FC Dallas dropped a 2-0 decision to the Charlotte Eagles at FC Dallas Stadium in the third round of the 2012 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Dallas outshot Charlotte, 28-7, and still lost.

Dallas’ George John and Zach Loyd were forced out of the match after suffering injuries between the 24^th and 41^st minutes of play. Homegrown player Moises Hernandez replaced Loyd, while James Marcelin came on for John, but it was Charlotte’s substitution that made the biggest impact.

The Eagles’ Nate Thornton replaced Joseph Kwabe in the 40^th minute. He needed just two minutes before he picked up an assist on a goal scored by Darryl Roberts. The play began with Thornton chasing down a long pass on the right flank and sending a cross to the back post for Roberts. There, the Trinidadian forward rose above his marker to nod a shot into the back of the net for the 1-0 lead.

Dallas’ uphill battle got steeper in the 78^th minute, when Jackson was ejected from the match following a collision with Irwin. The red card forced FC Dallas to play down a man for the remaining 12 minutes.

Pushing men forward in search of a game-saving goal, FC Dallas was caught on the counter-attack in the fourth minute of stoppage time. The Eagles’ combination of Thornton and Roberts hooked up again, this time in reverse, as Roberts received a pass on the left flank and played Thornton into space. One-on-one with FC Dallas goalkeeper Chris Seitz, Thornton calmly picked out the side-netting at the far post to give Charlotte the 2-0 victory.