since July 2, 2005, the final FC Dallas goal scored at the Cotton Bowl.
• Kreis made no changes to the team for the third successive match since taking over. Here's his team (4-1-3-2): Nick Rimando - Jack Stewart, Eddie Pope, Daniel Torres, Willis Forko (Jean-Martial Kipre 46) - Carey Talley (Chris Lancos 10) - Chris Klein, Mehdi Ballouchy, Freddy Adu - Jeff Cunningham (Andy Williams 62), Atiba Harris. Substitutes Not Used: Nikolas Besagno, Duke Hashimoto, Chris Seitz, Jamie Watson
• "For the whole first half, for some reason we struggled to get moving, to get anything going. I don't think we strung together more than two passes at any time in the first half," said Kreis. "Going forward, we will try to figure out why that was. It looked to me that the guys were either tired or just weren't up for it. Both are unacceptable for different reasons. If they were tired, then we need to figure out a way to train them so that they're not tired for the match. If they just weren't up for it, then we have to figure out ways or to find people or who are up for it."
TEAM NEWS
• In Kreis's coaching debut against the team where he spent nine seasons of his playing career, RSL nearly came away with a point from a trip to Texas for the first time. But they remained winless in the Lone Star State, now 0-6-0 in road games against Dallas and Houston.
• "At that time, in the second half, I figured that for sure that we were going to get out of here with a point and maybe there will be something happen for us that we'll get to snatch three points. The fact is that they had two very special individual goals," Kreis said. "On the first goal, Arturo (Alvarez) had a fantastic dribble to beat Jack Stewart and struck an unbelievable ball to the far post. That was an unbelievable goal, so hats off to him. Maybe we can look at this game apart from those two goals and see that we weren't that bad defensively. But offensively, we have to get better."
• Klein admitted that frustration is starting to mount for RSL, who at 0-3-4 is the only winless side in MLS nearly two months into the season.
• "We're really frustrated now," he said. "We feel that we have the necessary tools to do very well. We've been in every game. We haven't gotten the results or gotten over that hump yet, but I truly feel that we're going to get over that hump. Hopefully, we can do that on Wednesday in the Open Cup and follow that up against Chicago."
• But there was stunning news in advance of the Open Cup match, as Jeff Cunningham was sent to Toronto FC in exchange for striker Alecko Eskandarian and the expansion club's first-round pick in next year's SuperDraft. "I consider Jeff to be an extremely talented player, but I just do not see Jeff fitting in with my long-term plans for this team," Kreis said. Cunningham is currently fourth on the MLS all-time goalscoring list with 93 goals.
• In four years in the league, Eskandarian has won an MLS Cup with D.C. United (in 2004), was named the MLS Cup MVP, and twice was an MLS All-Star. He played with current RSL players Freddy Adu and Nick Rimando at D.C. United, then was acquired by expansion Toronto in a trade during the offseason. "He's a fiery competitor, a player that really wants to link up between the high forward and the midfield," Kreis said. "He has a very good and a very strong left-footed shot."
• Likely, Eskandarian will be an immediate starter. Kreis does not anticipate any problems with the transition up top. "It's a pretty seamless one," Kreis said. "I've traded a forward and I've picked up a forward."
• On Wednesday, the Colorado Rapids advanced to the U.S. Open Cup tournament proper with a 2-1 victory against Real in their second-round play-in game in Commerce City. Jacob Peterson continued to be Real's nemesis in Open Cup games, scoring two goals, including the game-winner in stoppage time.
• Peterson drove home a half-clearance three minutes after the halftime restart, but Chris Klein finished off a Mehdi Ballouchy pass in the 64th minute to pull RSL level. Peterson banged a shot off the far post from a tight angle to send the Rapids into the round-of-16 draw. A year ago, Peterson scored the lone goal in Colorado's fourth-round Open Cup win against Real.
• Here's Kreis's team: Chris Seitz, Daniel Torres, Nikolas Besagno, Eddie Pope (Jack Stewart 54), Jean-Martial Kipre, Freddy Adu (Andy Williams 46), Mehdi Ballouchy, Chris Klein (Jamie Watson 71), Chris Lancos, Chris Brown (Duke Hashimoto 69), Atiba Harris. Substitutes Not Used: Willis Forko, Nick Rimando
• "It would have been nice to have given some of the guys the night off," said Kreis. "But we just don't have that luxury right now. ... All of the guys who are right now considered quote-unquote reserves all need to step their game up. They need to realize that they are all going to get their chances and opportunities and it's going to be important what they do when they get them."
