Nearly two weeks ago, FC Dallas punched their playoff ticket with their first win ever at Crew Stadium, a 3-1 victory against Columbus. While the Hoops have known they will play in the postseason for some time, the question of who they will face remains unanswered and will boil down to Saturday's Houston Dynamo-Chivas USA match at The Home Depot Center.
A win by Dynamo means that FCD will face Chivas in the first round while any other result means that the two Texas rivals will square off in the opening round. But ask the Hoops which of their Western Conference rivals they want to face and they have no preference.
"I don't think it matters (who we play)," said left back David Wagenfuhr. "We know both teams and have played them many times."
Added forward Kenny Cooper: "They're both great teams. We're all excited to be in the playoffs but at the end of the day, if you want to be champions, you have to play the best teams. Those are two good, strong teams but I don't have a preference."
About the time the Hoops will be winding down their regular season finale with Kansas City on Saturday, Dynamo and Chivas will kick off out west. But FCD head coach Steve Morrow admits that he likely won't have that game on in the locker room after the match.
"No, we won't (be watching that)," Morrow said. "We will be interested to see that result but we don't care who we play."
On paper, it looks like the Hoops might fare better against Chivas. FCD beat the Red-and-White 2-0 in Frisco on July 4 and the sides played to a scoreless draw last Thursday. With Ante Razov on the sidelines, the Hoops could realistically deliver an upset against Chivas.
But FCD's woes against the reigning MLS Cup champs have been thoroughly discussed. The Hoops were 0-3-1 against Dynamo this year and the Orange appear to have their number. However, FCD has only lost to their in-state rivals once at Pizza Hut Park and anything can happen in the playoffs.
No matter who the Hoops will play, Morrow and his staff will be well-prepared.
"I think it's been obvious for some time that we would play either Chivas or Houston," Morrow said. "So, we started our preparations for both teams more than a week ago. Luckily, we played Chivas last week and that definitely helps our situation. We'll get to see Chivas play Houston again on Saturday, which also helps us. We know both teams well and have already started preparing."
While his players have one more game before the end of the regular season, they are clearly intrigued to find out who they will play in the postseason.
"I think at this point, we're just ready to find out whoever we will be playing," said center back Clarence Goodson. "We're ready to take care of business this weekend against Kansas City and end the season on a really high note.
"We'll see what happens between those two (Houston and Chivas) and then start focusing on whoever it is. We match up well with either team and each has some weaknesses. We will just have to work hard to exploit those."
No matter which side FCD faces, they will be looking to avoid making an early exit from the playoffs for the third straight year. In each of the last two postseasons, an upstart Colorado team bounced them from the playoffs on penalty kicks.
"At this point, it doesn't really matter," center back Aaron Pitchkolan said. "Getting into the playoffs is what we wanted to do all season. We're looking forward to getting a good result against the Wizards and taking that into the playoffs."
The good news is that the Rapids might still make the playoffs but with the Hoops locked in as the No. 3 team in the West, they won't be hooking up with their playoff nemesis -- at least not in the opening round.
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
