Enjoy the Weekend...

The buzz in the office today was the annual Halloween lunch. A lot of the front office staff either showed up in costume, or changed into one right before gathering. The Baylor staff came up to judge the event, including best pumpkin and best costume (in various categories).

The winning artwork (above) was created by the ticket sales department (though rumor has it that only two people really did the work).

The biggest laugh, and the winner of the Most Original costume - Pablo Miranda as GM Michael Hitchcock. Some of you may recall Pablo's name from our previous trips to Atletico Paranaense. Pablo works in CAP's International Department, and is here for two months to work with all of our departments.

And with that, we leave you for the weekend. Have a safe one...

Cooper and Rocha - MLS Awards Finalists

Major League Soccer today announced that FCD's Kenny Cooper and Andre Rocha are among the finalists for its 2008 year-end awards. These finalists earned the most votes in polling of MLS players, general managers, coaches, referees and members of the media.

MLS Comeback Player of the Year Finalists (winner announced on Sat. Nov. 22)
Jon Busch - Chicago Fire
Kenny Cooper – FC Dallas
Santino Quaranta – D.C. United

Newcomer of the Year (winner announced on Tue. Nov. 11)
Darren Huckerby – San Jose Earthquakes
Claudio Lopez – Kansas City Wizards
Andre Rocha – FC Dallas

The finalists and schedule of announcement for the other League awards, including Most Valuable Player, Rookie, Defender, Goalkeeper, Coach, and Referee of the Year, and Fair Play can be found here.

FCD Blog Gear Special

Since we started this blog, we've been asked on a few occassions if we could make available some of the gear the players wear. Some gear has been available in our team store here at Pizza Hut Park, and / or in our online store - fcdallasgear.com.

Today we're presenting a special offer to the loyal FCD Blog readers. From Oct. 29 until 5 pm CT on Friday, Oct. 31, fans can purchase the team's gameday warm-up tops for $56 (normal price is $80). That's a little more than 30 % off (delivery is free within the continental U.S., or you can pick them up).

This offer is only available by sending an email to csmith@fcdallas.net with your contact info and size requested (adult sizes only). You'll have to mention that you saw this special on The FCD Blog.

News Around the League

Although we may not be playing, there is still soccer being played in MLS and news coming out of both the League and teams. We'll be looking to keep you updated as things move along.

On Tuesday, new expansion team Seattle Sounders FC - which will begin play in 2009 - introduced Sweden's Freddie Ljungberg as it's Designated Player. He becomes their fourth player to date. (Photo: SoundersFC.com)

Today, Major League Soccer revealed its newly redesigned MLS Cup trophy, named for soccer visionary Philip F. Anschutz. The sterling silver trophy, created by Tiffany & Co., was unveiled this morning in a ceremony at the jeweler’s New York flagship store on Fifth Avenue. The Philip F. Anschutz Trophy will be presented at this year’s MLS Cup on Sunday, November 23. (Photo: MLS/Tiffany)

The MLS Cup Playoffs begin on Thursday, Oct. 30, with the New England Revolution hosting the Chicago Fire live on ESPN2 (6:30 pm CT). The other three games are on Saturday, Nov. 1.

First Off-season Practice

The first training session of the off-season was short, with the organized portion lasting an hour. After that Schellas informed the guys that they could either go inside or stay out to knock the ball around. Not surprisingly, some of the guys organized a 5 v 5 game with Marco Ferruzzi and equipment manager Marcus Owens even getting in on the action.

Good news for Jeff Rowland --- he jogged outside for the first time since undergoing knee surgery earlier this month, and also did some exercises with assistant athletic trainer Alan Reid. His workload will continue to progress over the next couple of weeks.

A few guys were missing from the training field today. Joining the injured Marcelo Saragosa and Brek Shea inside were Adrian Serioux, Pablo Ricchetti, Michael Dello-Russo and Aaaron Pitchkolan who all picked up minor knocks on Sunday. Also missing was the now-retired Bobby Rhine, and it definitely feels weird saying (or typing) that.

As for the rest of the week, we'll see the guys here at PHP again on Wednesday, and on Thursday they'll train at the Michael Johnson Performance Center. The team will be back here for practice on Friday and then have the weekend off.

Three Called in to U.S. U-20 MNT

Josh Hernandez in a game against Houston. Photo: Jimmy Vanegas.
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Another bit of good news from our FCD Juniors Program...

