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FRISCO, Texas -- FC Dallas coach Schellas Hyndman said he expects the rest of his teams matches to be tough. Saturday was no exception. Michels scored on a penalty kick in the 72nd minute to help FC Dallas salvage a 2-2 draw against the San Jose Earthquakes and take sole possession of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Three red cards in the final 10 minutes also made the match entertaining one, as both teams were keen on earning three points for the final playoff push. "I think that the games are going to get a lot more physical," said Hydnman, whose team snapped an 11-game winless streak Wednesday after tumbling down the table. "I think the games are going to get a little bit more competitive. " Blas Perez also scored for Dallas (9-7-10), which rallied after giving up two goals in the first 16 minutes. Dallas moved into fifth place in the Western Conference, one point ahead of Vancouver. Alan Gordon and Steven Beitashour had the early goals for San Jose (9-10-7), which had won four of its previous five matches. Gordon, making his 100th MLS start of his career, sent home a shot from the centre of the box in the eighth minute after Cato squared the ball to the middle. Eight minutes later, a series of volleys from Gordon and Rafael Baca found defender Beitashour all alone six yards out to pop the ball over the right shoulder of goalkeeper Raul Fernandez. Dallas quickly responded in the 19th minute when Michel served a ball toward the box, which midfielder Je-Vaughn Watson nodded on toward the 6-yard box. Perez won a short race to the ball against goalkeeper Jon Busch to tap the ball into the net with his right foot for his 10th goal of the season. Michel then tied in the second half when he put his left-footed penalty into the upper-left corner. Perez was fouled by Victor Bernardez six yards away from goal to earn the spot kick after defender George John found Perez on a far-post cross to set up the play. "Instead of folding, you fought all the way back and you could have very well won the game," Hyndman said. "I thought we had a very good game outside of the first 15 minutes." Dallas outshot San Jose 17-7, taking all momentum after Michels penalty kick. San Joses Justin Morrow, who entered the game in the 66th minute as a substitute, was given a red card on a tackle from behind on Ramon Nunez in the 81st minute. Four minutes later, both Dallas Kenny Cooper and Bernardez were shown red cards after the Bernardez fouled Cooper, and Cooper retaliated with a shove to the ground and an intimidating hold to the defenders jersey. Cooper and Bernardez have some history. The San Jose defender pushed Cooper out of bounds May 25 in the teams first contest the season, leading to a concussion for Cooper. "Of course were fighting (for a playoff spot)," San Jose defender Clarence Goodson said. "It was a very interesting game." San Jose midfielder Cordell Cato put a shot on target in stoppage time that was tipped over the net by Fernandez. Dallas defender Kellyn Acosta said this game was the most physical he has been a part of. "Their guys are huge )all of them," Acosta said. "They play more of a direct game. They play long balls, so that was a challenge for me." Dallas outshot San Jose 9-3 in the second half. Denis Potvin Islanders Jersey .B. -- Canadian pairs skaters Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford went from elated to frustrated in the span of a few minutes. Anders Lee Jersey . Here is a look at all the moves through the first week of NHL Free Agency. The most significant deals will get the full Numbers Game column treatment, like these:Briere-for-Parenteau trade. http://www.islanderssale.com/authentic-c...landers-jersey/. "That was a great lift for the staff," Padres manager Bud Black said. Yonder Alonso and Yasmani Grandal homered, and Chase Headley drove in three runs, as the Padres beat the Chicago Cubs 11-1 on Friday night. Matt Martin Islanders Jersey . And, just for good measure, lets say the lottery team finishes the game short-handed because two starters come down with the very same injury. Mike Bossy Islanders Jersey . In Europe, top teams seem to be largely happy with their squads after spending nearly $1 billion in the off-season. And although English league clubs are unlikely to splash cash in January, Arsenal and Chelsea could be tempted to strengthen their squads with new strikers.TORONTO - Its beginning to feel a lot like spring 2014 for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and thats not a good thing.Back then, the Leafs lost eight straight in regulation and 13 of their final 16 games as a playoff appearance slipped away. Now, theyve lost five in a row and again 13 of 16 in regulation as the season seems to be sliding away.Its been like this for a couple years now, hasnt it? star winger Phil Kessel said. I have no idea. We go through great stretches and then we have these just horrendous stretches. Its pretty frustrating.Back in 2011-12, with many of these same players in place, the Leafs lost six in a row and 10 of 11 to cost Ron Wilson his job. Since last seasons late swoon, coaches have been switched again from Randy Carlyle to Peter Horachek.Its early in Horacheks tenure as interim coach, but the results havent been encouraging.Its similar, isnt it? Kessel said. Same stuff keeps happening. I dont know what to make of it anymore.When general manager Dave Nonis explained why Carlyle had been fired, he pointed to inconsistency. The same Leafs that went 9-1-1 earlier in the season have been outscored 24-9 in the past seven games under Horachek.Its extremely frustrating that were doing a lot of things in areas that we werent doing earlier in the year better and now its the other side of that were having a tough time with, captain Dion Phaneuf said.As the Leafs have tried to forge an identity, theyve established something of a reputation of letting losing streaks snowball.Just momentum, centre Nazem Kadri said. Momentums a killer.dddddddddddd Once you get on a slide, it seems like other teams are more eager to keep you on that slide.And the Leafs havent done much to help themselves, either. Horachek expressed frustration that during Monday nights 4-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes players reacted to falling behind by cheating to try to score.Its a 60-minute game, and you cant let one event — whether a bad call, an injury, a goal — affect you, Horachek said. We know that we havent scored a lot in the last four games. ... We know that we havent won.And though Horachek hasnt been around for past losing streaks, players have. Kessel said players must always stay positive, but Kadri knows its difficult to block out recent history.Its not impossible, but its definitely a frustration that builds over time, Kadri said. Obviously a win would help kind of ease things, and we know how it is around here and we know how it has been.The Leafs have one chance to end this skid before the all-star break, when they visit the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday. Between the loss to the Hurricanes and that puck drop, Horachek is intent on keeping the negativity from seeping into the locker-room.Theres no way to move forward with any kind of negativity inside that room, Horachek said. Theyre going to have to stand up, face the music and go that much harder and work their way out of. Theres no easy way out of times like this. Theyre going to have to have some conviction and some resolve and its going to be hard.___Follow @SWhyno on Twitter ' ' '