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Dallas, TX

Late lapses, penalty kicks sink FC Dallas in Leagues Cup opener vs. Charlotte

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Late lapses, penalty kicks sink FC Dallas in Leagues Cup opener vs. Charlotte


FRISCO – After a two-month slump filled with injuries, unavailable players and tough losses, FC Dallas needed a reset.

What resulted was a chaos-filled tournament game that had everything from hard fouls to a penalty shootout, resulting in Charlotte taking home a win, beating FCD 4-1 in penalties in the opening match of the Leagues Cup group stage.

“Overall, I think we did a lot of things good,” FC Dallas head coach Nico Estévez said. “We were back to the identity that we have been building for the last year and this year. But we didn’t capitalize on the really good chances that we had.”

FC Dallas enters Leagues Cup with winning mindset while returning to full strength

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The game saw the return of many of FCD’s injured players, and Jesús Ferreira, who missed the last five games while on international duty with the USMNT. He started the game, just two days after competing in the MLS All-Star game Wednesday night.

Paul Arriola, José Martínez, Ema Twumasi and Paxton Pomykal were all on the roster for the game after missing time due to injury as well. Ferreira was the only one that started, but Martínez also made an appearance off the bench.

For Ferreira, the quick turnaround did not seem to affect him much. He came close to scoring the first goal in just the seventh minute when his shot was blocked inside the box, an early warning to Charlotte FC’s back line.

That went on to be the story of the game for FC Dallas. The FCD attack had 10 shots, with six on goal, but only scored twice.

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“If you play forward and you get a lot of chances and you’re not finishing, it’s not good,” forward Bernard Kamungo said.

For much of the first half, FCD was able to create shots, but none troubled Kristijan Kahlina in Charlotte FC’s goal. That was until just minutes before the halftime whistle when Ferreira found a wide open Bernard Kamungo streaking down the right side.

Kamungo rifled a shot into the bottom corner, giving Kahlina no chance to keep the game tied going into the half. It was the second consecutive game where Kamungo scored, and was his fourth goal for FC Dallas in all competitions this season, second on the team to Ferreira.

Though he didn’t score, Ferreira’s goal contribution was further evidence of how much the team missed him over the last five games. Ferreira occupied much of the attention from the Charlotte backline, creating spice down both wings for Kamungo and Jader Obrian.

Many of FCD’s early chances came down the wings, eventually resulting in the breakthrough goal where Ferreira was directly involved.

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“We changed the way we want to attack in the way we want to be more aggressive, creating some kind of overloads or runs in behind, and I think it worked out very well,” Estévez said.

From the second half onward, though, chaos ensued.

In the 58th minute, Charlotte FC was awarded a penalty after a foul in the box, a call that drew furious reactions from the FC Dallas players. The referee decided the relatively light contact was enough for a foul, though, and Karol Swiderski rolled the penalty neatly into the back of the net, sending Jimmy Maurer the wrong way.

Charlotte almost turned the game around just minutes later, but its goal was disallowed for offsides.

What ensued over the next 30 minutes was scrappy, yet entertaining for the sparse, but engaged crowd at Toyota Stadium. A number of hard fouls and a handful of yellow cards created a chippy atmosphere, but FC Dallas was able to retain its quality from the first half.

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FCD broke the tie in the 75th minute after Sebastian Lletget received a pass from Kamungo, and placed his shot in the bottom corner, right past the outstretched glove of Kahlina.

The goal was almost a copy of Kamongo’s goal in the first half, and further represented FCD’s attacking game plan. This time, Kamungo drifted his run towards the middle, creating space for Lletget to make an overlapping run, where he was wide open for the shot.

But the adversity continued for FC Dallas.

With just minutes of stoppage time remaining, Benjamin Bender got on the end of a perfectly placed free kick to tie the game. That sent the game to penalties where Charlotte kept its composure, and took home the win.

Just over 15 minutes prior, FC Dallas and its fans thought Lletget’s late goal was enough to earn the win. It was Lletget’s first goal since returning from injury, but the result took the focus away from an encouraging individual performance from him.

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“It’s definitely a positive to take out from today, but it’s hard to look past the penalties,” Lletget said on his goal.

The loss will sting for FC Dallas, as it stayed in control for most of the game, but two lapses allowed for Charlotte to take the game to penalty kicks. From there, FCD lost the soccer lottery, and will leave the match with one point after tying in regulation. Charlotte will take home two points for winning the shootout.

“When you go through a situation of PKs, you have to be very confident, have courage and be brave. And I think we lacked a little bit on that,” Estévez said.

On Twitter: @peter_rauterkus

    Watch: Lionel Messi makes sensational Inter Miami debut, scores game-winner in 94th minute
    FC Dallas enters Leagues Cup with winning mindset while returning to full strength





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Dallas, TX

Sources: Giants’ DeVito expected out vs. Dallas

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Sources: Giants’ DeVito expected out vs. Dallas


New York Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito is expected to be out for Thursday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys because of his forearm injury and Drew Lock is expected to start in his place, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Jordan Raanan.

DeVito is listed as questionable for the Thanksgiving Day game, but a source told ESPN on Wednesday that DeVito was considered a long shot to play.

