FC Dallas showcased their deep Homegrown player pool in Week 4 against the Colorado Rapids, starting five Homegrowns in one match for the fourth time in club history.
The most notable of the bunch was Jesus Ferreira, the highly-touted forward prospect and son of 2010 MLS MVP David Ferreira, who made his first start for the club. Central midfielder Edwin Cerrillo also made his first start for Dallas after making his first-team debut off the bench two weeks ago.
Joining Cerrillo in the center of midfield was another academy product and one of the most highly-touted US youth prospects, Paxton Pomykal, making his third consecutive start for the team. Regulars Jesse Gonzalez in goal and right back Reggie Cannon were the other two Dallas Homegrowns to start.
Ferreira didn't waste much time making an impact in his first start, with this turn and pass setting up Michael Barrios' opening goal in the first half:
FC Dallas had two more Homegrowns on the bench, Thomas Roberts and Brandon Servania, and with Roberts replacing Ferreira in the 79th minute, they tied an MLS record for using six Homegrowns in one match. Roberts, 17, also had a key role in FCD's game-winning goal, playing through debutant Zdenek Ondrasek, whose effort rebounded to Ryan Hollingshead to slot home.
The game against Colorado was the fifth of Ferreira's young MLS career. He played one league game apiece in 2017 and 2018 before featuring twice off the bench to start 2019.
“It means a lot,” Ferreira said after the match. “I’ve been working for two years already, playing only two, maybe three games in two years. To be able to play three games and one start [this year] is amazing.
“He just said [for me to] play my game. He knows what I’m capable of doing,” Ferreira said about the prematch conversation with his father, David. “'Just go out there and have fun.'”
