The 2007 season truly was a banner year for FC Dallas goalkeeper Ray Burse. Not only did the second year 'keeper make his MLS debut and register two clean sheets in only six starts, but he also completed work on a degree in American History from the Ohio State University.
While Burse was pleased with how his second professional season ended, he is clearly raising the bar for the 2008 campaign. After the Hoops' season ended with a loss in the first round of the playoffs to eventual MLS Cup champion Houston, he said he has every intention of being FCD's No. 1 'keeper by the time the '08 season kicks off on March 30.
"I definitely want to be the starting goalkeeper for FC Dallas next year and think that I shouldn't set my sights on anything below that," Burse said. "Anything below that wouldn't be successful in my eyes."
It was on July 24 in FCD's SuperLiga opener against Mexican power CD Guadalajara that Burse made his senior team debut. He faced 16 shots and stopped all but one in a 1-1 draw.
Burse next appeared for the Hoops in a U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal against Charleston of the USL's top division, surrendering one goal in the 2-1 win. And in his league debut on August 4, he came away with his first MLS victory, a clean sheet after stopping all 14 shots he faced against Colorado. He finished the season with a 3-2-1 record in six league starts and a 1.00 goals against average, and came on in relief after starter Dario Sala was injured in the Hoops' deciding loss to Dynamo in the second leg of the Western Conference Semifinals.
Despite his breakout season in 2007, Burse still feels that there are plenty of facets to his play that he wants to improve upon for next year.
"I just want to work on the details of my game," he said. "My kicking needs a lot of work. Some of these things are hard to improve upon in the offseason, so in the preseason is when I will have to work on some of those. I need to show up with an open mind and ready to get better every day in practice come February."
While many took the holiday season to travel and see family and friends -- which Burse did as well -- the New Year means it's back to time on the field.
"I'm going to spend the next week or so in Columbus training with a few of my friends there. I think my good buddy, Jon Busch is in town and hopefully, we will get together and do a little training," Burse said. "After that, I'm going to Louisville, Kentucky, where I am running the first of my soccer camps. From there, I will probably head back to Dallas and probably link up with a couple of guys on the team to do a little more training."
He is also looking forward to his first professional season where he can concentrate fully on soccer.
"I wouldn't say that when I was getting my degree that it hampered my process of becoming a better goalkeeper at all," he said. "It just gave me something to do with my extra time. But now that it's off my plate, I can just come home after practice and relax because I won't have to worry about that any longer. I'm looking forward to building on the season that I had last year and becoming overall a better goalkeeper."
One thing that he does miss during the winter months is the competition he faces each day during practice. Sala's option was picked up by FCD in early December and when preseason starts in February, Burse expects to be locked in a heated battle with the veteran Argentinian for the starting spot between the posts.
"I'm looking forward to it," Burse said. "I miss the competition from practice every day but I'm taking it out on my girlfriend on the (Nintendo) Wii every day. I'm looking forward to the competition. I'm going to do everything in the offseason to come in with a leg up and maybe give myself an advantage there. When we hit the field in preseason, I'm going to be ready for a long battle."
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
