FC Dallas used a positive mentality, some aggressiveness, and some good old fashioned fight to climb back from a 3-0 deficit to tie on the road last weekend and that mentality has carried over to this week. This is an intense session and Coach Luchi Gonzalez intentionally pushes the pace even higher as he challenges players.

Today is about overloading zones. Getting the extra player into various areas of the field. Most of the drills include extra attackers, fast transitions - forward, backward, side to side - and an aggressive mindset.

Quite frankly, it's a blast to watch. One of the better and more entertaining sessions in some time. Plus this is rivalry week in MLS. Fun times.

News and Notes

Paxton Pomykal and Bryan Acosta are both back in training after getting yesterday off for workload purposes. Michael Barrios, who warmed up during last night's session but then didn't participate, went the full-time limit today.

Santiago Mosquera missed today's session and at this point highly is unlikely to be unavailable this weekend with his "lower body strain." He's still listed as out and I think you can count on that to stay the same.

Jesse Gonzalez does some warm-up work then he gets today's session off. Yes, keepers need workload management too. It's a long season and their bodies are under as much stress as anyone. Just of a different kind perhaps.

North Texas SC traveled today for their game tomorrow and didn't take any MLS players. Coach Gonzalez wanted to keep his entire roster in camp and competing including Dante Sealy. Raiding the stakes on every position.

The two young Ghanaian trialists Hope Kodzo (MF) and Emmanuel Awuah (CB) are involved in FCD training again. I think you can expect these two young men to catch on with the organization in some capacity very soon. The fact they both keep getting 1st team training invites says something. They were playing for a U17 team in the Dallas Cup back in April.

Another Ghanaian trialist from the same team, Victor Asante, has unfortunately torn his ACL. Coach Gonzalez says FCD is going to "take care of him," which I took to mean help him get medical treatment and rehab with the club and their staff.

Practice player Jose Livano Salas is around again today. Former FCD Academy player and the brother of FCD Assistant Athletic Performance Coach Vander Salas.

Speaking of the heat, Coach Gonzalez says there won't be any stretches of evening training. They got feedback from both players and medical staff that show it was negative. One-off sessions like yesterday's Special Olympics event aside.

If you've been following Ema Twumasi at Austin Bold you will know he's been playing right back. Coach Gonzalez says that was FCD's suggestion to Austin. The Bold needed some right back help and it's been a benefit to both. So far he's played in 8 games making 4 starts. Francis Atuahene has played in 6 games making 3 starts. They have each scored 1 time, Twumasi just this week. Here's his goal when he finishes a full-field run.

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22 seconds from corner kick to @Ema_Twumasi goal.



It took us longer to write this tweet.#GoBold #DaleBold pic.twitter.com/YGKKg0zBXy — Austin Bold FC (@AustinBoldFC) August 18, 2019

Side note: ex-FC Dallas players London Woodberry and Marcel Saragosa are both on the Austin Bold roster.

Practice Observations

Cristian Colman is looking as sharp as I've seen him his this year. He seems 100% to me back to his pre-injury form. Can he compete and get into the 18? Get a start down the stretch? We'll see. He scored one really nice header goal today, but also missed one. So par for the course.

Paxton Pomykal looks to have gained a bit of his edge back, showing bite and fire today. He's in a tough phase, struggling with the long season - he's still new to playing all the time - and he's seeing double teams and game-planning for him. Being in difficulties and having to fight through them is how players progress and get better. He's going to emerge from this phase an even better player.

Brandon Servania has to my eye picked up a decisiveness in his game over the last few weeks. He was always skilled but before the U20 Worlds, he just played in games. Now he's starting to impact them and it shows even in training. He's got an edge to him today, showing his will. I really like this change in the way he carries himself.

Ricardo Pepi has shaken off the doldrums of a couple of weeks back. I thought at the time it might be the rookie wall. Today he looks crisper, sharper, and more aggressive than I've seen him before. He's not just here in training, he's now attacking the drills and session. He's not letting it come to him anymore, now he's going after it. I love it.

Kyle Zobeck, while still 3rd on the depth chart, has really improved this year. He's making saves he couldn't make before he got to Dallas.

