Sept. 30 - FCD 0, Houston 3

We'll start with the positive stat of the day...the FC Dallas Reserves defeated the Houston Reserves 1-0 on a first half goal from 16-year old rookie forward Abdus 'Ibee' Ibrahim...Kenny also started, seeing his first action versus an opponent since June 9...

Back to the first team game...as Steve said afterwards, very disappointing second half, and of course, a late first half goal changes so much...(more comments on the recap at www.fcdallas.com)...

Carlos was shown a straight red card after getting kicked by Ricardo Clarke...under MLS rules, media are permitted to ask the referees questions (in written format) following the game, provided the correct "Referee Pool Reporter" form has been submitted in advance...we'll know soon through the press what questions were asked and / or answered...Ruiz will serve a one game suspension for yellow card accumulation and will also serve an additional game for the red card...however, he is eligible to play in the Open Cup final on Wednesday...

As for other notes, not many positive stats...the team is eight points behind both Houston and Chivas USA...with the Crew's loss to LA, FCD only needs one point over the next three games to clinch a playoff berth...

Sept. 30 - Gameday vs. Houston

Dallas will look to secure its place in the MLS Cup Playoffs today...with a win against Houston, combined with the Crew losing / tying LA later this evening, FCD would be assured of its 10th postseason appearance...FCD would also clinch with a tie vs. HOU combined with LA beating the Crew....

Additional Notes:

• For those coming to the game from the south, you'll be happy to know that the Dallas Tollway is now open, going past Pizza Hut Park...
• Today is Faith and Family Day at Pizza Hut Park...following the game, fans can go down to the field to enjoy a post-game concert featuring Toby Mac, Thousand Foot Krutch and BarlowGirl...
• Also, the FC Dallas Reserves close out their season today, playing the Dynamo Reserves at 4:30 out on the adidas Field...

Sept. 28 - Counting down...

The guys had a good workout this morning, taking advantage of a nice sunny day with comfortable temperatures...what looked like could be the starting 11 worked against another group (also of 11) for a good amount of time, and then the guys were split - some working on one end with Oscar on crosses and shooting (against a defender and keeper), while Steve worked with another group on more small sided game-type drills...Marco had his own group on the side, putting some guys through different agility exercises...the day finished off with all players on one end, working on crosses and shooting against Dario and Ray...

A group of fans also came out as part of the Player Partner program, where for a certain dollar value, they sponsor a player - which gets the fan their name (or name of their company) by the player's name on the game day roster handout, lunch with the player, and the player's jersey...so following training, the fans were able to meet their player, take photos, and then have lunch with them in the Verizon Wireless club...(call the front office to learn how to become a Player Partner for the remainder of the year of to get first dibs on 2008).

Saturday's training is scheduled for 10 am...

Sept. 27 - On the Field again...

Following Sunday's games, the team left LA on Monday morning, and with the time change, made it back to Dallas around 3:30 pm...Tuesday was an off day, and Wednesday's session consisted of weights and a jog around the complex (Kenny worked on shooting drills with Marco)...following the run, the guys and team staff had a cook-out under the Plaza Terrace here at PHP...

Clarence and Carlos were on the grill cooking hot dogs, brats, and hamburgers (Carlos by the way, has added a red stripe to his hair on the back of his head, to go along with the blond strip on the side / top)....Abe was the one going back and forth bringing out the chips, buns, and snacks...Steve and Daniel brought out the stereo and music...Drew, Bobby, and Oscar took the soccer tennis court over, until Chris and others claimed winners...Wags, Alex, Wally, and Ibee battled at the ping pong table...slowly, the rest of the crew headed out...many guys had appearances later that evening, some going to the Oscar Pareja Community Clinic and others to a Partner Program Clinic in Lewisville...

On Thursday, they were all back out on the adidas Field...Kenny was freed up to train undeterred, having shown a lot of progress since last week...as it is, we've moved him from OUT to Questionable on the injury report...Pablo is also still questionable...both guys have two more practices to show how far along they are before the coaches need to decide their availability...

Sept. 26 - Shaka Hislop Tribute Cup

Today we finalized an off-season trip - FC Dallas will be going to Trinidad and Tobago at the end of November to play two exhibition games being organized by the Trinidad and Tobago Pro League to honor recently retired goalkeeper Shaka Hislop.

Two doubleheaders will be held at the National Stadium (Hasely Crawford Stadium) in Port of Spain, featuring FC Dallas and Brazilian partner, Clube Atletico Paranaense, as well as two all-star teams: the TT Pro League Local All-Stars and the TT Pro League Foreign All-Stars (the local all-stars chosen from the best local players in the league and the foreign all-stars chosen from the best foreign players playing in the league). Click here for more details...

Sept. 26 - Do you remember...