FC Dallas Juniors U-18 midfielder Joshua Hernandez has been called in to his first-ever U.S. Soccer Youth National Team camp, joining FCD first-team players Josh Lambo and Anthony Wallace on the 18-man U.S. U-20 MNT squad that will travel to Madrid, Spain from Nov. 15-23.

Including Lambo and Wallace, the U-20 roster boasts professional players who play in seven different leagues around the world, including: Italy, England, Germany, Belgium, Mexico, Portugal, and the United States (Major League Soccer). Hernandez is one of five domestically-based youth players, all of which play for clubs from the U.S. Soccer Development Academy.

Josh becomes the second player from the Juniors program to be called in to a U.S. Soccer Youth team. Jrs. U-16 forward Alex Molano joined the U.S. U-17 Residency Program in Florida in September.

From the FCD Blog staff

Our regular season is over, and we're about three months from the start of the 2009 preseason. We're told the team will be holding training sessions for the next couple of weeks. There's also been some talk of possibly playing one last game, though at the moment nothing is confirmed.

So, while the first team practice updates may take a break until late January or early February, the FCD Blog will still be here, hoping to make the off-season seem a bit shorter with other posts:

* The FCD Juniors first season,
* Players called in to national teams,
* The NCAA College Cup here at Pizza Hut Park in December,
* The coaching staff's scouting trips (in the U.S. and abroad),
* We'll present FCD Blog exclusive merchandise offers,
* And of course, we'll be keeping you updated on how the team changes and begins to take shape for next season, by covering such events as: the MLS Expansion Draft, the MLS Combine, and the MLS SuperDraft.

Feel free to use the comments' section to let us know if you have ideas that you'd like for us to consider bringing to the Blog (and we don't mean your opinions on players, coaches, management, etc).

poll by twiigs.com

FCD Juniors Update

Both of our FC Dallas Juniors teams claimed wins over the weekend, defeating their counterparts from Solar; the 16s winning 2-1 and the 18s with a 1-0 win in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy.

The Jrs. U-16s, down 1-0 at the half, came back with two goals in the final 45 to win and remain undefeated. Daniel Premenko tied the game in the 50th minute when he headed home a corner kick from Jose Perez. Fifteen minutes later, Ruben Luna brought down a long pass with his chest at the top of the box, turn on a defender and powered a shot past the keeper to give FCD the lead.

The Jrs. U-18s received a great performance from goalkeeper Jaime Ibarra, who came up with numerous saves throughout the game. FCD broke the scoreless game in the 70th minute; Cody Adams curled in a free kick into the area from the right side, and Joshua Hernandez leaped high to head the ball in the back of the net for the winning goal.

FCD 2, LA Galaxy 2

UPDATED: Game ends in a 2-2 draw, our 12th tie of the year. We finish 2008 with a record of 8-10-12, 36 points. Drew Moor gets his second goal of the year, while Victor Sikora scores his first.
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Here we go, last game of the year.

During the pregame meeting, Schellas confirmed to everyone that Bobby Rhine gets the start today, thanking him for his 10 years of service. Following the meeting, Duilio Davino approached Schellas and requested to give the captain's armband to Bobby.

The Last Road Trip

For the last time this year, we've packed the bags and are heading out on a road trip - a short one to Los Angeles (we return tomorrow).

By the time practice ended this morning here at Pizza Hut Park, the guys were maneuvering through a few tour buses to get back inside, as EdgeFest 18 began at 11 am. As normal, the guys had lunch inside the player lounge while watching soccer on FSC, and waiting for the bus to the airport. Everyone that is healthy is traveling today.

It was six months ago when we last visited LA, where we defeated Chivas USA on a Sunday April evening. Hopefully, we finish the season with a similar result. Make sure to tune in KFWD-52 or Telefutura on Sunday at 2 pm to watch.

It's Friday

Very upbeat practice today, especially for the final drill, which consisted of three teams of seven and three full-size goals set up in a triangle shape. The guys really seemed to enjoy that one because of the quick back-and-forth action.

Adrian Serioux sat out the second half of practice with some soreness in his groin. According to Schellas, he should be ready to go on Sunday.

The full group will travel to LA this weekend, as a Reserve Division game will follow the first team contest. In addition, three guest players have been called for the Reserve game. Mike Sambursky, a midfielder from Katy, TX, practiced with the team today. Defender Josh Alcala, from Buda, TX, will join the team for Saturday’s training. Finally, current Minnesota Thunder (USL-1) defender / midfielder Kevin Friedland will join the guys in LA.

