Maarten Paes collapsed to the ground after the referee blew his final whistle. He had just gone through a roller coaster of emotions rarely ever seen – much less lived – as FC Dallas secured a 2-1 win over Sporting Kansas City on Saturday at Toyota Stadium.
He conceded two penalties, saved both efforts and picked up two yellow cards in the second half. Yet the official match report will only show one of each as he finished with the Man of the Match cowboy hat.
Paes called it his “welcome to the MLS” moment.
Your @MichelobULTRA Man of the Match. pic.twitter.com/zxflnjNGJm
— FC Dallas (@FCDallas) March 19, 2023
“It’s a great learning lesson,” the second-year starter said. “I knew I had to redeem myself.”
Let’s back up.
SKC’s Daniel Salloi opened the scoring in the 11th minute and then Alan Velasco grabbed the equalizer ten minutes into the second half. Just after the hour mark, the Dutch keeper gave up a spot kick after taking down Willy Agada with a late challenge.
After going in the referee’s book, he made a low save to his left to parry Agada’s effort. However, VAR judged that Paes left his line slightly early, meaning the kick needed to be retaken. Sporting KC captain Erik Thommy stepped up and blasted his effort to the opposite side, only for Paes to make another dramatic stop with a flailing arm.
He revealed the goalkeeping unit struggled to find any film on Thommy’s penalty tendencies. Eventually, they did find one of his efforts from a reserve game back in 2015. Both saves gave Dallas a major boost as they looked for a winner.
When Jesus Ferreira scored that crucial strike in the 84th minute, Paes celebrated the goal in full force.
“He’s the one who kept us in the game,” Ferreira said. “Give him credit for being that keeper that he is, to stay calm and to stay under control. We’re excited to have a teammate like that who can always bounce back.”
But Paes’ night wasn’t over.
SKC pushed for an equalizer, and minutes later, Paes made another foul in the box, prompting the ref to give the keeper his second yellow and his marching orders. VAR intervened yet again, this time in Paes’ favor, ruling offside took place beforehand to negate the foul and booking.
During the review, head coach Nico Estevez held the goalkeeper near the bench and tried to ease his nerves by telling him they’d take away the foul and yellow card.
“I actually wasn’t sure if they would, but I tried to calm him,” Estevez said. “But I think this gave him calmness.”
FC Dallas needed a composed presence throughout the night since SKC deployed a high press and caused the defense to falter on a few occasions, including the opener. Heading into the contest, the visitors led the league in shots and efforts on target without bearing fruit until Saturday.
Paes also had to deal with a rotating cast of center backs. In the first three games of the season, Dallas used three different defensive pairings, choosing among Jose Martinez, Nkosi Tafari and Sebastien Ibeagha. Against Kansas City, Paes was shielded by Martinez and Tafari, who helped FCD earn a 3-1 win over the LA Galaxy two weeks prior. Now, the trio has a second win under their belts.
Estevez praised Paes for his performance and for giving his teammates a boost of confidence. Given Dallas’ bursts of inconsistency over the season's first four games, having a solid presence between the sticks is a major positive.
Paes dealt with the highs and lows of the VAR era of the MLS and came out stronger by the end. Anyone who’s played in goal knows how much mental pressure comes with putting on the gloves and stepping up when it counts the most. Either that or failing and knowing you let your team down.
Ultimately, Paes ended the night on a high note, though he admitted he just wanted the night to end altogether.
“I’m ready to go to sleep,” he joked in the locker room. “But first, yeah, we celebrate the win.”