FRISCO, Tex. -- It took Cristian Colman less than 30 minutes to make his first big impact on FC Dallas.
The club officially signed Colman in the offseason to fill a need at the No. 9 spot, and Colman delivered after scoring on a bounce and a touch in the 30th minute, sparking Dallas to a dominating 4-0 win over Panamanian club Arabe Unido in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal.
"It was really exciting -- I got goosebumps as soon as I stepped on the field," Colman told MLSsoccer.com of his debut. "I just wanted to play, and I loved the atmosphere."
The win put FC Dallas in firm control of the quarterfinal series, with the second leg coming next week in Panama. In addition to Colman opening his account for the club, Kellyn Acosta scored two goals and Michael Barrios added a late tally to put Arabe Unido in a deep hole.
It was FC Dallas' first competitive game of the season, and in that light the performance was all the more impressive, especially against an opponent whose league season is already underway.
"Tonight was a very good performance… a great result," said head coach Oscar Pareja."We have to keep our feet on the ground and respect our opponent and continue to respect this series."
Outside of notching the opening goal, Colman was active throughout the match, making the most of his opportunities and routinely finding himself in a good position to score -- the most memorable on a 4v1 break with Colman right in the thick of the action.
The chemistry with the likes of fellow striker Maxi Urruti appears to already be forming.
"He worked hard up there with Maxi -- I think they have a great partnership," Acosta said of Colman's debut. "I hope they continue on that path and we continue on the winning ways as well."
Colman had another golden chance in the 64th minute, but chose instead to try and get fellow Urruri involved. The attempt ultimately failed, but Colman's impact in 70 minutes of action was obvious.
"Tonight, Cristian had that instinct in scoring and for us he was phenomenal," said Pareja. "In the second half especially, he had a few chances that gives us a lot of optimism about what he can do in the league, putting himself in those spots. He did a great job."
Even with the commanding lead in the quarterfinal tie, Pareja is not ready to book FC Dallas' place in the CCL semifinals just yet.
"We still have one game to play in Panama," he said. "This result gives us a lot of optimism in our chances of qualifying for the semifinal. The job is not done yet."