He did not travel with the team to Dallas on Wednesday as he was undergoing further evaluation, the Giants said. The team, however, said it expected him to travel to Dallas later Wednesday.

DeVito took several big hits in Sunday’s 30-7 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was making his first start of the season after the Giants released former starter Daniel Jones late last week.

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The Giants turn to Lock after bypassing him following the benching of Jones for DeVito. Lock spent the first 10 weeks as the backup, with DeVito as the third string/emergency quarterback.

Lock has a short week and no real practices to get ready for the matchup of NFC East rivals. He also will be playing behind an offensive line without its starting tackles. Andrew Thomas (foot) is on injured reserve and Jermaine Eluemunor (quad) was ruled out Wednesday.



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Dallas, TX

Colorado visits Dallas after shootout victory

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Colorado visits Dallas after shootout victory


Associated Press

Colorado Avalanche (13-10, in the Central Division) vs. Dallas Stars (13-8, in the Central Division)

Dallas; Friday, 9 p.m. EST

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BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Stars -140, Avalanche +116; over/under is 6.5

BOTTOM LINE: The Dallas Stars host the Colorado Avalanche after the Avalanche took down the Vegas Golden Knights 2-1 in a shootout.

Dallas is 13-8 overall and 4-2-0 against the Central Division. The Stars have a 4-2-0 record in games they score at least one power-play goal.

Colorado is 13-10 overall and 2-3-0 against the Central Division. The Avalanche have a 2-5-0 record in games their opponents serve fewer penalty minutes.

The teams meet Friday for the first time this season.

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TOP PERFORMERS: Matt Duchene has 12 goals and 14 assists for the Stars. Mason Marchment has five goals and seven assists over the last 10 games.

Cale Makar has eight goals and 22 assists for the Avalanche. Mikko Rantanen has eight goals and seven assists over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Stars: 6-4-0, averaging 3.7 goals, 6.4 assists, 3.1 penalties and 8.2 penalty minutes while giving up 2.8 goals per game.

Avalanche: 7-3-0, averaging three goals, 4.8 assists, 2.6 penalties and 5.2 penalty minutes while giving up 2.9 goals per game.

INJURIES: Stars: None listed.

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Avalanche: None listed.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.




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Dallas, TX

Kidd breaks the silence, gives first update on Luka Doncic’s sudden wrist injury

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Kidd breaks the silence, gives first update on Luka Doncic’s sudden wrist injury


The Dallas Mavericks’ bad injury and availability luck this season continued into Wednesday evening, as Dallas will be without Daniel Gafford, Klay Thompson, Dante Exum, and Luka Doncic against the New York Knicks tonight.

While no one expected Doncic and Exum to play as they are both out with wrist injuries, both Thompson and Gafford had a chance at playing. Thompson will be out for the second straight game with left foot plantar fascia, and Gafford is out with an illness.

This illness has been no joke for Dallas, as both Quentin Grimes and Dereck Lively II were listed on the injury report, but both are available against the Knicks.

The Mavs have found a way to win two of the three games that Doncic has missed due to this sprained wrist that he unexpectedly suffered against the New Orleans Pelicans last Tuesday, and Mavs head coach Jason Kidd gave the first update on Doncic’s status when it comes to the wrist injury on Wednesday night.

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“He looks good,” Kidd said at his pregame media availability. “Everything that has come back that he looks good and is getting closer to coming back.”

Kidd then continued to talk about how Doncic has been going through “individual workouts,” and everything that he has “heard or seen is trending in the right direction.” He went through a pregame workout at the American Airlines Center with his wrist taped despite being out, and this is a good sign.

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It’s typical for Kidd and the Mavericks to limit what they tell the media when it comes to players’ injuries, but the fact that Doncic is going through workouts and responding well is a good sign. Doncic has not been able to catch a break this season, as he has dealt with a calf contusion, knee contusion, and this wrist sprain over the last two months, and this week-plus off should help get him back to being 100 percent.

He didn’t even seem to be 100 percent with his knee when he injured his wrist against New Orleans, and him getting this time of rest could be huge for him in returning to playing at an MVP level. This wrist injury happened so suddenly against the Pelicans, and even Doncic didn’t know the exact moment it happened. He said that the pain started early on in the game, and it got worse as the game went on. Doncic dubbed his wrist injury as “nothing serious” in his postgame press conference from last Tuesday night, but his availability lately says otherwise.

This season for Dallas, Doncic is averaging 28.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 7.6 assists per game while shooting 43.5 percent from the field and 32.4 percent from downtown, and while his numbers are down, Kidd remains confident in his superstar. Kidd emphasized that Doncic is still “human” last week when asked about his slow start to the season, and even though Dallas is finding ways to win without him, his return is going to help take this team to another level.

His teammates miss having him on the floor with them, and the Mavs are a completely different team when Doncic is fully healthy and cooking with gas. It has been a while since Mavs fans saw Doncic fully healthy considering the downpour of injuries that slowed him down during the playoffs, and he and Kyrie Irving will have the chance to help push this team back to the top of the Western Conference once he returns from this wrist injury.





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