The team will fly out to California tomorrow after practicing in the morning. On Sunday, they’ll take advantage of the the two-hour time difference and fly back to Dallas in the evening following the Reserve game.

Getting Ready for LA

It was quite chilly as practice began this morning, marking the return of gloves and hats which we saw a few of the guys sporting toward the end of last week. This made a warm cup of coffee that much more enjoyable while watching the team go through training.

While we're not playing for a playoff spot on Sunday at LA, there are a couple positives to look for: Kenny Cooper will be in direct competition for the MLS Golden Boot award, as he currently has 18 goals, one behind LA's Landon Donovan. A goal for Cooper would also give him the team record for goals in a season (Jason Kreis scored 18 in 1999). If Kenny and Landon finish with the same amount of goals, the first tie-breaker is assists, and Landon has nine while Cooper has three.

Also, Bobby Rhine will be hoping to end his career on a good note – he’ll possibly have one last chance to face the Galaxy, the team he’s played against more times than any other opponent (26 appearances, 17 starts) during his 10 years in MLS.

We’ll of course be without both Marcelo Saragosa and Pablo Ricchetti after both received red cards last week (besides the fact that Marcelo underwent knee surgery on Tues.). Pablo has also been suspended one additional game and will therefore miss the 2009 season-opener.

Bobby and Kenny talk about the regular season finale:

Bobby Rhine set to Retire

Bobby Rhine, who has been part of this team for the past 10 seasons, today announced that he will retire following Sunday's game at LA.

In a time when we often see athletes move from one team to another, for various reasons, Bobby is unique in that he's only worn our colors throughout his entire professional career. He is one of only six players in League history, who have played a minimum 200 games, to play their entire career with one team.

We thank Bobby for all he's given to this club, and are honored to have had him wearing our jersey. Read Bobby's letter by clicking here...Click here for a photo gallery.

FCD TV - FCD Juniors vs. Tigres

The FC Dallas Juniors teams had two positive results on Saturday in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy. Forward Ruben Luna, who registered a hattrick last week in San Antonio, stayed on fire by scoring four goals in the U-16s 5-1 win over the Dallas Texans U-16s. Jonathan Top also scored. Aftwards, the FCD U-18s overcame a questionable early red card to earn a 2-2 draw versus the Texans U-18s side, getting a goal Bradlee Baladez and an own goal.

Last week, the FCD Juniors had a unique experience in playing their first international friendly against the U-16 and U-18s from Tigres UANL (Mexico). FCD TV shows you a glimpse of how the teams prepared, and what they thought of the experience. Click here for the higher res version, or watch the youtube version below.

Marcelo has Surgery

A few days of ups and downs for Marcelo Saragosa. He scored his first goal in an FCD uniform on Saturday at RSL, only to be shown two yellow cards before the half. And then today, he underwent surgery to repair a torn medial meniscus in his right knee.

Since it's a repair of the meniscus, and not a removal of the torn portion, he'll be on crutches for about four weeks, and then begin a 2-3 month rehab. Some of you may recall that toward the end of last year, Marcelo tore the lateral meniscus in the same knee.

Radio Shows

The team will be back at practice on Wednesday here at Pizza Hut Park. If any of you are in the area and want to chat with Dario Sala and Duilio Davino, they'll be at the new Christina's Restuarant up here in Frisco (off El Dorado) at 6 pm for Dario's ESPN Deportes radio show at 6 pm. And, as happens every Tuesday, you can listen to Carlos Alvarado on FCD's Spanish Radio show on 1540 am, at 7 pm.

Lambo vs. Avila

Last month, U.S. Youth Soccer videotaped a couple of FCD players participating in a game of soccer golf for their monthly show on Fox Soccer Channel. Today, Josh Lambo and Eric Avila got in on the fun and faced off in a soccer homerun derby for U.S. Youth Soccer’s upcoming show scheduled to air on November 1.

The competition was held on a Little League field at Harold Bacchus Park in Frisco, with the fence about 200 feet from home plate. As for the format, the boys played two rounds of ten attempts, each taking turns to pitch to one another.

Rather than giving away the winner, we’ll let you see for yourself when the program airs (we’ll post it on the blog) because it ended up coming down to the wire and there was some friendly trash-talking involved. It was all in good fun though, and afterward each shared some of their experiences growing up playing youth soccer for the camera.

