In the span of just a few days in early July, FC Dallas lost both leading scorer and assist man Carlos Ruiz and fellow striker Roberto Mina to injury.
Ruiz suffered a grade two strain of his right hamstring in the 14th minute of a July 8 match against the New York Red Bulls in Frisco and was slated to miss about three weeks. Just one day before, an MRI revealed that Mina had suffered a torn medial meniscus in his left knee and would miss between six and eight weeks.
In addition, in the match against the Red Bulls, midfielder Ronnie O'Brien left with a strained hamstring in the 76th minute. While he was able to return to training shortly afterwards, he has also missed the last three games for FCD.
With Mina already out, plus "El Pescadito" and O'Brien both being injured against the Red Bulls, the logical question was to ask where FCD would get its offense. The answer has been both surprising and pleasing to the Hoops.
FC Dallas have scored nine goals without the talented trio, and more importantly, are a perfect 4-0 against MLS sides in that time. Ruiz's in-game replacement against New York, second-year player David Wagenfuhr, made his presence quickly felt by scoring his first career goal in the 33rd minute, a tally which proved to be the game winner as the Hoops prevailed 2-1.
Of those nine goals, three have come off the feet of midfielder Ramon Nunez. First-year striker Kenny Cooper, who recently pulled level with Ruiz for the team lead in goals with eight, has scored twice along with defender Bobby Rhine, who played up top before switching to the back four last season.
Second-year striker Abe Thompson, injured for much of the season, scored what had to be the most exciting goal of the group when he struck gold in the 93rd minute at Real Salt Lake on July 22, giving FCD a 1-0 victory, their second consecutive away from Frisco.
A league-best 14 different players have now scored for FCD so far this season. In the Hoops' 2-1 win against the Red Bulls in Frisco on July 8, both of the tallies were first career goals for each player. Rookie striker Dominic Oduro struck first in the second minute in his first MLS start and Wagenfuhr's goal off a perfect full volley was also the first of his league tenure.
Not included in this total, but worth mentioning are the two goals that the Hoops scored in a 2-0 win against Mexican Primera Division club Tigres UANL on July 19 in Frisco. FCD midfielders Arturo Alvarez and Marcelo Saragosa, who was acquired earlier in the day from the Los Angeles Galaxy, found the back of the net as the Hoops won the first leg in the battle for the Rio Grande Plate 2-0.
O'Brien's normal role with FCD is as a table setter and few do it better than the fifth-year midfielder in MLS. But his teammates have stepped it up in that area in his absence as five different Hoops have gotten assists in the last three games, led by Cooper's pair of helpers.
Ask the FCD players why they think their offense hasn't suffered without Ruiz in the lineup and their answers have one common theme - great depth.
"It's definitely the depth on the team and guys stepping up," said Nunez. "Guys know they have a job to do and a position to win. When guys step up like that, it gives the team a lot of confidence."
Alvarez added: "We miss those guys. They're both key players on our team. It just shows that this team has a lot of depth. We have good players on the reserve team who can step up at any time to play with the first team.
"A lot of guys on this team have scored and that is a good thing," he said. "That shows that we don't just depend on two forwards (to score)."
For Rhine, such offensive balance is a sign of great depth, but it also signifies how competitive the Hoops are.
"I think that's a great sign of the depth and the amount of competition on this team," he said. "That is very healthy for our group. It's nice to see that when you have players the caliber of Carlos (Ruiz), Roberto (Mina) and Ronnie (O'Brien) out with injury that you're still getting goals. That's a very positive sign for our team."
Head coach Colin Clarke chalks up his team's success without three of its top stars to something else - strong character.
"This team continues to show character this year by coming back from tough situations," he said. "Saturday (against Colorado) was a tough one as both teams played earlier in the week and that was our ninth game in July. Our guys really had to dig deep in the second half and came away with a good three points."
With the All-Star break now here, the Hoops will get some good news once the second half of the season starts next week as both O'Brien and Ruiz should return. O'Brien resumed full training with the club earlier this week and traveled with the team to Wednesday's U.S. Open Cup match against the USL's Charleston Battery, where he isn't slated to start but could see his first game action in nearly a month.
Ruiz has been running and doing drills outside for much of the week and should also be ready to go once the All-Star break ends next week. His, and O'Brien's return, couldn't come at a better time as the Hoops' first game after the layoff is a trip to Houston on Sat., Aug. 12. Dynamo are immediately behind FCD in the Western Conference standings, seven points out of the top spot.
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
