When FC Dallas striker Carlos Ruiz scored twice in a 4-2 loss at New England on Saturday, the Guatemalan international celebrated his birthday with his first brace in almost exactly a year, since Sept. 16, 2006, when he scored twice in a 3-2 loss at Real Salt Lake.
That now gives Ruiz six goals and two assists in 18 games this year -- lower numbers than are expected from the talented scorer, who had 74 goals in his first five seasons in MLS. But as the games get more meaningful, he relishes the pressure and looks to perform even better.
"I thought he had a good game the other day," said FCD head coach Steve Morrow. "We were disappointed to lose the game but one of the positive things was his performance and the two goals he scored. I thought his second goal was a fantastic header."
Morrow felt Ruiz's two tallies were the product of great effort the entire evening.
"I told him that it's no coincidence that he got two goals when he put so much into the game," he said. "I thought he worked extremely hard for the whole game defensively as well. He really played his part, chased back, hurried and closed people down. He tried to organize us defensively from the front and got his reward with two goals."
Besides the six goals that Ruiz has in MLS play, he also has scored twice in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup this year and has another two goals in SuperLiga for FCD, giving him 10 goals in all competitions. But those totals are still a bit lower than what many expect from him.
"Since I came to the league, this has been my worst year because I have just six goals," Ruiz said. "But I try to work every day in practice to be better in every game. Right now, I want to help my team offensively as much as possible."
Ruiz has not scored fewer than 11 goals in any of his seasons in Major League Soccer. He has also scored 15 goals in 15 games in the MLS Cup Playoffs. As well, he has missed six games this season -- three due to injury and three while playing for Guatemala in the CONCACAF Gold Cup in the summer.
His first two-goal performance in nearly a year proved bittersweet because the Hoops fell to the Revs and thus failed to keep pace with the two teams in front of them in the Western Conference standings, Chivas USA and Houston.
"I had a good game on a personal level but we lost a very important game," Ruiz said. "We know we are in a very bad position right now with six more regular season games. We have to win all of them."
No matter how many goals he has scored to this point, Ruiz knows that first and foremost, he is here to help FCD win and secure a playoff spot. That means that as the games get more meaningful and become more pressure-packed, many expect him to carry the offensive load for the Hoops. That is fine with Ruiz, who turned 28 years of age on Saturday.
"I like these kinds of games when you have a lot of pressure," he said. "There is a lot of pressure in the last five to 10 games of the year for all the players. I understand that kind of pressure and love it. I try to do all I can to get an advantage and play much better."
That means that in their final six matches, the Hoops need to avoid performances like they had in the second half of the loss to the Revs.
"We talked before practice on Monday about what position we are in and know that we played very badly in the second half at Boston," Ruiz said. "We have to win all of our games, get all of the points possible and put ourselves in a better position."
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
