Samuel Sarver, FC Dallas enter match vs. Rapids with swagger

Samuel Sarver is full of confidence as he leads visiting FC Dallas into a Saturday match against the Colorado Rapids in Commerce City, Colo.

The 23-year-old forward scored for the third time in four matches in a 3-2 win over the San Jose Earthquakes on May 16. Sarver entered as a sub in the 84th minute before netting the decisive goal in the third minute of second-half stoppage time to give Dallas its first win at San Jose since July 8, 2016.

"I think we are the best team in the league," Sarver said on the Ultimate Dallas Sports Show. "We can hang with anyone. We're not going to shy away from any challenge."

FC Dallas (6-4-4, 22 points) have risen to fifth place in the Western Conference table and are 3-0-0 when Sarver scores. Patrickson Delgado and Petar Musa also tallied goals against San Jose.

Musa is tied for second in MLS with 12 goals and was named to Croatia's 26-man World Cup roster this week.

"We have the best players in the league and the best striker (Musa)," Sarver said. "We have the best center back in Osaze (Urhoghide). Last year, there were some growing pains for our head coach, but now that we have the pieces to the puzzle, you can see that the results are flowing."

Colorado is familiar with growing pains. The Rapids have the second-youngest roster in MLS at an average age of 23.8, trailing only the New York Red Bulls (23.7).

"There are consequences to being a young team," Colorado coach Matt Wells said. "We're learning resilience and how to respond to success or setbacks."

In its latest match, Colorado lost 2-1 to its Rocky Mountain Cup rival Real Salt Lake in Sandy, Utah. Even though the Rapids (5-8-1, 16 points) have slumped to 11th in the Western Conference, Wells believes he has seen improvement in their ability to convert on set pieces. Wayne Frederick scored off a corner kick against Salt Lake last week.

"We started the season very well (on set pieces) but then have had a real drop off in recent games, in tight games where we really needed it," Wells said.

It is the final match for both clubs until July 22 as MLS pauses for an extended World Cup break.

--Field Level Media