With one week to go before FCD hosts New England in the 2007 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final - U.S. Soccer's National Championship Game - we wanted to give fans a chance to either re-live, or view for the first time, Dallas' first-ever U.S. Open Cup Championship win.

Played on Oct. 29, 1997 - at the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis sports complex - the team then known as the Dallas Burn defeated D.C. United 5-3 on penalty kicks after a scoreless 120 minutes...were you there...did you watch the game...will you be there next Wednesday...thoughts?

DALLAS -- Mark Dodd, Tom Soehn, Wade Webber, Brandon Pollard, Richard Farrer (Jorge Rodriguez 68), Mark Santel (Jason Kreis 100), Ted Eck, Daniel Peinado, Alain Sutter, Gerell Elliott (Damian 73), Dante Washington

D.C. UNITED -- Scott Garlick (Tom Presthus 119), Mario Gori, Clint Peay, Carlos Llamosa, David Vaudreuil, Richie Williams, John Maessner (Ben Iroha 46), Marco Etcheverry, Tony Sanneh (Brian Kamler 75), Jaime Moreno, Raul Diaz Arce

Penalty Kicks:
DAL: Damian (Goal)
DC: Marco Etcheverry (Goal)
DAL: Jason Kreis (Goal)
DC: Raul Diaz Arce (High)
DAL: Alain Sutter (Goal)
DC: Jaime Moreno (Goal)
DAL: Daniel Peinado (Goal)
DC: Ben Iroha (Goal)
DAL: Jorge Rodriguez (Goal)

Sept. 25 - Marcelo Update

Before a home game, the locker room is full of activity, as usually the entire team is in. Last Thursday, before the guys headed down to the field to warm up, a familiar face was back in the locker room - Marcelo Saragosa was welcomed with hugs and chit-chat as he made his way around the locker room.

Every off-season, Marcelo and his wife return to his native Brazil, and this year, his off-season began earlier than in his previous three MLS seasons. Last month, Marcelo was placed on the season-ending injury list with an injury to his right knee...his injury was one in which he may have been able to play out the season, though with significant risk...knowing he needed surgery to repair the torn meniscus, he, along with the coaching staff, decided to not take the risk of losing a player to injury, when they had the chance to add a healthy body...

Marcelo then received permission to begin his off-season early...so he took his wife and son Mateo back to Sao Paulo, Brazil to get them situated...the thing was, he couldn't quickly get back into the U.S...He tried to come back a few weeks ago, but realized his visa was not valid...here's how it works...

Under the rules that Brazil and the U.S. have, citizens of either country need to have a visa in order to enter the other country...tourists only need tourists visas, while athletes need a different type...While Marcelo (and Denilson, Ricardinho) have P-1 visas for the year, the visas are only issued on three month intervals...so, he had to get his visa re-issued for the remaining three months of the year...

When an international player first signs to play in MLS, he can sometimes apply for a visa that is longer than one year (often times depending on the length of the guaranteed portion of his contract). However, after that initial visa expires, he can only renew at one-year at a time interval (and for players of certain countries, those visas are issues at different interval lengths)...anyway, Marcelo finally got his visa re-issued last Tuesday, and flew to Dallas on Wed, arriving on Thursday morning...

WHO IS GALLO: Marcelo is...in Brazil, many players are given nicknames, often times using only one name. When Marcelo was coming up through the Sao Paulo youth system, he was given the name Gallo - which means rooster...Marcelo chose to use his full name once he came to MLS, though at times, we've heard some teammates call him Gallo, but not too often...

Yesterday, Monday, Sept. 24, Marcelo had surgery to repair a lateral meniscus tear on his right knee...Dr. Medlock performed the surgery at the Baylor Frisco facility...he'll rehab here for a few weeks before re-joining his family back in Brazil (his son turns one this fall and of course, Marcelo wants to be with him) and continuing his rehab there...

Sept. 24 - Congrats to the Rhines

During the game on Sunday, we received a text from Bobby Rhine, announcing the birth of his first child - Jake, born 7 lbs, 6 ounces. Congrats to Bobby, wife Bevan, and Jake!

Sept. 23 - FCD 1, LA 2

For the second game in-a-row, a long range bomb from far out was the difference - however, both times, it was the opponent that hit the strike....we saw it on Thursday, when Chris Rolfe hit his blast, and another Chris tonight, as Klien hit his to the right angle past a fully-stretched diving Dario Sala...game recap, highlights, box score on www.fcdallas.com... we'll try to come back a bit later with some notes...

Sept. 22 - Big Group Travels to LA

This is probably the largest number of FCD players / staff to ever make a road trip, at least one that involved flying: 26 players, three coaches, two trainers, two equipment managers, and 17 other members FCD / PHP front office management team...

