FC Dallas heads off for the final road trip of their preseason this weekend, leaving Texas on Wednesday for a five-day trip to Puerto Rico, where the Hoops will play two matches.
FCD will play the Puerto Rico Islanders of the USL First Division (second tier) Thursday at 7 p.m. CT at Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium in Bayamón. Then on Saturday, the club will face the Rochester Raging Rhinos, also of the USL First Division, at 4 p.m. CT at the same venue. It's a trip that Hoops head coach Steve Morrow is anticipating.
"I think it's going to be a good trip," Morrow said. "It's something that we're very much looking forward to. We have two games in the space of three days. When we return from there, we only have one more game left before the start of the season. It's very important in terms of our buildup for the start of the season.
"I'm looking to get 90 minutes from a lot of the guys and really push their match fitness hard. It's a continuation in terms of what we're trying to achieve with our style of play and things like that."
Joining the Hoops in Puerto Rico will be recently-signed Colombian midfielder Juan Carlos Toja, who was signed on Feb. 28 but has yet to join the team because he was waiting to have his visa approved.
Toja filled the place on the FCD roster vacated by Richard Mulrooney, after the veteran midfielder was dealt to Toronto FC on Wednesday. Toja could step right in and start at one of the central midfield spots in a race for two places that is wide open.
Not making the trip will be rookie midfielder Anthony Wallace, who is staying behind in Frisco for a camp with the United States under-20 national team. Two other members of the Hoops, Dax McCarty and Blake Wagner, have previously seen considerable time with the U-20s, but they are now getting minutes with the FCD first team and were thus unavailable for consideration.
"It was one of those situations where (U.S. under-20 head coach) Thomas (Rongen) wanted to have at least one of our players in the camp," Morrow said. "He and I talked about it and we decided on Anthony. He's been involved with the U-20s for a while.
"Dax and Blake are getting good minutes with the first team. So, it was good idea to press ahead with what we're doing with them right now and letting them get minutes. It's good for Anthony and he can continue to develop about the national team."
FCD heads to Puerto Rico with several questions still to be answered regarding the starting 11 to begin the season. Morrow has been employing a 4-2-3-1 formation thus far in preseason and will likely use that setup to start the year as well.
Carlos Ruiz is locked in as the man up top and could also be named team captain once the team returns next week. Two spots behind him looked to be secured by Kenny Cooper, last year's No. 2 leading scorer, and Roberto Mina, who has rebounded fully from a knee injury suffered last year. In contention for the other spot are Arturo Alvarez and Ramon Nunez while speedy second-year striker Dominic Oduro is also making a strong case for the nod.
The two central midfield spots aren't quite as secure. McCarty is an option and has performed well in preseason. Also in the mix is Aaron Pitchkolan, a third-year player who had to earn a spot on the senior roster this preseason and showed up in a big way.
Brazilian Marcelo Saragosa is also a candidate and played well last season after being acquired in mid-July. Wallace has impressed since arriving in camp but his chance to play likely won't come until a bit later.
In the back, Morrow is a bit more settled. Normal starting left back Chris Gbandi is out with an ankle sprain but Wagner and David Wagenfuhr have been nice fill-ins. The center back combination of Clarence Goodson and Drew Moor also looks solid, while Alex Yi looks ready to claim the starting job at right back as his own.
Dario Sala will start in goal after he returns from a six-game suspension to start the season. For now, the question is whether Morrow go with veteran Shaka Hislop, who has looked less than stellar thus far in the preseason, or untested commodity Ray Burse, an athletic second-year 'keeper who has yet to see action with the first team.
Last week, Morrow was asked where he was on setting a starting lineup and he replied that he's more than 50 percent settled on his first 11. That has changed a bit since their win against Chicago over the weekend in Oklahoma.
"It's changed for the positive," Morrow said. "We're always looking at little things and any question marks we have. We're trying different combinations in games. The closer we get to the start of the season, we're starting to get settled on a lineup."
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
