Fresh off an exciting 1-0 victory against Real Salt Lake on MLS Primetime Thursday, Western Conference-leading FC Dallas hits the road again for their first-ever matchup with expansion side Toronto FC on Sunday. In eight matches away from Frisco this season, FCD has won a league-high four times with one tie to garner 13 points.
Once again, FCD will be without captain Carlos Ruiz, who finished his 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup duty with Guatemala Saturday. But the Hoops will also be missing defensive midfielder Pablo Ricchetti, who received his fifth yellow card of the season against RSL and as a result will be serving a one-game suspension.
In Ricchetti's place, FCD head coach Steve Morrow has several options. He could play second-year midfielder Dax McCarty, who leads the Hoops with four assists this year. McCarty, along with rookie Anthony Wallace, will both be playing for the U.S. Under-20 team in the U-20 World Cup later this month.
Another option is Ramon Nunez, who has played in the attacking midfield spot this year and has two goals. Despite a groin strain, the Dallas native is listed as probable on the team injury report. Morrow could also go with Aaron Pitchkolan, who held that spot until Ricchetti made his FCD debut on May 12 at Kansas City.
With his forward corps depleted, Morrow is expected to reprise the three-forward lineup of Arturo Alvarez (one goal), Dominic Oduro, who has two goals, including the game-winner against RSL in second-half stoppage time and Abe Thompson, who has contributed to five goals in his six starts this year.
FCD's win against RSL also represented the Hoops' first clean sheet since a 1-0 win against Houston at Pizza Hut Park on Sept. 2, 2006. That was clearly an added bonus of the victory for Morrow.
"That was the biggest cheer going into the locker room after the game," Morrow said on Thursday after the win. "It's been a long time coming. Like I said before, we defended well in games and the most important thing to me is getting three points in games. But it's an extra bonus to get a clean sheet."
Considering that FCD comes off their first clean sheet of 2007, the back line of Drew Moor on the right, Alex Yi and Clarence Goodson in the middle and Chris Gbandi on the left looks set. Dario Sala, who has the league's fifth-best goals-against-average at just 1.14 goals per game, will start his eighth consecutive match in goal.
History is on the Hoops' side when it comes to playing an expansion side for the first time. On April 16, 2005, FCD defeated Chivas USA 3-1 at The Home Depot Center and handed RSL a 3-0 defeat at the Cotton Bowl one week later. Dallas also defeated the Miami Fusion in their first meeting in 1998.
However, the then-Burn lost to the Chicago Fire in the first-ever Brimstone Cup meeting in 1998. And on May 6, 2006, FCD fell 4-3 in their first-ever match against Houston in a tilt played at Robertson Stadium.
Other than playing the league's newest team for the first time, another part of Sunday's matchup that the FCD players are looking forward to is seeing sparkling BMO Field.
"We're excited," Thompson said. "It's a new city, team and stadium. From what I've seen, it looks like an exciting place to play. We're excited about going there."
Sunday's match will also mark the first time that Toronto FC midfielder Ronnie O'Brien will face his former team. O'Brien, who was with FCD from 2002 through 2006 and was a two-time member of MLS Best XI and three-time all-star, was dealt to the Canadian side last November. O'Brien's two assists with his new side tie him for the team lead.
"It will be nice to see Ronnie," said Goodson. "He's a good guy and has been doing well. Hopefully he doesn't play that well against us on Sunday."
While FCD is just three days removed from their last match, Toronto FC heads into Sunday's affair coming off a 10-day layoff since their last action. That was a 2-1 loss to the New York Red Bulls on June 6. The hosts had taken an early 1-0 lead before Juan Pablo Angel netted two goals in three minutes to send the East leaders to another victory.
"They have had some success there and it's due to the fact that they get a very good crowd," said McCarty. "That gives them a great 12th man advantage and they seem to feed off that. It's not going to be our first road test but will be good for us to see where we're at."
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