The guys trained at PHP this morning, and were off to Los Angeles on a 2 pm flight...with the time change, the team arrived at LAX at 3:20...Pablo didn't travel, due to his strained right hamstring...Bobby Rhine didn't travel either, due to his wife expecting to their first baby at any time now...today was Abdus Ibrahim's first trip with the team...Ibee will wear his #18 jersey for the first time on Sunday, when the FCD Reserves face the LA Reserves right after the first team game (the reserve game will be played in the Track and Field stadium)...after dinner, the coaching staff (and some players) went to the Home Depot Center tonight to catch the Chivas USA vs. Kansas City game...

The 16 members of the FCD / PHP management staff arrived early Friday morning, and held a full-day roundtable meeting - discussing and reviewing each department's year to date, brainstorming on ways to improve and on new ideas, and discussing various topics including department / team plans for 2008...the group will continue meetings on Sunday morning, and head to the stadium for the 5 pm game (Pacific Time, which is 7 pm in Dallas)...

Sept. 20 - FCD 1, Chicago 1

The Brimstone Cup will stay in Dallas again, Carlos Ruiz making sure of it with his stoppage time goal to tie the game at 1-1...recap, highlights, box score, etc on http://www.fcdallas.com/.

• Sporting a new 'Mohawk-like' haircut, Ruiz has now scored 5 goals in his last 7 MLS games and 9 in his last 12 games in all competitions...
• Pablo left at the half with a right hamstring injury...
• Clarence picked up his fifth yellow card, and will be suspended for Sunday's game at LA...
• Dallas is now 9-0-1 versus Chicago at home over the last 10 games
• FCD has now earned points with stoppage time goals in four regular season games this year: April 7, Ruiz (94th) to tie RSL 2-2; on June 14, Dominic Oduro (93rd) to defeat RSL 1-0; August 11, Clarence Goodson (92) to defeat Columbus 3-2; and tonight....two other later goals also resulted in points: Gbandi's 82nd minute goal to beat RSL 2-1 on May 20; and Toja's 81st minute goal to tie DC 3-3 on July 14.
• Dallas is now 7-2-1 over the last ten meeting with the Fire. FCD is also undefeated versus Chicago when playing at home over the past ten games, going 9-0-1 versus the Fire.
• With the draw, FC Dallas will retain the Brimstone Cup, the trophy created by the fans of both teams given to the team that wins the season series. While Chicago won the first Cup in 2001, Dallas won it in 2002 and has kept it ever since...Tonight was the third time in the last four meetings with the Fire that FCD came back from behind to earn a point. In 2005, FCD trailed the Fire 2-1 in both matches and came back to win each one 3-2.

Post game comments from Steve and Carlos follow...

Sept. 20 - Ruiz Chat on ESPN.com

For those that didn't see it yet, Carlos Ruiz will be the guest on today's ESPN.com chat...regularly this year, ESPN.com has selected a player participating in that's evening's ESPN Primetime Thursday game to be on the chat....Carlos will be on today at 1 pm. Send your question in early, or come back at 1 to be on live...from our experience in doing these before with Kenny, Dario, and Steve Morrow, they try to go through a lot of questions sent early in the day...Click here to go right to the chat.

Sept. 18 - Evening Training

Monday's training session saw the team a bit split up, with those that played a lot on Saturday playing a small-sided game on one end of the field, while the rest of the team had a more intense session in a bigger part of the adidas field. Abe (left foot) and Dax (right toe) were given the day off, as both had slight injuries over the weekend...Juan worked with Josh on the side...and Kenny got his first taste of extensive action, although with the neutral / no contact vest on..

On Tuesday they came in for an evening session, going from 6 pm to around 7:30 pm on the adidas field here at Pizza Hut Park...it stayed light long enough to get a good session in, and you can see the long shadows coming into play towards the latter part of practice (soccer tennis pic above)...everyone trained together, splitting up into three teams...while two teams were on the field, the other group played soccer tennis and then did core exercises...first, they alternated teams in scrimmages on the wide field, which had two small goals per team to score on and defend...then, they faced off on one small field, shooting at the keepers on the large goals...Juan and Kenny were involved in all the activity, though for the scrimmages, both wore white and remained neutral, meaning no contact against either of them...

They'll hold one final session on Wed. morning out here, before facing Chicago on Thursday evening...

Sept. 17 - FCD TV - Wags' House

Recent FCD TV episodes have brought fans into Wally's 'abode' and Fish's condo...the latest segment brings you to defender David Wagenfuhr's house (Click here to watch)...we've held off giving this feature a name, and we really don't want to use 'Cribs'...any ideas / suggestions?

A high-res version of this will be up on www.fcdallas.com on Tuesday, and it will also be available as a podcast...

