Both of FC Dallas' first two matches this season have looked eerily similar.
On March 30 against Chivas USA, the Hoops took an early 1-0 lead before surrendering a late goal and being forced to settle for a draw at Pizza Hut Park. Then last weekend in Houston, FCD went ahead of the two-time defending MLS Cup champion Dynamo twice but couldn't keep the lead and left with a 3-3 draw.
This weekend, the Hoops return home to face the New York Red Bulls and their focus is simple: to get their first win of the 2008 campaign.
New York comes off a 2-0 win against Columbus last weekend in their season opener at Giants Stadium. Midfielder Dave van de Bergh drew first blood just 47 seconds in, the earliest goal in club history, and Kevin Goldthwaite added a second in the eighth minute.
Red Bulls forward Juan Pablo Angel, a finalist for 2007 MLS MVP honors, is listed as questionable for the match, though it appears he will not make the trip to Frisco. Still, FCD head coach Steve Morrow is preparing to face the talented Colombian goal scorer.
"He's obviously a good player and played at a high level," Morrow said. "He's come into this league and has scored goals. He's a dangerous player if you give him too much space and time. We need to be focused on getting tight with him in and around the box and not giving him too many chances. I think it's always a challenge for our defenders. I know they all enjoy challenging themselves by playing against good players. Hopefully, they can rise to that challenge this week but I'm confident that they will."
While Angel's status is uncertain, it appears that Jozy Altidore will be back for the Red Bulls after missing the season opener last weekend with a bruised knee.
"He (Altidore) is an exceptional young talent," Morrow said. "He's a player who has come in and shown exceptional attributes for a young player. He holds the ball up well, is physically strong and has a good eye for the goal. He's got great all-around ability, which is why he's attracted attention from teams overseas. He's a player that we will have to watch closely."
Morrow has noticed that the Red Bulls play in a 3-5-2 formation under new head coach Juan Carlos Osorio and has seen a number of things his side can exploit on Saturday.
"I think they've got a little bit of a different look from last year," Morrow said. "They're playing a new system, a 3-5-2. They have a couple of experienced players who can be dangerous up top depending on who plays, so we need to be careful of that. They try to play through (Claudio) Reyna a lot in the middle of the field, so we need to be aware of that situation as well. There are a lot of things that we feel like we can get after and expose in their team. That's what we're focused on going into the game on Saturday."
As for FCD, they enter Saturday's affair with their top offensive threat, Kenny Cooper, who had two goals in last week's draw at Houston, nursing a back problem. Cooper wasn't on the training field on Thursday or Friday and Morrow said that his status will be further evaluated on Saturday.
"We wanted to rest him today," Morrow said after training on Friday. "We're going to have to test him before the game but he's feeling a lot better. He had a little vertebra that came out of place and we didn't want to risk him today to pop out again. We'll do a good fitness test tomorrow and see how he is."
One player who will be in the team is right-sided midfielder Dax McCarty, who has been battling back tightness but played well against Dynamo.
"He'll be fine," Morrow said. "It's just a matter of managing him. He's played a lot of soccer. He's had a tight back for the last week or so and we just have to manage it correctly."
Cooper will likely play and should be paired up top alongside Arturo Alvarez, who had a goal and an assist last weekend. If the Dallas native can't go, it could be Abe Thompson, who had an assist in the Hoops' draw with Chivas USA, that takes Cooper's spot in the starting 11.
Last year, FCD dropped both of its matches against New York. On April 15, 2007, on the second game of a Thursday/Sunday road trip, they fell 3-0 to the Red Bulls at Giants Stadium on a cold, rainy day.
And just 11 days later, the sides met again in Frisco as part of ESPN MLS Primetime Thursday and New York prevailed 1-0, getting their only goal from Dallas-area native Hunter Freeman, who is listed as out for this weekend's game with a right ankle sprain.
Whether or not Angel makes his Frisco debut, the FCD players know they are in for a battle.
"They're very organized," said FCD defender Adrian Serioux. "They have some clinical forwards up top there that can finish. That's probably one of their strong abilities. If we can limit their chances to put those away and hopefully score some goals, I think we should be victorious."
Said Cooper: "New York has a very good team and is solid throughout," he said. "It will be another good game for us. We're glad to be back at Pizza Hut Park and I'm looking forward to it. It should be a good one."
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