Bryan Reynolds also has a maturity about him today. He too is very aggressive and determined. Focused, adult, professional in mentality. He's just 18, but this kid is going to be a beast eventually. Coach Gonzalez was again complimentary of Reynolds against Montreal, re-stating Reynolds wasn't lifted for anything he did but rather to change things tactically.

Today is my first viewing of Eric Alexander since he re-signed with FCD. He looked a little off the pace today but it's not a surprise he's not FCD-Texas weather fit. If in his time here he does nothing but imparts some wisdom to some of the young FCD mids, his signing will have been worth it.

Catching up with Luchi Gonzalez

Montreal seemed like a game where the guys showed a lot of heart, a lot of effort, a lot of grit. How do you transfer that into this week and looking toward Houston?

It's certainly a tool. It's a moment I thought we showed our potential. We scored three unanswered goals in a short amount of time. That usually takes us full time, score 3 goals. The discussion with the team after is crediting the energy and the urgency.

We pressed really well in the 2nd half. I'm talking about together. Even if they broke the press, it wasn't really organized, but it was just energy. Players breaking lines, players making recovery runs, even in a high zone. Even if they are beat, turning around a negative pressing. It was a desperate moment of effort and energy... but when we do that we're good. We're a force.

So we did a little bit [of film] this morning just to highlight the fantastic, high level pressing energies that we showed. And I didn't talk about Xs and Os, or this angle... I didn't get into that. I just showed energy.

And if we can do that, with more consistency, and leave it all on the field, then I feel confident we can show our best over a 90 minute period. We have an opportunity to do that now in this next game.

In a league of parity, particularly when you get to the grind part of the season, does mentality and attitude become even more important?

Yeah, I think it's the most important right now. I think it's the most important. And that's why I'm really honored to have a group that shows response and attitude and fire. If we can find a way to do it more consistently over a 90-minute duration, over consecutive games, then I think our potential can show.

But yes, I think that is the intangible that is the most important right now. We can have a tactic. Our foundation is there. Our style is there. It can be tweaked for a certain game, based on our personnel, based on who we have available with injures or not. We're going to keep tweaking that. I think you see clearly our build play. I think we can build against different situations now.

We're trying to improve our efficiency to the goal. But that improvement in efficiency is as much tactical as it is just a go for it, all or nothing type of mentality. Which it comes down to is what you're talking about and I think that's the most important right now.

It's obviously crazy hot out right now, you guys have to train in it every day. How do you feel like you all, organizationally, are dealing with the heat?

This is a great moment to use it to our benefit. To make sure that teams are suffering here. That we always have extra energy, more energy, to give in each half. In moments where a team should be fatigued, we want to push. And when we think we can't, we can't.

We want to condition out here. We've been training a little earlier so we don't get the true heat that comes around 10:30, 11'ish.

I know historically the team's had some challenges late summer. That 2nd half in Montreal showed me we can push and fight for this shirt in the toughest of circumstances. Whether or score line... calls going your way or not. I'm not here to believe that history is going to... there've been some summers with peaks and valleys... No. Houston is a game for us to show our best. We've yet to show our best in a 90 plus minute over two to three games and we're going to keep fighting for that idea.

I often look for progression in players, particularly ones not starting. Historically I thought Brandon Servania just played in games. But of late, in the last 3 or 4 games and in training, he seems to have found a decisiveness, a way to influence the result. Is that something you see in him too?

He had a tough early season where he wasn't playing. Had an injury preseason. He's seen one of his good friends earn minutes, and that's competition, but he's always supported the teammates. And he goes and has a good participation with the U20s. When he came back we wanted to grow on that confidence he came back with. And he's had some spectacular performances against DC, Toronto.

And then coming in and giving us energy against Montreal. He got subbed at halftime Orlando and two days later in training, he's got a big smile on his face, pushing, and showing effort. A good teammate. Wasn't down here about it [gestures low]. Wasn't up here about it [gestures high] Just steady. That's why he made a push against Minnesota which was right after the Orlando halftime sub.

So that shows you his mentality, his maturity right now. And he's important in this push.

I see him growing. As the season has progressed he's got a strong mentality. He's got a confidence about him that's going to allow him to keep getting opportunities.