FC Dallas suffered a damaging blow to their goalkeeper rotation as newly acquired shot-stopper Daniel De Sousa Britto was forced off injured during Saturday night’s 1-0 loss to San Diego FC.
The defeat leaves Dallas on the back foot despite an otherwise solid five-match road trip, with the team holding a 2-1-1 record across the first four away fixtures.
Daniel had joined Dallas on July 9 in a deal worth up to $1 million in general allocation money, arriving with strong credentials from his time at the San Jose Earthquakes.
He had recorded five shutouts in 15 starts for the Earthquakes this season, making him a highly regarded addition between the posts for Dallas.
The goalkeeper was making just his second start for the club when disaster struck in the 16th minute against San Diego.
Daniel injured his leg while saving a shot from Onni Valakari, immediately raising concerns about the severity of the setback and his availability going forward.
Jonathan Sirois stepped in as a replacement and performed admirably, finishing the match with four saves to keep the deficit to a single goal.
San Diego’s winner came in the 50th minute when Alejandro Alvarado scored his first career goal, using assists from defenders Manu Duah and rookie Kieran Sargeant to find the net.
It was the first career assist for Duah in his second season, while Sargeant recorded his second of the campaign as the expansion side proved their quality at home.
CJ dos Santos was rarely tested in goal for San Diego, needing just one save to secure his first clean sheet in four starts this season.
San Diego FC, who were an expansion team last season, played Dallas to a 3-3 draw in Texas back in mid-March and now hold a 3-0-1 record across the first four matchups between the two sides.
The result lifts San Diego to a 5-7-5 record overall, while Dallas, now sitting at 7-5-5, must regroup quickly before the final leg of their demanding road schedule.
Dallas will close out the five-match road trip when they visit the Los Angeles Galaxy next Saturday, with questions over the goalkeeper position likely to dominate the build-up.
