D.C. UNITED vs. FC DALLAS
RFK MEMORIAL STADIUM, Washington, D.C.
Sept. 13, 2008 | 7:30 p.m. ET (FSC/FSE)
WEEK # 25 | GAME # 165
Two teams trying to keep in touch with the bottom end of the MLS Cup Playoffs picture meet at RFK Stadium when D.C. United take on FC Dallas. United are currently in the top eight in the MLS overall table - with 32 points, they would claim one of the two available wild-card spots if the season was complete, four points ahead of ninth-place San Jose. FC Dallas sits in a tie for sixth place in the Western Conference with 26 points - but third place in the division, and an automatic playoff spot, is just four points away.
REFEREE:
Baldomero Toledo. SAR (bench): Steven Taylor; JAR (opposite): Rob Fereday; 4th: Shane Moody
MLS Career: 59 games; FC/gm: 27.0; Y/gm: 3.9; R: 24; pens: 23
INJURY REPORT:
D.C. UNITED - OUT: MF Domenic Mediate (concussion); GK Zach Wells (sesmoiditis); MF Jeff Carroll (broken metatarsal); MF Joe Vide (hamstring strain); MF Ben Olsen (ankle surgery); QUESTIONABLE: DF Gonzalo Peralta (hamstring); MF Fred (hamstring strain) ... FC DALLAS - OUT: DF Duilio Davino (L toe), MF Victor Sikora (R knee), MF David Wagenfuhr (concussion); PROBABLE: MF Marcelo Saragosa (R groin)
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES:
none
SUSPENDED:
DAL: Drew Moor (caution accumulation; through Sept. 14)
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: DC: Devon McTavish ... DAL: Pablo Ricchetti
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: DC: Fred, Rod Dyachenko, Marcelo Gallardo, Jaime Moreno, Santino Quaranta, Clyde Simms ... DAL: Jeff Cunningham, Andre Rocha
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (30 meetings): United 12 wins (0 shootout), 58 goals ... FC Dallas 14 wins (4 shootout), 52 goals ... Ties 4
AT RFK STADIUM (13 meetings): United 6 wins (0 shootout), 34 goals ... FC Dallas 4 wins (2 shootout), 21 goals ... Ties 3
• This is the first of two meetings between the teams this season, both coming in a three-week span. The clubs will finish their season series on Sept. 28 at Pizza Hut Park.
LAST SEASON (MLS):
7/14: DC 3, DAL 3 (Emilio 8, 47; Fred 45 - Ruiz 51; Toja 71, 81)
9/1: DAL 0, DAL 4 (Olsen 4, 45; Gomez 47; Fred 49)
• D.C. United have not lost to FC Dallas in the last five league meetings between the teams. The last FC Dallas win came May 28, 2005, a 2-0 win at RFK Stadium. United have won three of the five encounters since, with two draws.
• That win was just one of four all-time in the nation's capital for Dallas - though just two have come with the final whistle. The last previous FCD victory came Sept. 19, 2002, in a golden-goal overtime winner; the first two Dallas wins on East Capitol Street both came via the shootout (May 10, 1997; June 7, 1998).
• D.C. United has never lost to FC Dallas at Pizza Hut Park, winning all three league meetings there, including the last two by shutout. The last Dallas home win in the series came July 24, 2004, at the Cotton Bowl.
• FC Dallas is one of just two teams that D.C. United has a losing record against all-time. The other is the San Jose Earthquakes (now 10-12-4 all-time).
• Coaches record: Tom Soehn v DAL: P2 W1 L0 D1 ... Schellas Hyndman vs. DC: first game
D.C. UNITED
Unbeaten in their last three home games, D.C. United return to RFK Stadium after a 2-1 loss to the San Jose Earthquakes last Saturday at Buck Shaw Stadium. United and the New York Red Bulls remain tied for fourth place in the Eastern Conference, both with 32 points from 23 matches, now six points behind the second-place tie between the Chicago Fire and New England Revolution.
LAST MATCH
• The Earthquakes came in riding a seven-game unbeaten run since early in July, winners of three of their last four, while United were coming off a midweek victory in the U.S. Open Cup Final, breaking a string of alternating wins and losses in a draw with New York the week before in league play.
• Against injury-hit United, the Quakes took the lead in the 18th minute. Darren Huckerby won the ball on the left side and centering for Arturo Alvarez, who steamed in to lash a left-footed shot inside the right post for his third goal in five games since coming to San Jose.
• Huckerby doubled the Earthquakes' lead after the break. Eric Denton's long ball freed Scott Sealy down the left flank, and he found Huckerby coming in from behind, who drove home a shot inside the left post for his fourth goal in six games since joining the league.
• United pulled a goal 14 minutes later, as Rod Dyachenko intercepted the ball and fed Santino Quaranta, who skipped through a pair of defenders before curling a shot home past Quakes 'keeper Joe Cannon, but D.C. could get no closer.
• United head coach Tom Soehn made four changes to the team that played to a scoreless draw against the New York Red Bulls the weekend before. Marcelo Gallardo made his first start in three months, coming into the team along with Rod Dyachenko, Francis Doe and Mike Zaher - making just his second career start. Bryan Namoff was suspended, Joe Vide and Luciano Emilio injured, and Jaime Moreno away on international duty with Bolivia.
