In Wednesday night's 2-0 win at Colorado, FC Dallas put to rest several streaks -- their three-game losing streak and also a scoreless skein that nearly reached the five-hour mark. Now full of confidence, the Hoops have their first game on their brand-new field at Pizza Hut Park in more than a month when they play host to Houston Dynamo on Saturday night.
FCD last played on their home field on July 29, when the Hoops beat the Rapids 4-1 to close out the first half of the season. They haven't had much luck against Dynamo this year, going 0-3-1 against their southern rivals.
The last time the two sides played in Frisco was on May 13 when the hosts got a goal from Carlos Ruiz in the 19th minute and looked poised for a win until a late own goal from Clarence Goodson forced them to settle for a 1-1 draw.
All parties involved know this will be a big game.
"It's a big game for a lot of different reasons," said FCD head coach Colin Clarke. "They're closest to us in the standings and a win for us tomorrow would put a nice gap between us and them and go a long way for us in winning the Western [Conference]."
Houston head coach Dominic Kinnear agreed. "We're still in the hunt (for the West title)," he said. "We're in second place in our conference, which means we're catching up. Tomorrow is a good day for us to get more points and hopefully put some pressure on Dallas because they open up a six-point gap again on us."
Dynamo comes off a 2-2 draw at Chicago on Wednesday. The Fire's Justin Mapp made it 1-0 in the 36th minute but Houston forward Chris Wondolowski leveled the match with his first career MLS goal in the 42nd minute. Dwayne DeRosario's ninth goal of the year in the 59th minute made it 2-1 in favor of Houston.
They looked ready to steal three points on the road before a penalty kick was awarded to Chicago late, which Andy Herron converted in the 75th minute to level that match yet again at 2-2, which is how the evening finished.
Goodson called his team relieved after beating the Rapids earlier in the week.
"It's a win and everyone's happy with that," he said. "That three-game stretch was a tough one. It's good to nip it in the bud there. Last year, we let it ride on for 10 games or so. We're playing better and getting better and that's what you want in the last half of the season."
Clarke's lineup will remain largely the same, at least in the midfield and up top. Ruiz, who leads the Hoops in both goals and assists but hasn't scored since a 2-1 win in Frisco against Chivas USA on June 11, will start alongside Kenny Cooper, who has eight goals and four assists.
In the midfield, the lineup of All-Atar Ronnie O'Brien, who had two assists on Wednesday against Colorado, and Ramon Nunez, who scored his career-high sixth goal of the year against the Rapids, will man the wings. As usual, the central midfield will be anchored by veterans Richard Mulrooney, who got his first goal of 2006 on Wednesday, and captain Simo Valakari.
But in the back is where things get interesting. Two normal starters, center back Drew Moor and right back Bobby Rhine will miss the game because of yellow card accumulation. Rookie Justin Moore, FCD's second-round pick (15th overall) in the 2006 Super Draft, will make his first career start in Rhine's place.
Goodson and veteran Greg Vanney will man the middle with Chris Gbandi occupying his usual spot on the left side. Behind them in goal will be Dario Sala, who has started every league game for the Hoops this season.
Moore is clearly excited about his first career start.
"I have some mixed emotions thinking about how they play and trying to stay calm," he said. "I've been listening to the older guys like Greg Vanney and will be playing on the right side with Ronnie O'Brien and trying to know what he wants me to do with the ball. I'm excited for the opportunity.
"We got kind of out of the slump against Colorado. Hopefully I can step in and keep that going a little bit so we can get back on a roll heading into the playoffs. I just want to step in, play simple and help the team out as much as I can."
Clarke won't call tomorrow's contest a must-win but concedes it would be nice to get a win over their in-state rival before the playoffs start.
"We'd like to beat them since we haven't this year," he said. "We're in a good position, a lot better position than they're in right now. They've had a bad run of results lately but could have won each of those games. They won the Supporters' Shield last year with the team they have now."
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
