FC Dallas look to protect their house with their unbeaten streak intact, when they play host to Sporting Kansas City at Pizza Hut Park. FCD are coming off a 1-0 win over the New England Revolution last weekend at home, while Sporting return to the road after christening their brand new LIVESTRONG Sporting Park on Thursday night with a scoreless draw against Chicago.
REFEREE: Kevin Stott. SAR (bench): Anthony Vasoli; JAR (opposite): Brian Poeschel; 4th: Matthew Foerster MLS Career: 201 games; FC/gm: 25.8; Y/gm: 3.4; R: 53; pens: 41
INJURY REPORT: FC DALLAS – OUT: DF Edson Edward (R knee ACL tear); MF David Ferreira (R ankle); QUESTIONABLE: MF Bryan Leyva (R ankle) …
SPORTING KANSAS CITY – OUT: FW Konrad Warzycha (R knee surgery); QUESTIONABLE: FW Omar Bravo (lower back strain); MF Ryan Smith (L groin strain)
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: KC: Craig Rocastle (Grenada), Roger Espinoza (Honduras), Stephane Auvray (Guadeloupe), Shavar Thomas (Jamaica)
SUSPENDED: KC: Michael Harrington (caution accumulation; through June 12); Jimmy Nielsen (through June 12)
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: none
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: DAL: George John, Andrew Jacobson … KC: Omar Bravo, Aurelien Collin
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (44 meetings): FC Dallas 18 wins (1 shootout), 72 goals … Sporting 18 wins (2 shootout), 60 goals … Ties 8
AT DALLAS (22 meetings): FC Dallas 11 wins (0 shootout), 43 goals … Sporting 8 wins (2 shootout), 21 goals … Ties 3
RETURN MATCH: 8/27: Sporting Kansas City vs. FC Dallas, 7:30 p.m. CT
LAST YEAR (MLS):
7/3: DAL 1, KC 0 (Ferreira 58)
9/25: KC 1, DAL 3 (Smith 57 – Chavez 4; Rodriguez 12; Cunningham 82)
• FC Dallas has won by shutout in each of Kansas City’s last two trips to Pizza Hut Park, including a 6-0 victory in 2009. KC’s last win at Dallas came in 2007.
• FC Dallas has come away with points on three of their last four trips to Kansas City, with two wins and a draw since 2007.
• Coaches record: Schellas Hyndman vs. KC: P6 W3 L1 D2 … Peter Vermes vs. DAL: P3 W1 L2 D0
FC DALLAS
FC Dallas stretched their unbeaten streak to nine games with yet another shutout, this time a 1-0 win against the New England Revolution on Saturday evening at Pizza Hut Park. FCD has 25 points from 12 games on the season, in second place in the Western Conference.
LAST MATCH
• The game's lone goal came in the 69th minute. Marvin Chavez rounded his defender after a run down the right flank and cut toward the near post. He slotted a low shot from a narrow angle that beat Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis on the short side.
• FCD goalkeeper Kevin Hartman recorded his MLS-record 100th career shutout, stopping two shots in the process.
• FC Dallas head coach Schellas Hyndman made two changes to the team that reached a 2-2 draw with the Houston Dynamo at Robertson Stadium. George John returned at center back in place of Bobby Warshaw, and Jair Benitez started in place of Jackson Goncalves.
• FC DALLAS (4-4-2): Kevin Hartman - Zach Loyd, George John, Ugo Ihemelu, Jair Benitez - Eric Alexander (Milton Rodriguez 67), Andrew Jacobson, Daniel Hernandez, Brek Shea - Marvin Chavez (Eric Avila 92+), Fabian Castillo (Bobby Warshaw 79).
TEAM NEWS
• With FC Dallas facing a lack of attacking options due to injury, Marvin Chavez turned down a call to the Honduras national team for the CONCACAF Gold Cup. He scored his first goal of 2011 for the winner against New England; the week before he set up FCD’s second goal in the 2-2 tie with Houston.
• “It was a very easy decision to make,” Chavez said. “I knew that the group was having some problems without David [Ferreira]. Luckily that one went in and we won.” Said Dallas head coach Schellas Hyndman: “That was a big statement for Marvin. How many players would pass up an opportunity for a call? I think that shows how committed he is to this organization.”
• After seeing their shutout streak end in the 2-2 draw at Houston, FC Dallas again kept a clean sheet, their sixth in the last seven games and seventh overall this season, tied with Real Salt Lake for second-most in the league, behind the LA Galaxy’s eight.
