Arabe Unido 2, FC Dallas 1 | 2016-17 CCL Quarterfinal Recap

Alicia Rodriguez

FC Dallas finished the job on Wednesday, despite losing to Panamanian club Arabe Unido 2-1 in Panama in the second leg of their 2016-17 CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal series, to advance to the tournament semifinal with a 5-2 aggregate scoreline.

An Arabe Unido own goal opened the scoring, coming midway through the first half, as a deflection bounced towards goal and defender Leslie Heraldez was unable to clear it in time. Panamanian international Roberto Chen scored a consolation goal for the hosts two minutes from full time, and Heraldez scored for his own team in the 93rd minute to get a last-minute win to close out Arabe Unido's CCL campaign.

Dallas become sixth MLS team to make CCL semifinals

Goals

23' – DAL – Leslie Heraldez (OG) Watch
90' – AUO – Roberto Chen Watch
92' – AUO – Leslie Heraldez Watch

Three Things

LATE SURPRISE: For vast stretches of Wednesday's game, the match was played by FC Dallas as effectively a glorified friendly, a chance for players to work on match fitness and ensure Arabe Unido did not spring the ultimate surprise and overturn Dallas' four-goal advantage from the first leg. On that count, they succeeded, although one figures Oscar Pareja won't exactly be happy to see Dallas give up two late goals to lose the game. The result did not put FC Dallas' advancement to the semifinals in doubt, but it will likely lead to a renewed intensity to stay focused until the final whistle.
SEITZ A STANDOUT: The late goals allowed dampened Dallas goalkeeper Chris Seitz's night, but he was arguably the player of the game for the visitors. In particular, prior to the own goal in the first half that extended Dallas' aggregate series lead, Seitz made three saves to keep Arabe Unido off the board. While the series appeared to be put to bed before the second leg, Seitz helped make sure it stayed that way.
NEXT UP - MLS: FC Dallas will play Pachuca in the semifinal round, but before that, they begin the MLS 2017 regular season, beginning on Saturday with an away match against the LA Galaxy (4 pm ET, Univision). It's the location where Dallas won the Supporters' Shield last year -- will it be a friendly environment once more?