Enjoy the pics…

FCD 1, RSL 3

UPDATED: With this result, we have been eliminated from playoff contention. Kansas City's win over San Jose combined with NY's win over Columbus tonight means we would not be able to catch either for the wild card spots. No notes or stats tonight.
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Tonight is a big game for both teams, and it feels like it from here in the press box. One change to FCD's starting lineup from last week; Andre Rocha is serving a one-game suspension for yellow card accumulation, so Victor Sikora gets the start. Victor goes to the left side of midfield, with Marcelo Saragosa moving over to the right.

Rio Tinto Stadium - View from Above

Clear skies gave us a great view of the Rocky Mountains on our flight to Utah today. Just as we crossed the last mountain range, we could see the Great Salt Lake, and of course the city. As we looked down from thousands of feet up, from the right side of the plane, we could also easily see the newest stadium in Major League Soccer - Rio Tinto Stadium, the new home of Real Salt Lake, and site of tomorrow's game.

18 players made this trip: Sala, Burse, Davino, Pitchkolan, Moor, Wagner, Serioux, Rhine, Saragosa, Ricchetti, Watson, Guarda, Cunningham, Avila, Dello-Russo, Oduro, Cooper, and Sikora.

The game starts at 8 pm CT on Fox Soccer Channel on Saturday. If you're in the Metroplex, head up to Lochrane's Irish Pub (across the street from Pizza Hut Park) - they'll be offering great drink specials, FCD gifts, and of course - many TVs showing the game.

Bus is Leaving

A small-sided game between old guys and young guys always takes place at the end of practice on the day before a game. Today's game finished in dramatic fashion with the young team scoring the equalizer in the waning moments, only to have the old guys come right back and notch the game-winner just seconds before the final whistle. As you can see in the photo to the right, they were pumped.

Brek Shea came outside just as practice ended to chat with his teammates. It was great seeing him walking around without crutches, as he had been for the past few weeks.

The boys are boarding the bus now to head off to the airport. We'll come back later to give you an update once we arrive in Utah. In the meantime, check out the online preview to see how FCD stacks up against Real Salt Lake in this crucial battle for playoff positioning.

Jacket Weather

With temperatures in the 50’s this morning, yesterday’s sleeveless tops gave way to long sleeves, warm-up jackets, and even winter caps and gloves for some players. Currently, it looks like the players can expect similar temps for Saturday night’s game at Salt Lake. Sigh of relief for us as we heard the area got some snow last weekend.

Adrian Serioux will return to Dallas this afternoon after playing the full 90 in Canada’s 2-2 draw with Mexico last night in Edmonton. Adrian will join the team for Friday morning’s session, which will be the last practice before the team heads off to Utah.

We caught up with Schellas Hyndman, Dominic Oduro and Drew Moor to talk about Saturday's game...



Speaking of Salt Lake, here’s the answer to yesterday’s trivia question...(continue reading)

Rio Tinto Stadium will be the 29th venue in which Dallas has played a regular season game, with FCD posting a 12-11-5 record in the first game at each stadium. Count ‘em:

Cotton Bowl, Mile High Stadium, Tampa Stadium, RFK Stadium, Arrowhead Stadum, Giants Stadium, Foxboro Stadium, Ohio Stadium, Spartan Stadium, Rose Bowl, Stanford Stadium, Soldier Field, Lockhart Stadium, Crew Stadium, Raymond James Stadium, Gillette Stadium, Cardinal Stadium, Invesco Field, Dragon Stadium, Home Depot Center, Rice-Eccles Stadium, Pizza Hut Park, Robertson Stadium, Toyota Park, BMO Field, Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, Buck Shaw Stadium, CommunityAmerica Ballpark, Rio Tinto Stadium.

Wednesday's Training

The team was split this morning; the guys that played last night went through a recovery session, while the rest of the guys went through a shorter than normal workout. Kenny Cooper returned to the practice field after taking the first few days this week to get treatment on his ankle and recover from that virus that seemed to hit half the team the past week.

We'll be leaving for Utah on Friday...here's a stat that even long-time followers of the team may have a challenge with: We play at RSL this weekend at their new Rio Tinto Stadium. Including Saturday's game, how many stadiums will we have played a regular season game around the League in since the start of MLS?