Sept. 17 - Shaka's Interview

By now, most fans know that goalkeeper Shaka Hislop has retired. Though we knew the wheels were in motion since his back trouble started in July, his retirement became official just recently, once all the correct paperwork was received by the league office.

We caught up with Shaka last week for an interview on the team site. Shaka talks about why he retired at this time; what he thought of his time with FC Dallas; his memorable games; his pride in starting the "Show Racism the Red Card" campaign; how soccer has changed in the U.S. since he played in college here in the early 90s; his thoughts on other international players coming to play in the U.S.; his regrets; his future (which he doesn't mention, but includes representing the TnT players in the case against the TnT Federation), and his thoughts on this year's FCD team. Click here to read the entire interview.

We want to congratulate Shaka on a great career, thank him for his time at FC Dallas, and wish him the best in his future.

Sept. 15 - FCD 2, New England 4

A tales of two halves tonight, with FCD losing the second half 3-1...recap, box score, and highlights at www.fcdallas.com... some additional notes:

• FC Dallas is 12-9-3, 39 points and remains in third place in the Western Conference, three points behind Houston and four points behind Chivas USA. Houston travels to play the LA Galaxy on Sunday, while Chivas USA visits the Colorado Rapids. FCD is now 5-6-2 on the road.
• Carlos Ruiz, who turned 28 today, scored twice - giving him six goals in MLS play and 10 goals in all competition this year. Besides his six league goal, he’s also registered two goals in three SuperLiga matches and two goals in two U.S. Open Cup games. Ruiz has now scored eight goals in his last 11 starts (all competitions).
• For Ruiz, it was his first multi-goal game of the year. The last time he scored two in a game was on Sept. 16, 2006, in a 3-2 loss at Real Salt Lake.
• Ruiz’s two goals tonight gives him 10 career goals against NE, tying for most goal he’s scored against any team (Columbus)...he also became the 8th player in MLS history to score 80 career regular season goals.
• Dax McCarty registered his team-leading seventh assist tonight in league play, and ninth in all competitions. It was also McCarty’s sixth assist (all competitions) that came off a set piece – either corner kick or free kick.
• Rookie Anthony Wallace today made his MLS debut in his first start of his career. He became the 24th different player to start a game this year for FCD.
• Dominic Oduro registered his first career assist tonight, only 30 seconds after entering the game.
• FC Dallas tonight was whistled for seven fouls committed the least amount of fouls the team has committed in a game this season. The previous low this year was eight fouls committed, on May 29 in a 2-0 loss at Chivas USA. Prior to tonight, the last time Dallas committed less fouls in a game was on Sept. 9, 2000, when the team committed six fouls in a 2-1 win over San Jose.

Sept. 15 - FCD at New England

Here we are, relaxing in our rooms in Braintree, MA - which is about a 20 minute bus ride to Gillette Stadium in Foxboro - getting ready to face the Revolution tonight. It's kind of dark and overcast outside, looks like rain is on the way. Temps right now are in the low 60's, and they tell us it could drop down into the 40s later tonight (some of us here are hoping that's overnight, not during the game).

Before we left Frisco on Friday, we caught up with Steve, Dario, and Bobby, asking their thoughts ahead of this game (and you'll see on the video that Ricardinho can run!) ...We haven't seen the Revs since early in the season, and it may be a good thing to see them now, since we'll meet them again in a couple of weeks in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup final at PHP.

Sept. 12 - Kenny and Ibee at Practice

A couple 'new' guys made their way out to the adidas field with cleats for Wednesday's training session...2nd Round SuperDraft pick Abdus 'Ibee' Ibrahim, and Kenny Cooper.

Ibee recently graduated from the Edison Academy at the U.S. Residency in Bradenton, Florida - and even more recently, represented the U.S. at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Korea, where he played in all four games for the U.S.

Following the World Cup, Ibee went back home to Minnesota - where he had to finish his driver's ed course. He got his driving permit in July, but didn't have a chance to take the course since he had to join the U.S. team. So last week, he completed three days of two-hour 'behind the wheel' classes...While he's been told he needs to have his permit for six months before he can get his license, he'll be staying and catching rides Chris and Sandy Gbandi.

Some fans here may remember that an agreement was made with MLS and U.S. Soccer, where Ibee would remain at school and compete to make the U.S. WC team, therefore missing a large portion of the 07 MLS season, and thus not counting on FCD's 28-man roster this year. In turn, he's not eligible to play in first-team games, but can participate in Reserve Division or friendly games.

