Your Loons are heading into a busy stretch, and they’re doing it in style, picking up three straight MLS wins and charging their way up the table. Now, with fixture congestion picking up, the tests ahead are going to have about half as much time between them, and the opponents aren’t getting any easier.
The first of two games this week takes MNUFC down to Frisco, Texas, where they’ll take on a side they’ve faced 20 times in the regular season since joining MLS. Yes, it’s time to take on FC Dallas again, and though this matchup is familiar to Loons fans, the team lining up against the Black and Blue tomorrow is not.
Jesús Ferreira? He’s in Seattle. Ricardo Pepi? He’s over in Europe. Maarten Paes? Matt Hedges? Blás Perez or Fabian Castillo, anyone? They’re all gone. The very nature of a soccer club includes squad turnover, but this Dallas side is seriously different from what I remember. Maybe I’m getting old — or maybe there’s something to this.
Of the 11 players who have started at least six of Dallas’ eight league games, only one of them was with the club before 2023 (Bernard Kamungo went through the FC Dallas academy, then MLS NEXT Pro side North Texas SC from 2021-23 before signing with the first team). If we break down the rest, one joined in 2023 (Sebastian Ibeagha), two joined in 2024 (Petar Musa, Logan Farrington), and the remaining seven joined within the last two years. Basically, if you tuned out of MLS for three years and started watching again this season, the only thing that would help you recognize FC Dallas would be their jerseys.
Yes, refreshing your squad is a common, constant part of building an effective team. That said, eight of the eleven players that started against the Galaxy in Dallas’ last match were signed in 2025 or 2026, with Musa (‘24), Farrington (‘24), and Ibeagha (‘23) the three exceptions. This is undeniably the start of a new era for Los Toros, and though they’ve only been in Texas for two years, it’s very clearly being led by their exceptional pairing up top.
Through just eight games, Musa has nine goals and one assist. Farrington — a Racine, Wisconsin native and the third overall pick in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft — has added four goals and three assists alongside him, forming what may very well be the league’s most efficient strike partnership.
Meanwhile, midfielder Joaquín Valiente has been working his way into the squad after being signed this past offseason. The Uruguayan has instantly added a creative spark behind his league-leading strikers, providing three assists in less than 400 minutes of gametime. Fellow 2026 signing Herman Johannson has an assist from right wingback as well, showing that this team is designed to create chances for their talented forwards.
Head Coach Eric Quill has been in charge since late 2024, meaning he’s been able to walk alongside and shape this entire group throughout their entire time in Dallas. Having played for the Burn back in the day and managed North Texas in the three years prior to the formation of MLS NEXT Pro (2019-21), Quill came in with a rare combination of attributes: familiarity with the organization and a fresh perspective from having gone elsewhere. Sure, talented players are talented players, but without the right manager putting them in positions to succeed and communicating a clear plan, eleven talented individuals will almost always lose to one organized team.
What am I getting at? This project in Dallas is currently working as it has been designed to. They’re currently just seventh in a competitive Western Conference, which is by no means an accomplishment to hang your hat on. There’s still a long way to go before this project can be called a success. But with new signings playing big roles and 14 goals in their last five games, this recent run has shown what this team could be — and it’s a little scary. For a proud, historic club that hasn’t won anything of significance since 2016, this current form— however long it lasts — is the kind of proof-of-concept play that sparks hope.
When tactics work and players thrive, you hit rich veins of form. It’s always hard to tell how long it’ll last, with a long list of things waiting in the wings to knock you off your game. Right now, though, both MNUFC and Dallas find themselves surging their way up the table on a wave of good form, leaving just one question: who’s got what it takes to keep climbing in this midweek matchup?
