FC Dallas begins their quest to recapture the Dewar Trophy on Monday when their run in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup starts with a third-round match at Pizza Hut Park against the Atlanta Silverbacks of the USL First Division.
It's been just two days since FCD's last match, a 2-0 defeat to Mexican Primera Division side and partner club Tigres UANL in Monterrey, Mexico, but head coach Steve Morrow and his players will be ready.
"The Open Cup is really important," said FCD striker Dominic Oduro. "It's one of the things on our schedule that we want to win. Right now, our main goal is to win the Open Cup."
Atlanta comes into Monday's match having defeated Dallas-area USASA side Azzurri 10-0 in the first round on June 12 and USL Second Division club Charlotte Eagles 1-0 on June 26. In their latest win, the Silverbacks got their lone goal from striker Warren Ukah in the 48th minute.
The Silverbacks are led by forward Daniel Antoniuk, who currently paces USL's top flight with 17 points. His seven assists also lead the circuit.
"They are a typical A-League team," Morrow said. "They are pretty physical and will be a good test for us."
FCD has several ties to Monday's opponent. Third-year center back Alex Yi played for the Silverbacks in 2005 on loan and former Hoops midfielder Justin Moore, a second-round pick in the 2006 MLS SuperDraft, now plays for Atlanta. He has played in 14 of their 15 games this year and has two goals and one assist.
Moore played in two games with the FCD first team in 2006, one of those starts. Several of his former teammates admit that seeing him on the opposite side of the field could be a bit strange come Monday night.
"Yes, it will be a little weird," said Hoops defender/midfielder Aaron Pitchkolan. "It's funny how things matched up with him coming back here. I'm sure he's looking forward to it and it will be fun to play against him."
The Hoops have not lost their opening match in the Open Cup since 2003, when they fell 4-1 to the Wilmington Hammerheads of the USL Pro Soccer League (fourth tier). Last year they bested the Charleston Battery (USL 1) on penalty kicks after the sides finished deadlocked at 3-3, with FCD getting a hat trick from Kenny Cooper.
Three weeks later, FCD fell 3-0 to Houston in the Bayou City in their fourth-round meeting. Dynamo will host the Battery on Monday and should they prevail, it will set up another match between the Texas rivals on August 7 in Frisco.
Morrow rested many of his normal starters on Saturday and should field something resembling his normal lineup on Monday. The FCD boss has been fielding a modified 4-3-3 formation recently. That means that captain Carlos Ruiz will start up top alongside Arturo Alvarez, Dominic Oduro or Abe Thompson.
In the midfield, Morrow will likely go with Juan Toja, a member of the MLS All-Star First XI at the attacking spot. Pablo Ricchetti will man the defensive midfield spot while Adrian Serioux, who made his FCD debut against Tigres, could also start.
Morrow's back four should include Drew Moor on the right, Pitchkolan and Clarence Goodson in the middle and Chris Gbandi on the right. This will be Moor's first game back after spending the last few weeks playing for the U.S. national team at Copa America. In goal will likely be Dario Sala.
"I think you circle two things (on your calendar) -- MLS Cup, which is very important, and Open Cup, because it gives you bragging rights as the best team in the United States," Gbandi said. "We're all looking forward to it."
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