Moving on, Kenny also made his return to the field today - kind of. As excited as he was to get going again, he's still not fully there yet. Marco took Kenny, Ibee, and a few other guys to one goal to work on shooting drills and crosses, while Steve and Oscar worked with a larger group on defensive responsibilities and formations. Then, Kenny went to work with the trainers - working on feet and agility drills, and more shooting. He's already improved a lot, since even last week, but the staff will monitor him closely before letting him get involved in contact situations

In other notes, Juan practiced for half the session, sitting out the latter part of practice while resting his ankle... Clarence and Carlos also practiced the entire session without incident...Adrian played 90 minutes for Canada in a 1-1 draw with Costa Rica on Wednesday night in Toronto.

Sept 12 - Three Weeks to Cup

FC Dallas Fans -

First and foremost, thanks for your support of FC Dallas.

We know that you share our excitement in hosting US Soccer’s National Championship game, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup - at Pizza Hut Park on Wednesday, Oct 3rd versus the New England Revolution (7 pm).

We started the season with one clear goal for this team - to win Championships for our fans. And now we have a great opportunity to win a major trophy in front of you, our loyal supporters.

Our Front Office will have an aggressive sales, marketing, PR and grass roots campaign to help fill the Park for this important, nationally televised game. But we need the help of our loyal fans to support our efforts, and promote the game in your communities.

Last Saturday at the Customer Service booth at Pizza Hut Park, during our home game versus Toronto, we passed out "Supporters' Packages," which included posters and flyers that promote the U.S. Open Cup Championship game. By Monday, word had spread and fans that heard about the promotion started calling and emailing to requests their Supporters Packs, wanting to also help 'spread the word.'

If you are able and willing to join us in this grass roots 'Supporters' campaign, and would like to get one of these packages so you can post the flyers and posters at local businesses, restaurants, bars, dry cleaners, coffee shops, etc. in your communities, please email us at dchilds@fcdallas.net.

Together, we can host a great Championship match in our home stadium, Pizza Hut Park. We want you to be a part of this Championship event, and appreciate your efforts in rallying area sports fans to come out to the Park. Thanks again for your support.

Sincerely,

Hitch
General Manager
FC Dallas / Pizza Hut Park

PS: You can click here to see / print out the large version of the flyer.

Sept. 11 - 343 Memorial Climb

On a day in which many people remember the tragic events of 2001, and with the team having the day off, we thought it fitting to highlight the 343 Memorial Climb that was hosted at Pizza Hut Park on Sunday.

Hosted by the Fallen Heroes Family Support Fund in conjunction with the FC Dallas Foundation, the focus of the event was to raise funds to benefit the Texas State Association of Fire Fighters Scholarship Fund and the Fleetwood Memorial Foundation - for the families of fire fighters in the state of Texas who have been killed or injured in the line of duty. In total, Sunday's event raised $4,081 making it the most successful 343 Memorial Climb held in the event's four-year history. For more information on the organization, visit the official site www.343memorialclimb.com.

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On another note, Sunday we also hosted the 1st Annual FC Dallas Partner Program Coach’s Clinic. FC Dallas invited youth soccer association recreational coaches to attend a training session lead by the FC Dallas coaching staff.

About 80 coaches came early to watch the FC Dallas reserve game, and then watched a youth training session led by FCD coaches Steve Morrow, Marco Ferruzzi and Oscar Pareja, along with Chris Clarke, Manager of Youth Player Development. The rec coaches then had opportunities to spend time with the FCD coaches, asking questions and getting feedback on how to continue teaching the kids they currently coach. For more info on this, contact the front office at 214.705.6700.

Sept. 9 - FCD Reserves 2, Toronto Reserves 0

On Sunday morning, the FC Dallas Reserves handed the Toronto Reserves the same result as the first team did on Saturday, winning 2-0. Recently signed Colombian midfielder Sebastian Botero scored twice in the first half and the team kept the shutout in tact to earn the victory. Click here for the full recap.

Scoring Summary:
DAL -- Sebastian Botero 1 (Scott Jones 1) 13
DAL - Sebastian Botero 2 (Michael Dello-Russo 1, Chase Wileman 1) 36

FC Dallas Reserves (3-4-3): Ray Burse (Matt Wideman 73), Michael Dello-Russo, Andrew Daniels, Chris Gbandi (Alex Yi 59), Blake Wagner, Bobby Rhine (Ryan Solle 46), Sebastian Botero (Dax McCarty 73), Anthony Wallace, Chase Wileman (Sandi Gbandi 59), Dominic Oduro, Scott Jones

Substitutes not used: None

Sept. 8 - FCD 2, Toronto 0

FCD got back on the winning side of MLS play tonight...recap, highlights, game summary, etc on www.fcdallas.com... some notes below and post-game comments from Steve and Abe...

