sala got his lower body in the way of Chris Wondolowski's header.
Sala made another critical stop in the second half, sprawling to his left in the 53rd minute to deflect a low shot stung from the top of the penalty box by a wide-open Antonio Ribeiro.
SOURCE: The Associated Press
Story from: STATS LLC, http://www.stats.com
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