On Wednesday, FC Dallas handed Chivas USA a 2-0 defeat to celebrate the Fourth of July in style at Pizza Hut Park. The Hoops' next MLS action won't be until next Saturday, when they travel to the nation's capital to face D.C. United, but FCD will still be busy in the coming week with three games on the slate.
The first of those will be on Saturday, when FCD face Mexican Primera Division side and partner Tigres UANL at Estadio Universatario in Monterrey, Mexico. The clubs play for the Rio Grande Plate, which is awarded to the side with the most points after the two-game home-and-away series.
Last year, FCD captured the first-ever Rio Grande Plate, winning the second leg in Monterrey on penalty kicks after the sides finished deadlocked at 2-2 on aggregate. Tigres won 2-0 on their home field a year ago while FCD prevailed by the same score in Frisco one week prior.
"It's always a good game. It's early in their preseason. We have the (U.S.) Open Cup coming up on Monday, so that's more of a priority for me because we want to win the Open Cup," said FCD head coach Steve Morrow. "I think Tigres is a good game for us and is good for some of our young players to get some playing time. It's always good to go down there and play in a good atmosphere and in a big stadium. We're looking forward to it."
On Thursday, FCD announced their 18-man traveling roster for the match. It includes a mix of veterans and young players. The Hoops will take two goalkeepers in Ray Burse and Shaka Hislop. Defenders making the trip include Andrew Daniels, Michael Dello-Russo, Chris Gbandi, Aaron Pitchkolan, David Wagenfuhr, Blake Wagner and Alex Yi. Pitchkolan and Wagenfuhr could see time in the midfield.
In the midfield, Sandy Gbandi, Scott Jones, Ramon Nunez, Adrian Serioux and Chase Wileman will be available. Up top will be Dominic Oduro, Ricardinho, Carlos Ruiz and Abe Thompson.
No matter which starting 11 Morrow decides to field, every member of FCD's traveling party is looking forward to the trip.
"It's kind of a fun game," Pitchkolan said. "It's good to go down to Mexico, a place you don't get to go to very often. It's a cool atmosphere. They had great atmosphere there last year. They are getting ready for their season. I'm sure they will want to come out and do well against us."
Two players who will not make the trip will be midfielders Arturo Alvarez and Marcelo Saragosa, both of whom scored against Tigres in Frisco last July. Alvarez is healthy but Morrow is saving him for Monday's third round match in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup against USL First Division side Atlanta.
Saragosa, however, re-injured his right knee in the win against Chivas and had to leave the field in the 11th minute. An MRI revealed no further damage but the Brazilian will likely be on the shelf for several weeks.
Among the players who could make their first-team debut for FCD on Saturday is rookie midfielder Scott Jones, who was a third-round pick in the 2007 Super Draft. Jones has started all four reserve division matches for FCD this year and has a pair of goals.
"It's definitely going to be really exciting," Jones said. "We've only had two or three reserve games, so it will be a great opportunity to showcase our skills and play as a team down there. They're going to be good and it will be great to play against good quality competition to see how you measure up against them."
Two other FCD players who could also see their debut with the first team on Saturday could be 19-year-old Brazilian forward Ricardinho and Serioux, who has yet to appear in a game for the Hoops after having knee surgery back in February.
Ricardinho is awaiting approval of his work visa from the league office before he can officially be added to the FCD roster but will be able to play against Tigres. Serioux, who was a member of Houston's 2006 MLS Cup championship team, is close to making his return for the Hoops from injury and could see his first action on Saturday.
"I think it's a good opportunity for both guys," Morrow said. "Ricardinho is desperate to get playing. It's a good opportunity to get a close look at him and get him involved with the team. It's the same for Adrian. He's looking good in practice and just needs some match fitness now."
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