• FC Dallas is now 12-8-3, 39 points and moves into second place in the Western Conference, three points behind Houston (which defeated Real Salt Lake 4-3 tonight), and two points above Chivas USA, who play the New York Red Bulls on Sunday…Toronto extended their league-record scoreless streak to 732 minutes without a goal scored (their last goal scored was on July 7, and they’ve now played eight consecutive games without scoring)…
• Denilson made his first MLS start tonight…it was also his first start at Pizza Hut Park, and, he scored his first goal in Major League Soccer....
• Denilson also becomes the 11th different FCD player to score a goal this year...he also becomes the 9th different player to score a game-winning goal.
• Tonight’s shutout is the team’s sixth of the season, and the fourth registered at home…it was Dario Sala’s fifth shutout of the season.
• After going the entire 2006 season without attempting a penalty kick, FC Dallas has taken five penalty kicks this season – and has converted all of them. Denilson became the fourth different player to take / score a penalty kick this year, along with Carlos Ruiz (1), Kenny Cooper (1), and Abe Thompson (2 including tonight).
• FC Dallas is now 11-1-1 this year when scoring the first goal of the game…is 4-5-1 versus teams from the Eastern Conference…is 7-0 when leading after the 75th minute…and is 7-3-1 at home.
• Pablo Ricchetti played his third consecutive game without a caution tonight, therefore will have one caution removed from his record and is no longer one caution away from suspension.
• Clarence Goodson sat out today, still having symptoms of a concussion he sustained on Sept. 4 at Seattle…Carlos Ruiz also did not participate, as the coaching staff decided to give him a night off after he had a sore right knee which required on MRI on Sept. 6…
• For Goodson, it was the first league game he’s missed this year. He had been the only FCD player to start the first 22 regular season games this year.
• Adrian Serioux will join the Canadian National Team on Sunday to prepare for their friendly versus Costa Rica on Sept. 12 at BMO Field in Toronto. He will re-join FCD on Sept. 13.

Sept. 7 - The Day Before Toronto

Under sunny skies and OK temperatures, the team held their last training session at 11 am today to prepare for Saturday's game versus Toronto at Pizza Hut Park. A simple session, with some quick foot drills / running exercises followed by an on field formation run through...half the team ended at around noon, and the rest of the guys were then put through a little longer session...Clarence didn't practice outside today...he's had his imPACT test, which tested very good and normal; however, in these cases, you also have to go with the player's symptoms. Clarence felt OK yesterday, not so much today. So the staff will monitor him until game time before mutually agreeing on his status...Also, on Thursday after training, Carlos had an MRI on his knee, which felt a little sore after Tuesday's game and also after Thursday's practice; so today, he took it easier and trained for half the session...below are a few quick interviews (yes, not the most revealing...we'll try to get the guys to start talking smack for the next opponent)...also, if you're coming to the game and bringing kids, the first 5,000, 16 and under, will get a free soccer ball...gates will open at 6:00 pm..

Sept. 6 - Drew and Kenny on GMT

Drew and Kenny appeared on Good Morning Texas today, starting off the show...(Click here to watch it.)...a couple of hours later, at practice, Kenny and Drew kept clowning around...we're not sure if Kenny caught him, nor do we know what Drew did or said...

Sept. 5 - Back in Texas, Player Notes

The team touched down at DFW this afternoon at around 2:30 pm. As we pulled up to Pizza Hut Park closing in on 4 pm, Marco had the rest of the team out on the adidas Field for their scheduled training session. Many of the guys that played last night went inside for a light workout and muscle recovery session in the pool...The entire group will be back out training on Thursday at 11 am. (click here for a short highlight clip we put together from the game off the internet feed)..

COUPLE OTHER NOTES: Tune in to WFAA Channel 8 (ABC) on Thursday morning at 9 am CT to catch Drew and Kenny on "Good Morning Texas"...blog fans will know that Dax and Bobby, and Abe and Clarence have also been on this morning earlier this summer.

Later, at 6 pm, GM Michael Hitchcock will be a guest on the Kia Southwest Sports Talk show on KFWD-52 (Chan. #14 on Time Warner up here in Frisco)...he follows Arturo and Chris, who were both on at different times earlier this year.

FEEDBACK: We know that FCD fans like to see our team getting some attention around town...if so, let the stations know you appreciate it: Good Morning Texas: gmtfeedback@wfaa.com... Kia Southwest Sports Talk: sportstalk@belo.com

UPDATED INJURY REPORT: Clarence will be listed as Questionable for this weekend's game versus Toronto...those that followed the blog / game last night learned that he suffered a concussion in the first half of the game...at halftime he had many of the symptoms of a concussion, and, well, it's was an easy decision to er on the side of caution...he'll be examined more on Thursday...Alex also came out of the game with hamstring problems...the thing is, he did not strain or pull his hamstrings...rather, it was that both hamstrings tightened up pretty good...still, he'll be monitored the next couple of days to see his availability for Sunday...the staff feels Kenny is ready to push himself more now, so we'll see how that progresses over the coming weeks...

