On Tuesday night at Pizza Hut Park, FC Dallas and CD Guadalajara kicked off SuperLiga 2007 with a controversy-laden 1-1 draw complete with a red card and an equalizing goal scored just seconds after an uncalled handball.
But lost in the shuffle of the final result from the match was the performance of second-year goalkeeper Ray Burse. The former Ohio State University standout made his FCD first team debut because normal starter Dario Sala was unable to go after failing a fitness test just 15 minutes prior to kickoff.
Sala had suffered an MCL sprain on his right knee late in Monday's training session but it was thought that the injury wasn't serious and that the Argentinean 'keeper would be ready for Chivas. That wasn't the case and Burse was summoned by FCD head coach Steve Morrow.
While Burse was attending a class at a local university earlier in the day, the FCD boss had left the second-year pro a message telling him that he was almost certain to start against Chivas.
Burse admits that he left the lecture hall to check his messages and after returning, class was the furthest thing from his mind.
"No, I couldn't (focus on anything else)," he said. "When he (Morrow) called me, I went out, heard the message and then called him back. He told me that I had a 99.9 percent chance of playing. I immediately called my girlfriend and parents to tell them.
"Then, I went back to class and 15 minutes later, we had a break. I left right away and told someone to give me their notes on Thursday and that was that."
The young 'keeper admitted that his family back in Louisville, Ky., did not have TeleFutura, but were able to watch his debut courtesy of streaming video on MLSnet.com.
As for the game, Burse made five saves, several of the spectacular, diving variety and looked nothing like a 'keeper who had yet to see action with the first team. The only goal he surrendered came after the uncalled handball settled the ball for Antonio Olvera to fire home. Morrow was clearly pleased.
"He did (very well)," Morrow said. "It's always a difficult situation when you're coming into a big game and your debut is more of a high-profile game where everyone is watching you all the more.
"That was something that was big for me, that he was able to handle that situation very well. It speaks very highly of him that he had the maturity to play as well as he did. I thought he made some good saves and did some good reaction stuff. Generally, he didn't even put a foot wrong."
Burse offered his own assessment of his debut.
"I was happy with my performance but wanted to win the game at the same time. It was a big disappointment (to tie) and we should have gotten three points if not for a questionable call," he said. "It was a big game to come through and have my debut with the first team. I didn't really have too much time to think about it before the game. I found out that I would definitely start about 15 minutes before the game and then I had to start thinking about getting ready for the game."
Earlier in the month, Burse started in goal for FCD in both legs of the battle for the Rio Grande Plate with Mexican Primera Division side Tigres UANL. He felt that the opening leg of that series, which was played in Monterrey, helped prepare him well for playing in a hostile environment.
"I think the game down there prepared me the most because it was like an away atmosphere last night," he said. "I had never really played in front of a crowd that big before in my life. There were times during the game where I couldn't be heard on the field and I was screaming at the top of my lungs."
With Sala listed as day-to-day, he could heal in time for Saturday night's match with Pachuca FC. Then again, should Burse be called on again, his performance Tuesday night gave Morrow and Hoops fans more than enough peace of mind.
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
