On Saturday, FC Dallas travel to Colorado to face the Rapids in what already will be their 10th road game this year, as they reach the halfway point of the campaign. Despite playing the bulk of their games away from the Lone Star State, FCD have managed to amass a 7-6-1 mark and a league-best 22 points.
But after their first trip to Dick's Sporting Goods Park this weekend, the Hoops will get re-acquainted with their home field at Pizza Hut Park. They will spend much of July at home and will finish the season with 10 of their final 15 matches at home.
Even though July has just two league tilts on the schedule, FCD will still be busy as they will begin play in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, face Mexican partner Tigres UANL in a home-and-home series and also will host the SuperLiga tournament after the All-Star break. FCD are trying to reschedule their Open Cup match, which is currently set for July 10, just one day before they will face Tigres at Pizza Hut Park.
"It will (feel good to get home) but we have a tough schedule coming up in July," FCD head coach Steve Morrow said. "We have the two Tigres games next month along with the (U.S.) Open Cup thrown in there as well. It's not going to get any easier but we're not going to complain about it."
The schedule hasn't been kind to FCD thus far this year as they have played a league-high four Thursday-Sunday doubles and for the most part, the Hoops have struggled on the second end of those two-game weeks, as evidenced by their 4-0 loss at Toronto FC on Sunday. But Morrow isn't ready to use that as an excuse for his side's struggles.
"The schedule has been tough as we have talked about," he said. "But I think that for the schedule that we've had, we've put ourselves in a decent position. We have to get stronger mentally. I think we've done well to this point. I think a couple of our defeats should have been ties or better results, but I think considering the schedule that we've had and with all the guys we've had missing or injured, we're in a decent position."
Several of his players agree that spending some time on their home grounds will definitely be a nice change of pace.
"We have played 10 of our first 15 games on the road and have five left the rest of the year," said midfielder Arturo Alvarez. "That's a lot of away games, but it's something that we have dealt with pretty well. We have No. 11 coming up and have to go up there with the mentality of looking for three points and looking to play our brand of soccer."
FCD left back Chris Gbandi echoes Alvarez's sentiment.
"We have had a lot of games on the road and for us to be up there in the table, it's OK," he said. "But we know we could be better. It's weird how our schedule was made with so many games on the road. We struggled in the second half the last few years. So, it will be good to have a lot of those games at home."
Gbandi said having so many games at home in the heart of a sweltering Texas summer is something that the Hoops can use to their advantage.
"I think it's good because teams that come here (in the summer) will struggle with the heat," he said. "I think this team has to get better at the end of the season and heading into the playoffs. We realize we have to do better and head into the playoffs on a high note. It will be a good feeling knowing we have so many home games late in the season."
FCD will hit the stretch run almost at full strength. Captain and 2006 leading scorer Carlos Ruiz returned to the team on Sunday after missing much of June playing for Guatemala at the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Also returning soon should be defender Adrian Serioux, a member of Houston's 2006 MLS Cup championship team. The Canadian international has missed all of 2007 after undergoing knee surgery in February.
In the next few weeks, FCD will also be adding 19-year-old forward Ricardinho, who plays for their Brazilian partner Clube Atletico Paranaense. Ecuadorian forward Roberto Mina will be placed on the season-ending injury list as he hasn't played since last July, when he suffered a knee injury.
Ricardinho is with FCD on a tourist visa and on trial. FCD has filed the necessary paperwork with the league office to get a work visa, which usually takes 10-14 business days. Once that process is complete, the young Brazilian will be added, giving the Hoops another striker in a group depleted by the injury of leading scorer Kenny Cooper on June 9.
Cooper should return in September after suffering a broken right tibia on a hard tackle late in a 3-1 win against the Los Angeles Galaxy in Frisco.
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