INTERNATIONAL: Adrian Serioux has been called in by the Canadian National Team for a friendly next Wed, Sept. 12 versus Costa Rica at BMO Field in Toronto...Adrian was last part of the Canadian team during a February camp in Florida, before he joined FCD for preseason. He'll be available for FCD's game versus Toronto on Sat, and leave the next day to join the Canadian team...he'll re-join FCD next Thursday ahead of the NE game...

FINAL UPDATE: Abdus "Ibee" Ibrahim is expected to join the team next Tuesday...he returned to Minnesota following the U.S. U-17s exit from the FIFA U-17 World Cup last week in Korea...and, the reason he's coming next week is.....because he's about to finish his driver's ed course.

Sept. 4 - FCD 2,Seattle 1 (UPDATED)

FC Dallas advanced to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Championship game with a 2-1 overtime win over the Seattle Sounders on Tuesday evening at Qwest Field in Seattle, Washington. FCD captain Carlos Ruiz broke the scoreless tie a minute into overtime, and Abe Thompson clinched it with a penalty kick in the 119th minute. FC Dallas will now meet the New England Revolution in the Open Cup championship game on Wed, Oct. 3 at Pizza Hut Park (7 p.m. CT live on Fox Soccer Channel). New England defeated the Carolina Railhawks 2-1 in the other semifinal early in the day.

This is the third time Dallas has advanced the U.S. Soccer Federation’s National Championship match, and the first time to host the event. Previously, Dallas defeated D.C. United 5-3 on penalty kicks after a scoreless game to win the 1997 U.S. Open Cup; and then fell 1-0 to the LA Galaxy in the 2005 Open Cup final at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California. The 1997 final was played at a neutral site - Indianapolis, Indiana.

FC Dallas season ticket holders and FCD Hoops Nation members will have a presale opportunity to purchase tickets for the 2007 Open Cup Championship Game from Sept. 5-7. Tickets will be available to the general public through Ticketmaster at 10 a.m. CT on Sat., Sept. 8. Ticket prices are $20 (Sideline West), $15 (Sideline East), and $9 (Endline). Groups of 20 or more purchasing tickets in Sideline East or Sideline West will receive a $3 discount. Group discounts are not available for Endline seats. Parking at Pizza Hut Park for this match will be free.

Scoring Summary:
DAL - Carlos Ruiz (Arturo Alvarez) 91
DAL - Abe Thompson (penalty kick) 119
SEA - Leighton O'Brien (Andre Schmid) 120+

FC Dallas: Dario Sala, David Wagenfuhr, Alex Yi (Aaron Pitchkolan 56), Clarence Goodson (Adrian Serioux 46), Drew Moor, Denilson (Dax McCarty 94), Juan Toja, Pablo Ricchetti, Arturo Alvarez, Carlos Ruiz (Bobby Rhine 109), Abe Thompson.

Subs not used: Ray Burse (GK), Chris Gbandi, Anthony Wallace.

Seattle Sounders: Chris Eylander, Kevin Sakuda, Danny Jackson (Craig Tomlinson 106), Taylor Graham, Zach Scott, Kenji Treschuk (Greg Howed 100), Leighton O'Brien, Josh Gardner (Noah Merl 78), Hugo Alcaraz, Sebastian LeToux, Roger Levesque (Andre Schmid 100).

Subs not used: Ben Dragavon (GK), Jake Besagno, Santa Maria Rivera.

Disciplinary Summary:
DAL – Pablo Ricchetti (Caution) 88
DAL – Carlos Ruiz (Caution) 113
SEA – Noah Merl (Ejection)

Attendance: 10,385

DYI: Since 2005, FC Dallas has played in 10 Open Cup matches, of which seven went at least into overtime. Of those seven, three were won on penalty kicks. Dallas has come out on top in all seven of those games.

The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, the U.S. Soccer Federation’s National Championship, is an annual competition open to all amateur and professional soccer teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. It is the oldest annual team tournament in U.S. sports history and among the oldest soccer tournaments of its type in the world having crowned a champion for 93 consecutive years dating back to 1914. In 1999, the competition was renamed to honor long-time soccer pioneer and late FC Dallas owner Lamar Hunt.

Sept. 3 - Training at Qwest Field

The guys just finished their training session in Seattle's Qwest Field...real nice stadium...the turf is kind of short, more similar to RSL's Rice-Eccles than, say, Toronto's BMO Field...it is a bit softer than Rice-Eccles...it's an open air stadium, and they say there is a slight chance of rain on Tuesday...the temperature has been very comfortable, although we hear some people here say it's humid...as you see from some photos below, some guys even kept their long sleeve training tops on...

