Last Saturday, FC Dallas beat Colorado 1-0 at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. That win came in their 15th game of the 2007 MLS regular season, meaning that the Hoops are officially at the halfway point. FCD currently sits atop the West table with 25 points, just three ahead of Houston Dynamo, who come to Frisco this Saturday sporting a five-match winning streak.
With their latest matchup against Dynamo looming, a Texas clash that will officially kick off the second half of the season, FCD head coach Steve Morrow and several of his players reflected on the first half of the campaign.
"I think so far it's satisfactory," said Morrow. "We're halfway through and we've got 25 points. Considering that 10 of those were on the road and the injuries, suspensions and losing players to the national team, I think we're in a decent position."
But the FCD boss wouldn't say he was content with his side's first half showing this year.
"I'm definitely disappointed with a couple of the results so far," he said. "I think we've put ourselves in a good position heading into the second half. We have 10 of our last 15 at home and have a chance to push hard and get stronger as the year goes on."
Among those low points were consecutive 1-0 home losses to New York and New England in late April. Other lowlights were a 3-0 loss to the Red Bulls on April 15 at Giants Stadium as well as a 4-0 defeat at Toronto FC earlier this month.
"The New England and New York games were disappointing results for me. They were both 1-0 games that could have gone either way. I think that could have made a difference," Morrow said. "I also look at the Houston game away, a game that we were 1-0 up and could have done better with. We played well in the first 45 minutes at Chivas and ended up losing. There are a lot of positives but a few results could have been different."
But the first 15 games have also produced a number of positives for FCD. The emergence of Colombian midfielder Juan Toja, who is tied for the team lead with four goals, has been a big story, as has been the emergence of defensive midfielder Pablo Ricchetti, who has been a stabilizing force in the center of the park for the Hoops.
Fellow midfielder Dax McCarty, currently away with the U.S. under-20 national team as they prepare for the FIFA U-20 World Cup has also emerged in just his second MLS season and leads FCD with four assists.
Also producing have been a pair of University of Maryland products - center back Clarence Goodson and Abe Thompson.
Goodson has been rock-solid in the central defense for FCD and if the team's defender of the year award were handed out today, he would be the recipient. Thompson has a pair of goals and three assists this year and did an admirable job filling in for captain Carlos Ruiz who at times during the first half of the year was injured, suspended and missed time because he was playing for Guatemala at the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
"I think overall it has been OK but not too great. With our record and having so many road games says a lot about these guys. I think for the most part, it has been OK," left back Chris Gbandi said. "I think our focus in the last few years has been on finishing the season strong and I think it's going to be the same this year. I think the first half is good but this team is going to be judged on how we finish the second half."
Other highlights include a 2-1 win against the Los Angeles Galaxy on April 12, FCD's first-ever victory against the original inhabitants of The Home Depot Center in Carson. The Hoops also won by the same score at Kansas City on May 12, their first victory on the Wizards' home field since 1999.
And just five days later, on MLS Primetime Thursday, they beat Brimstone Cup rival Chicago by a 2-1 score at Toyota Park. FCD played 10 of their first 15 matches of 2007 away from home but that trend will reverse itself in the second half.
"We traveled a lot in the first half, which I think is good for us because now, we can sit back and have a bunch of home games," said second-year FCD striker Dominic Oduro, who has two goals this year. "We did well in our away games and that's what you have to do is win most of those. We have had a lot of games but are comfortable with where we are at. Now, we are going to try and win all of our home games."
Storylines to watch in the second half include whether or not Ruiz will return to top form. The Guatemalan international had just two goals in the first half and was not in top form after a nagging hamstring injury and also missing a few practices in May.
With Kenny Cooper out until at least September with a broken leg, Ruiz will be asked to carry much of the offensive load for FCD. How he responds could go a long way to determining how the second half goes for the Hoops.
Two newcomers could also be impact players for FCD. Center back/midfielder Adrian Serioux, a member of Houston's 2006 MLS Cup championship team, is close to making his FCD debut and should help strengthen the Hoops back line.
And 19-year-old striker Ricardinho from Brazilian partner Clube Atletico Paranaense, will be added to the fold in coming weeks and could have a big impact up top for FCD.
"I think we have done pretty well," midfielder Arturo Alvarez said. "Steve (Morrow) is pretty happy with us and we're pretty happy with ourselves. We had a lot of road games and got a lot of points from that."
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
