FC Dallas won the Supporters' Shield and moved one step closer to history
For the first time ever, FC Dallas are the Supporters' Shield winners. Not only that, but with the trophy, FC Dallas have now captured the domestic double — having won the U.S. Open Cup earlier this season — and can now set their sights on the MLS Cup, which would give them the first domestic treble in the history of American soccer.
FC Dallas were the top team in MLS for much of the season. Most people picked them as the league's best team before the season and they looked it for much of the campaign. Even when they had to sell star Fabian Castillo midseason, they kept on piling up wins. And when Mauro Diaz went down with a torn Achilles last week, robbing them of their best player, they went to LA and walked away with the draw they needed on Sunday to clinch the Shield in their final match of the regular season.
Two teams have won the Supporters' Shield and U.S. Open Cup in the same season, but the 2003 Chicago Fire fell just short of the treble when they lost in the MLS Cup final, while the 2014 Seattle Sounders were eliminated from the playoffs on away goals in the Western Conference final. Now, FC Dallas will get the chance to do what they couldn't.
FC Dallas' road to MLS Cup was made rockier by the injury to Diaz and they may not be favorites to finish off the treble now. We haven't seen enough of them without Diaz to be quite sure how good they will be, but if any team could overcome such a huge loss, it's Oscar Pareja's team. They're deep, talented and play in a terrific system. If you don't believe it, just check out their shiny new Supporters' Shield.
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