This week, FC Dallas will face their fourth week of the season where they play twice in four days. The Hoops first travel to face Real Salt Lake as part of MLS Primetime Thursday on ESPN2, then on Sunday make their first ever trip north of the border to face expansion Toronto FC.
FCD's record in those quick road turnarounds has been pretty solid. In their first such jaunt, they won 2-1 on April 12 at the Los Angeles Galaxy before falling 3-0 to the New York Red Bulls at Giants Stadium three days later.
The Red Bulls made their lone appearance of 2007 at Pizza Hut Park on April 26 and left with a 1-0 win and three days later, New England departed Frisco with a similar decision. But on May 17, FCD went into Toyota Park and defeated the Chicago Fire 2-1 and beat Real Salt Lake in Frisco three days later by the same score.
Adding to the difficulty of the turnaround this week, though, will be that both matches will be played on artificial turf. FCD tied RSL 2-2 in their season opener on April 5 at Rice-Eccles Stadium, while the Hoops have yet to play Toronto FC.
"To play two games on turf back-to-back isn't easy," said FCD head coach Steve Morrow. "It takes a little bit of time to recover after playing on turf. I think we've shown all year that we can go on the road and win games."
FC Dallas has played 12 games already on the campaign, more than any other team. By contrast, the Los Angeles Galaxy -- who FCD beat 3-1 on Saturday at Pizza Hut Park -- have played just eight.
"It's tough," said center back Clarence Goodson. "You don't have a lot of time for your body to bounce back. You have to get in, get your treatment and be professional about it. It's hard but something we have to do right now.
"We'll have a couple of breaks later in the year when other teams are playing. We'd much rather be doing it now, in the first half of the year rather than in the second half of the season where your legs will start to give way and you're not as fresh."
Last Saturday, leading scorer Kenny Cooper suffered a broken leg and is likely lost for the next two months. With Cooper's injury and Ecuadorian striker Roberto Mina on the shelf with a knee injury, FCD is particularly thin at forward.
In Saturday's win, Morrow employed a three-forward lineup with midfielder Arturo Alvarez moving up alongside Abe Thompson and Dominic Oduro. That means that FCD's depth will definitely come into play.
"As you saw in the last game, we made a few changes to our lineup and the guys that came in did brilliantly," said FCD midfielder Dax McCarty. "I think Steve (Morrow) feels like he has all the ingredients that he needs and when he needs to give players a rest, he can do that. We have a short week and will need everyone available."
FCD is also currently in the midst of three matches in a row on the road. The last of those three games away from Frisco will be June 23 at Colorado.
"Three games in a week, we've done this before," center back Alex Yi said. "It's nothing that we can't handle and proved that earlier in the season. Nothing changes. We still have to play two solid halves of soccer away from home. We're excited for it."
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
