FC Dallas had a familiar face in the starting 11 for Monday night's third-round Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup match with the Atlanta Silverbacks, as center back Drew Moor made his return to Steve Morrow's team.
The Dallas native had last played for FCD in a 1-0 win against Colorado at Dick's Sporting Goods Park on June 23. Since then, Moor had been with the U.S. national team at Copa America.
Moor started two of the USA's three games in Copa America, logging 90 minutes against both Paraguay and Colombia. He returned to Dallas on Friday, giving him a few days to recuperate before FCD head coach Steve Morrow inserted him into the starting lineup for Monday's match.
Against the Silverbacks, Moor played 90 minutes in the iddle until he was replaced in the lineup by Abe Thompson to begin the extra time period.
"I thought he did OK," Morrow said. "He tired toward the end. He had two tough games (in Copa America) and a long trip back from Venezuela, which is why I didn't want to push him through the extra time as well."
Moor said had the match lasted just 90 minutes, he would have been fine. But the Silverbacks answered a Carlos Ruiz goal to send it into extra time, then survived the additional half hour before losing in a penalty kick shootout.
"Not if it was a 90-minute game (would it have affected me)," Moor said. "The fact that it went into overtime made me a little tired. I don't think it (the travel) affected me that much. I have been back since Friday evening. I have taken a couple of days (to recover), but I was ready to go tonight."
Now that he has been back in his hometown for several days, Moor has had ample time to reflect on the magnitude of getting to play for his country.
"That's the perfect word for it -- an honor. It was a lifetime dream come true for me and hopefully there will be more. I think I might have done well enough to at least get another look," Moor said. "There was great competition and a great atmosphere there. They're crazy about soccer down there. That was the first time I had experienced anything like that and I hope to do it again."
Before he left for Copa America, Moor had made 15 starts for the FCD, mostly at right back but had also seen spot duty in the middle. The sixth overall pick in the 2005 MLS SuperDraft was a star on Indiana's national championship teams in 2003 and 2004 and had also been the only FCD player to play in every minute of every game before his departure.
In a June 9 win against the Los Angeles Galaxy, Moor's diving header off a Dax McCarty free kick in the 73rd minute was FCD's final goal in a 3-1 win at Pizza Hut Park. It was his first goal of 2007 and second of his career.
Moor returns to an FCD back line that has kept clean sheets in three of their last four matches. Bobby Rhine, who filled in on the right side in Moor's absence, performed well off the bench.
Although he is unlikely to play in Wednesday's friendly against Mexican Primera Division side Tigres UANL, Moor should make his return to MLS action on Saturday when the Hoops travel to the nation's capital to face D.C. United for the first time this season.
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