We've said this before, and today we'll say it again...it's always appreciated the effort fans make to support the team...we've seen FCD fans at every stadium this year, and today was no different...although it was scheduled to be a closed practice, Steve gave the green light to have the fans that contact our front office to be allowed to enter the stadium and watch the team training.

After the regular keep away warm up game, the field players went to one end with Steve while Oscar worked with the two keepers...the bulk of the group jogged and passed the ball, getting a little longer stretch and warm-up session...afterwards, all the players took part in agility drills.

Following the drills, the guys were evenly divided into the red and orange teams, working inside a half-field coned in area (Dario and Ray were neutrals)...the point was to make ten consecutive passes withing you team, while the opposite team worked to intercept and break up the plays, and in turn, start their own passing combinations...it was interesting how long it can take, because the small area makes the ball (and players) have to move all over, always keeping an eye on where your teammates run, and where the opponent is moving in from.

Later, the field players were divided up to work on field positioning and ball movement while the keepers worked on crosses and ball distribution...finally, when training ended, as we've seen often, a few guys had fun taking free kicks at both Dario and Carlos...Below is a seven minute video to let you 'be part of Monday's training session," followed by comments from Steve...

Sept. 3 - In Seattle

We're here in Seattle, Washington, having taken the longest in-season flight we'll take this year.

Sunday was a long day for most of the team...the entire group met at PHP at 9 am...those that played on Saturday did their regular recover session, while the rest of the guys took part in the Reserve Game at 10 am (tied 0-0)...the coaching staff informed the group of who needed to be back by 4:30 pm to catch the bus to the airport...as you may imagine - we were delayed, again.

When we returned to PHP, we knew there was a 20 minute delay, so we waited till 4:45 to leave...We get to the airport, and find out that now we're delayed about an hour and half...This time, we're taking Alaskan Air, which is about as close to Alaska as many of us have ever been...We board the flight at 7:20, and of course at 7:45 they explain they couldn't move the jetway out of the way, so we need to wait a little more (mechanical problems)...at 8:10, we were lifting off...

We get to Seattle around 9:50 Pacific Time (which was 11:50 pm for us coming from Dallas)...a long walk to baggage claim, and a longer wait for the bags...conveniently, the bus was parked on the other side of the airport...we get to the Crowne Plaza here in downtown Seattle, located on a tree-lined hill...the bus can't park here on the street, it has to park a block further down (bigger incline)...no one cared, we just wanted to get in to the hotel...everyone grabs a bag and trecks the block back up the hill, leaving all the bags in the lobby and heading up to the third floor, where we had sandwiches / salads waiting...since it's now close to midnight, everyone goes straight to their rooms...

18 Players made this trip...as you may recall, there are a couple different rules for Open Cup games. In particular, teams may only have five international players on the 18-man day of game roster (like MLS, green card holders don't count; however, Youth or Senior Internationals all count the same for Open Cup). For this trip, Dominic and Ricardinho stayed back...

Here's the team that traveled: Dario, Ray, Drew, Bobby, Wags, Pitch, Clarence, Chris, Adrian, Wally, Alex, Pablo, Juan, Abe, Dax, Carlos, Denilson, and Arturo.

We're heading to training at 4 pm local time...check back later for a few more updates / photos..

Sept. 1 - FCD 0, DC 4

That hurt just to type the title...not much to say on this one - other than we move on and travel to Seattle on Sunday afternoon...the reserve game in the morning starts at 10, and we'll leave around 4 pm...the team will train at Qwest Field in Seattle on Monday afternoon.

Unfortunately not many positive notes from this game, so we'll leave those out for tonight...Here's Steve's post-game comments (like we said, not much to say)...comment away, we're ready for it...

Sept. 1 - Gameday, FCD vs DC

In the spirit of college and high school football starting this weekend, Friday's practice had the guys working only on gridiron drills...no huddle offense, blocking schemes, QB sneaks, and of course kick returns, as you see above...we're kidding...
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It's been a couple weeks since the last game...meantime, we've had some guys get healthy... Dario trained fully this week and is available tonight...Juan also returned to training on Wednesday, and is also available...Adrian, who also missed the last game, also trained without incident this week...so not only are these guys now available, but so is new signing Denilson, who received his visa quickly and was added to the roster on Friday...unfortunately, Marcelo has been lost for the season.....

Some fans will remember the last time FCD and DC squared off, with Dallas coming back from a three goal deficit to earn the 3-3 tie at RFK stadium...since that game, DC has not given a goal from the run of play, a stretch of five games...still, FCD has played well at home this year, only allowing the opponents to score seven goals in nine games, while scoring 14...click here for the complete game guide.