• Here's Soehn's team (4-2-3-1): Louis Crayton - Gonzalo Martinez, Marc Burch, Devon McTavish, Mike Zaher (Ryan Cordeiro 64) - Rod Dyachenko, Clyde Simms - Santino Quaranta, Marcelo Gallardo (Pat Carroll 75), Ivan Guerrero - Francis Doe (Craig Thompson 39). Substitutes Not Used: Quavas Kirk, James Thorpe
• "I thought they had the better in the first half, we gave up the ball in really bad spots. And I expected that with all the guys we had out (injured) the soccer was not going to be the greatest," Soehn said. "You have to make up for it by competing. To our credit, the young guys really turned it up in the second half; I thought we had the better of the second half."
TEAM NEWS
• Without Emilio, as well as Jaime Moreno, away on national team duty, Soehn when with Francis Doe as the lone striker. Doe was making his first start since May 17, and had made just three appearances in all since. Soehn was able to count upon playmaker Marcelo Gallardo, who was making his first start since June 29.
• "Injuries affected us today, but our guys battled. I'm proud of the young guys. We were right there in the end. They kept us around in the first half and didn't put away the chances we gave them," Soehn said. "In the second half I thought we had the better of it, unfortunately we didn't finish the chances we had."
• Rookie Mike Zaher was making just his second career start, and Soehn's three substitutes (Ryan Cordeiro, Pat Carroll and Craig Thompson) had 13 total league appearances combined between them.
• "It was always going to be difficult for us in this game with the amount of guys we had out. We just wanted to come in with a good effort and start out with defensive posture with a 4-5-1. With the personnel we had, that was the best we could do tonight," said Quaranta. "You always have to be happy with the effort coming back. It's a lot of younger guys on the field, but it was good to show effort and to fight until the end."
• United has played four road games in their last six league matches - three of those (since Aug. 10) have been losses. Of the Black-and-Red's final seven league matches, four are away from RFK Stadium.
• "The entire team is going to work towards the playoffs," goalkeeper Louis Crayton said. "After tonight's game, when I came into the locker room I told my players, look, we lost this game. But stay focused. Concentrate, because it's not over. We want to get to the playoffs. We have to work very hard to make sure we don't lose focus."
FC DALLAS
FC Dallas saw their winless streak reach four games, the Colorado Rapids getting the only goal of the game in the second half for a victory on MLS Primetime Thursday at Pizza Hut Park. FCD has 26 points from 23 games, tied for sixth place in the Western Conference with the Los Angeles Galaxy, a point behind Colorado and two behind San Jose.
LAST MATCH
• Both teams came in needing a victory. The Rapids had won just once in their last seven games and had been shut out in four of their last five, while FC Dallas has two losses and a draw after winning back-to-back contests.
• The game's lone goal came on the hour mark. Terry Cooke swung in a corner from the right flank and Mike Petke shook his marker and found himself completely open, calmly nodding the ball back inside the near post for his first goal on the campaign and the match-winner.
• FCD head coach Schellas Hyndman made three changes to the team that lost 2-1 to the Columbus Crew the weekend before. Pablo Ricchetti replaced Adrian Serioux, away on international duty, in the back four, and Michael Dello-Russo made his first start of the season and Anthony Wallace just his fourth, in wide midfield positions in place of Andre Rocha and Dax McCarty.
• Here's Hyndman's team (4-3-1-2): Dario Sala - Drew Moor, Aaron Pitchkolan, Pablo Ricchetti, Blake Wagner - Michael Dello-Russo (Dax McCarty 65), Marcelo Saragosa (Dominic Oduro 74), Anthony Wallace (Eric Avila 52) - Bruno Guarda - Kenny Cooper, Jeff Cunningham. Substitutes Not Used: Ray Burse, Brek Shea, Abe Thompson, Jamie Watson
• "The player that scores a goal has nobody around him for five yards. You look at the video and how the goal was scored, a guy ran away from one of our players and he didn't follow him. Now he's standing there by himself and the game is over," Hyndman said. "It always takes 90 minutes to win and one second to lose. That's the disappointing part. This was a game that we needed to win. It was a desperation game for both teams and I think we let ourselves down and I think we let our fans down."
TEAM NEWS
• After conceding leads in their previous three matches, which ended up in a pair of losses (both to Columbus) and a last-minute draw in Kansas City, once again it was a second-half goal that snapped the scoreless draw and sent the Hoops to defeat.
• "I think this team has given up soft goals all year and I think we're still continuing to give up soft goals," Hyndman said. "When you don't cover somebody and they have a free header, it's like, when does that happen for us? I think this is accountability and this is discipline. I think it's something that has been going on all year. All I can say is that we work on it in training but when it gets into a game, it looks like it doesn't happen."
• The two big changes in the FCD lineup came in the wide midfield positions, where Dello-Russo and Wallace were inserted into the lineup.
• "I don't think we got what we had hoped to get out of them," Hyndman said. "I thought it got better when Eric (Avila) came on and we were able to change (Wallace). I think it got better when they scored. They were sitting back and we were able to launch quite a few attacks."
• The loss put the FCD home record at 4-4-4, tied with the Los Angeles Galaxy as the worst home record in the league. After trips to United and Chicago, the Hoops return home for their final three games at Pizza Hut Park in the regular season, all in a row, against D.C., San Jose and Toronto.
• "Obviously it's not the result we wanted," FCD forward Kenny Cooper said. "We've got to stay positive because this is a really important part of the season and especially considering the race we're in. It's important that we start to get points. We've got a big game away at D.C. Hopefully we can bounce back and I believe we can."
• There was a bit of a positive reaction on Sunday, when FC Dallas defeated Mexico's Club América 2-1 in a friendly at Pizza Hut Park. Dominic Oduro scored in the ninth minute and Kenny Cooper in the 28th minute. America, who finished the game with nine men after two players were sent off in the final 12 minutes, saw their lone goal come on a penalty kick by Alfredo Moreno in the 33rd minute.