• “This is one of those games that if you don’t win, you make a mistake and they score. It’s one of those games that you just hate yourself and you just can’t sleep because you should have won, the way you played,” Hyndman said.
• FC Dallas goalkeeper Kevin Hartman recorded his 100th career shutout, most all-time in MLS. Eight of those shutouts have come against Sporting KC.
• “It’s pretty cool,” Hartman said. “The fact I’ve been able to play 15 years of professional soccer is something that I really don’t take for granted.”
• FC Dallas have not lost since April 17, a 3-2 defeat at Portland, their last full match with David Ferreira in the lineup. FCD is now unbeaten in nine straight matches.
• “At the beginning of the season we were working really hard and got some great results,” midfielder Andrew Jacobson said. “I think playing that way – where we had like 35 percent possession and still winning – is tough to do for a season, especially in the heat.”
• Jackson missed the match against New England because he returned to Brazil to marry his longtime girlfriend. “I think he’ll be back in the middle of the week,” said Hyndman.
SPORTING KANSAS CITY
Sporting Kansas City opened their new ground in grand style, but couldn’t come away with a victory, playing to a scoreless draw with the Chicago Fire on Thursday evening at Livestrong Sporting Park. Sporting have 7 points from 11 matches on the season, sitting in ninth place in the Eastern Conference.
LAST MATCH
• Sporting had appeared to take the lead in the 15th minute, but Omar Bravo was flagged for offside before Graham Zusi turned home a Kei Kamara cross at the back post.
• The home side went down to 10 men in the 67th minute when referee Michael Kennedy showed goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen a red card after he came charging off his line. Dominic Oduro attempted to chip the ball over Nielsen, but the goalkeeper reached up and handled the ball outside the penalty area.
• SKC boss Peter Vermes made three changes to the team that played to a scoreless draw with Toronto FC at BMO Field. Jimmy Nielsen came back in between the posts for Eric Kronberg, Luke Sassano came into the midfield for Craig Rocastle, and Kei Kamara started in place of Ryan Smith.
• SPORTING KANSAS CITY (4-1-2-3): Jimmy Nielsen (sent off 67) - Chance Myers, Aurelien Collin, Matt Besler, Michael Harrington - Luke Sassano - Davy Arnaud (Birahim Diop 85), Graham Zusi - Kei Kamara (C.J. Sapong 59), Teal Bunbury (Eric Kronberg 68), Omar Bravo.
TEAM NEWS
• After opening their new stadium, Sporting head right back out on the road. They concluded their 10-game road trip to start the season with one win and three draws.
• The last team to open with an extended road swing – the Chicago Fire in 2006 – started with two wins and four draws in nine games. They finished the season in third place in the Eastern Conference.
• “I think the crowd can affect you in a lot of ways. I think that was a big thing we miscalculated on the 10-game road trip – that there is a complete disconnect with the fan base,” Sporting manager Peter Vermes said. “You almost lose your sight on who you're playing for. It's not yourself, the organization and the team. There is this fan base out there but you never get to see them.”
• The game drew an overflow crowd to the opening of Livestrong Sporting Park. Just once has the home team lost inopening games in stadiums specifically built for soccer since the start of the league – in 2007, when Toronto FC fell to Kansas City in the opening of BMO Field.
• “The fans created an incredible atmosphere, one I haven't seen in this city before. In terms of that, it was exciting for us. If they keep coming out like that, we're going to keep giving them everything we have,” Davy Arnaud said. “The wins are going to come for us and the goals are going to come for us.”
• After becoming the final team in MLS this season to record a defensive shutout, Sporting now have two in as many games.
• “We’re doing great defensively. We’re shutting teams down, we’re not letting them score,” fullback Michael Harrington said. “I feel like we need to check up on ourselves as scorers, and me as an attacker – we have to start putting some balls in the nets and start getting some wins.”
• Sporting were shut out for the fifth time this season, the fourth in the past six games. Sporting have scored just two goals in that stretch, after scoring 10 times in their first five games of the season.
• “My job is to score. I haven’t done that in a while. I take responsibility for that. We’ve got to keep working on it and the goals will come,” striker Teal Bunbury said.
• With Jimmy Nielsen sent off, Eric Kronberg is almost certain to make his third start of the season in goal, over a six-game span. His fourth career appearance, since being selected in the 2006 MLS SuperDraft, came as a substitute after Nielsen’s red card. He backstopped the club’s first shutout of the year, the scoreless draw at Toronto on June 4.
