Just when you thought the MLS Golden Boot presented by Audi was out of reach, Petar Musa strikes again.
The Croatian international striker netted a late brace on Saturday night to lead FC Dallas to a pivotal 3-0 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes, joining Inter Miami CF superstar Lionel Messi as the only players to record six multi-goal matches this season.
At the same time, Musa (22 goals) drew within three goals of Messi (25 goals) atop the Golden Boot race with three matches remaining.
"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," head coach Eric Quill told MLS 360 on Apple TV.
"The contributions of everybody that came in the game was outstanding. Our mentality from start to finish was championship-like, playoff-bound. I thought we just played beautifully and I thought we were fun to watch. We played hard, played honest, and we deserve what we got tonight for sure."
Magical Musa
Still scoreless with 10 minutes left on Saturday night, FC Dallas needed a hero at Toyota Stadium.
Who else would've answered the call?
Receiving the ball from Bernard Kamungo inside the penalty arc in the 83rd minute, Musa opened his hips and curled the game-winner into the top corner, then added a penalty five minutes later to complete his double.
Scoring his 56th MLS goal, Musa tied Raúl Díaz Arce (1996-98) for the third-most goals scored across a player's first three MLS seasons, simultaneously making FC Dallas history as the team notched a club-record 56 goals this season.
"I knew the first goal where he gets involved in a place like that, I mean, it's 10 out of 10. We just need to find them in those important pockets of space," Quill said of his star striker, whose scoring prowess was also on display at this summer's World Cup. "I watch it every day in training. This is something that I marvel at. He is a world-class finisher. It's amazing to watch.
"Guys are always looking for him. Other teams are really focusing in on him. But for him to keep doing what he's doing, given the focus and attention on him, it's pretty amazing."
Santiago Moreno added a stoppage-time tally to complete the crucial victory in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs race, pushing Dallas back into second place in the Western Conference (54 points). With their postseason berth already booked, they sit just one point back of Vancouver Whitecaps FC atop the conference.
Musa and Dallas continue their playoff push when hosting the Columbus Crew on Wednesday night (8:30 pm ET | Apple TV) before closing the regular season against Sporting Kansas City and the Colorado Rapids.
