Petar Musa Late Brace Fuels FC Dallas Rout of San Jose Earthquakes, Golden Boot Chase

For 81 minutes, Toyota Stadium was waiting for someone to crack the code. Then Bernard Kamungo cut the ball back to Petar Musa just outside the box, and the Croatian striker did what he has done all season: opened up his body, curled a right-footed shot into the top right corner and made a tight game look simple.

FC Dallas went on to beat the San Jose Earthquakes 3-0 on Saturday night, scoring all three goals from the 82nd minute on. Musa added a penalty six minutes after his opener, substitute Santiago Moreno finished it in stoppage time, and a battle between two playoff-bound Western Conference sides turned into a late Dallas avalanche. The win also snapped San Jose's nine-match unbeaten run in league play, according to the Earthquakes.

A Cagey First Half

This was a tight, even affair before the break. San Jose had the first big chance in the 18th minute, when Timo Werner crossed from the left and Beau Leroux's header from the right side of the six-yard box was saved by Daniel. According to the Earthquakes, Ousseni Bouda also broke in alone in the 28th minute, only for Daniel to sweep the ball away before he could shoot.

Dallas had more volume. Daniel Job went close in the 19th minute, Osaze Urhoghide and Kamungo both headed wide, and Angus Gunn made saves on Herman Johansson and Job in the 32nd and 35th minutes. Joaquín Valiente skied a left-footed chance from the middle of the box in the 38th minute, and in the 43rd Gunn charged off his line to deny Musa, with Job firing the rebound over. No stoppage time was added, and it was 0-0 at halftime.

Then Dallas Pulled Away

The second half was quieter until Dallas started turning the screws. Kamungo dragged a shot wide in the 63rd minute, Gunn was booked in the 64th, and Moreno came on for Valiente in the 65th. San Jose head coach Bruce Arena made four changes at once in the 77th minute, sending on Paul Marie, Niko Tsakiris, Vítor Costa and Jack Skahan. Dallas answered with two changes of their own a minute later.

In the 82nd minute, Kamungo got into the left half-space, pulled it back and found Musa at the top of the box. Musa bent his shot into the top right corner for 1-0. Five minutes later, Marie was called for a foul on Kaick in the box, and Musa sent the penalty into the bottom right corner in the 88th minute.

Tsakiris, back from injury, floated a free kick just over the bar in stoppage time. Then Moreno put a bow on it in the fourth minute of added time, taking a headed pass from Ramiro and finishing with his left foot from the right side of the box into the bottom left corner.

Musa Chases a Golden Boot

Petar Musa was the difference, as usual. Three shots, three on target, two goals. FC Dallas said they were his 21st and 22nd goals of the season, a new single-season career high, and that his 56 MLS goals tie Raúl Díaz Arce for the third-most by a player in his first three MLS seasons. According to MLS, Musa is now three goals behind Lionel Messi's 25 in the Golden Boot race with three matches left, and he joined Messi as the only players with six multi-goal matches this season.

Head coach Eric Quill could not hide his admiration. "He is a world-class finisher. It's amazing to watch," Quill said, per MLS.

Daniel kept a clean sheet against his former club. FC Dallas noted he joined them in July after going 10-3-2 in 15 appearances for San Jose, and his early stops kept the game level long enough for Musa to take over. "Give Daniel a lot of credit. Heck of a save by Daniel," Arena said, according to the Earthquakes.

Santiago Moreno made the most of his time off the bench, taking two shots and scoring his fourth goal of the season, per the club. Bernard Kamungo created the opener and stayed dangerous on the left all night.

Angus Gunn made three saves for San Jose and kept them in it until the final stretch.

The Turning Point

San Jose's four-player change in the 77th minute was meant to win the game. Instead, Dallas scored five minutes later and the Quakes never recovered. Arena was blunt about the gamble afterward: "we were playing to try to get three points, not one point, to be honest with you. But that failed completely."

Stats That Matter

• Shots: Dallas outshot San Jose 15-4.
• Shots on target: Dallas 6, San Jose 1.
• Possession: Nearly even, with Dallas holding 51.2 percent.
• Corners: Dallas earned six. San Jose earned one.
• Club record: FC Dallas said the three goals took them to 58 for the season, breaking the previous club single-season record of 55.

What It Means

Dallas improve to 15-9-7 (wins, draws, losses) with 54 points. According to MLS, the result moved them back into second place in the West, one point behind Vancouver, with their playoff berth already secured. They also won both meetings with San Jose this season after a 3-2 victory at PayPal Park in May. The club said the crowd of 10,925 marked its 49th consecutive regular-season sellout.

"Tonight was, I thought, maybe arguably our best performance of the year. I just thought in every aspect of the game, every phase, we were awesome," Quill said, according to MLS.

San Jose fall to 13-9-9 with 48 points but, per the club, remain fourth in the West. That matters, because the Earthquakes noted the top four finishers in each conference earn home-field advantage in the first-round best-of-three series. Arena did not sugarcoat it. "Well, the better team won the game tonight. Let's be fair about that," he said.

The Closing Take

The Golden Boot race just got its chase scene. Messi sits on 25, Musa on 22, three matches left. It is not quite a Fast and Furious finale yet, but if Musa keeps finishing like this, the last act could get very interesting.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes as reported by MLSsoccer.com and the San Jose Earthquakes. Additional details from FC Dallas.