two losses in MLS Cup Finals surrounding a 4-0 loss to FC Dallas in their only visit to Frisco last year.
• FC Dallas head coach Steve Morrow made one change to the team that lost 1-0 to the New York Red Bulls four days earlier. With Alex Yi forced early from that game with a calf strain, Bobby Rhine came back into the team at right back as Drew Moor again moved inside to central defense.
• Here's Morrow's team (4-3-1-2): Shaka Hislop - Bobby Rhine (Abe Thompson 79), Clarence Goodson, Drew Moor, Chris Gbandi - Dax McCarty, Aaron Pitchkolan (Dominic Oduro 46), Juan Toja - Ramon Nunez - Kenny Cooper, Carlos Ruiz (Arturo Alvarez 63). Substitutes Not Used: Ray Burse, Michael Dello-Russo, Blake Wagner, Anthony Wallace
• "It's the same as the other day (Thursday), another 1-0 defeat at home and we're disappointed," FCD head coach Steve Morrow said after the loss. "I think we dominated the game for 90 minutes. We tired badly in the second half and just completely ran out of steam. At a time when we need to push the game in the final 30 minutes, we just didn't have the legs to do it. I think we definitely suffered from playing two games in three or four days and just didn't have the energy to push it at the end."
TEAM NEWS
• After six games in April - more than any other team in MLS, including two weeks where they played on Thursday then the following Sunday, FC Dallas comes into the Kansas City match after a 13-day layoff.
• "It's been a tough schedule for us with six games in three weeks," Morrow said. "We've suffered a lot of injuries in that short space of time as well. From that regard, it's welcomed to have a little bit of time to get that recovery. We'd rather it was next Saturday and more of a regular schedule. But this will give us time to get some bodies back fit and to recharge our batteries a little bit."
• Morrow is also hoping the attack can get jumpstarted over the break. While FCD has scored seven goals on the season, they have been shut out in three of their last four games. In addition, Carlos Ruiz and Kenny Cooper -- the club's top two scorers from a year ago - began the season with two goals in the opening two matches but have yet to be heard from again.
• "It's not a big concern," Morrow said. "I know those guys are going to get their fair share of goals. This happens with strikers. They go through a few bad spells. It's another thing we need to work on, the combinations between those two guys and get them playing a bit closer. We can work on it in training and figure a way to create more chances for them."
• It was different a year ago, as the pair combined for 13 goals in the first 12 games. But while Cooper was hot from his first game in an FC Dallas uniform, scoring in three of the first four, it did take Ruiz six games to hit for his first goal of the season, before going on a seven-game scoring streak.
• "I remember last year when the same thing happened and then I started scoring," Ruiz said. "We need to play better and after that, the goals will come. I know that the forwards need to score but if the team doesn't play very well, it's hard for us to score."
• Said Cooper: "I'm not frustrated. Scoring goals and getting assists is part of my job as a forward and in the last two games, I haven't done either of those things. I have a lot of confidence in my ability and my teammates. I think we'll bounce back from it in these next few games."
• Goalkeeper Dario Sala is also ready to return from suspension, and is expected to get the nod between the posts on Saturday evening. In Sala's absence, Shaka Hislop, a veteran of the English Premier League, allowed a total of six goals in nine games and failed to keep a single clean sheet.
• "I told the defenders that we have to be tougher," Sala said. "We can't let the other forwards be able to play comfortably with the ball. If they feel that they can dribble and think with the ball, then we have problems. We have to work so hard this week so that we can get the job done in Kansas City. Our goal is to keep a clean sheet. They have a good team and have gotten off to a good start."
• Morrow will also have Argentinean midfielder Pablo Ricchetti after he rejoined the team following the completion of his visa paperwork. The 30-year-old agreed to a contract on April 5 and has been with the team for weeks, but had to wait until his work permit was finalized.
• "I don't want to heap too much pressure on him early on because he's not 100 percent fit yet and we need to try and get him to that level as quickly as we can," Morrow said. "He seems to be over his injury, which is positive as well. It's just a matter of working his fitness, getting his touch and speed of play going."