FCD 3, Tigres 2; Tigres Win Rio Grande Plate on PKs

UPDATED: Aaron Pitchkolan scored twice - in the 5th minute, and in the final minute - to give FCD the 3-2 win in the second-leg of the Rio Grande Plate. The win evened the home-and-home series at 4-4 since Tigres won the first leg 2-1 in Mexico in February. The Series was decided on penalty kicks. We made our first, but missed the next three, while Tigres made three of four to win the series. More can be found on fcdallas.com.
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No TV tonight, though you can watch, for free, on http://www.fcdallas.com/. Stats and lineup will be kept on the matchtracker as well.

Things didn't start off like we wanted, as the Tigres U-16s beat our Jr. U-16s 3-0, while the Tigres U-18s beat our Jrs. U-18 1-0 earlier today.

The Rio Grande Plate - Tonight

We are getting ready for three games today against Mexican-partner Tigres UANL...the FCD Juniors U-16s will face Tigres' U-16s at 3 pm, and the FCD Jr. U-18s will meet the Tigres U-18s at 5 pm. Both of these games are on Field #4...the first team game begins at 7:30 inside the stadium.

Some notes:
* Tigres won the first leg of this year's Rio Grande Plate 2-1 on Feb. 20 in Monterrey. Which means, if FCD wins today's game by one goal, we'll go to penalty kicks to decide the winner...If we win by more than one goal, we win the Plate...and, if we tie or Tigres wins, they keep the plate for the second straight year. We won the inaugural Rio Grande Plate in 2006, on penalty kicks.
* You'll notice that we'll use a different ball in each half: the first 45 minutes will be played with the MLS adidas ball; and in the second half we'll use the Mexican First Division Voit ball.
* There will be unlimited subs tonight.
* We'll be providing a live and free webstream of the first team game on fcdallas.com, with the call from long-time FCD Spanish radio announcer Carlos Alvarado.
* Last night, we arranged a scrimmage between the younger Tigres reserve players (those that may not play much today) and a collection of players from our FCD Youth teams, also the 16-17 years old. The game ended 1-1.
* And finally, in the spirit of the Dallas Cup and as a sign of the strength of the relationship, the Tigres Youth players are being hosted by our Juniors players while they are in town.

Hope you can join us tonight...

Playoff Update

Two weeks to go and three spots still up for grabs for the 2008 MLS Cup Playoffs, including one guaranteed place in the Western Conference. Remember, the top three teams from each conference automatically qualify, and then, the two teams that have the most points, regardless of conference.

Columbus, New England, and Chicago have claimed the top three positions in the East. Houston and Chivas USA have secured the top two positions in the West; which leaves Dallas, Colorado, Real Salt Lake, San Jose, and LA fighting for that third guaranteed spot.

Once that's filled, two additional teams will be looking to claim the final two 'wild card' spots. Add NY, KC and Toronto to the mix of the Western teams above - which means, with two weeks to, all nine remaining teams still have a chance of making the playoffs.

Here's how the table looks:

Columbus - 54 pts (2 games left; at NY; vs. DC)

Houston - 44 pts (3; vs. SJ, vs. LA; at Chivas)

Chicago - 43 pts (2; at TOR; vs. NY)

New England - 43 pts (2; at DC; vs KC)

Chivas - 42 pts (2; vs. COL; vs. HOU)
Kansas City - 36 pts (2; vs. SJ; at NE)

Real Salt Lake - 36 pts (2; vs. DAL; at COL)

New York - 36 pts (2; vs. CLB; at CHI)

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FC Dallas - 35 pts (2; at RSL; at LA)

Colorado - 34 pts (2; at CHV; vs. RSL)

DC United - 34 pts (2; vs. NE; at CLB)

Toronto FC - 32 pts (2; vs. CHI, at SJ)

LA Galaxy - 32 pts (2; at HOU; vs. DAL)

San Jose - 30 pts (3; at HOU, at KC, vs. TOR)

So, what do you think...

poll by twiigs.com

Cooper's Decision

With a 6-1 win over Cuba on Saturday night, the U.S. Men's National Team clinched their place in the final round of qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

About an hour after our game vs. Toronto, we received a call from U.S. Soccer. They were looking to call FCD's Kenny Cooper for the next WC Qualifier, at Trinidad and Tobago on Wed., Oct. 15. As some may have seen, Kenny was not listed on the roster that was announced today.

Kenny spoke with us here at the FCD Blog to explain:

"I feel so fortunate and honored to have been invited to join up with the U.S. Men's National team in Trinidad and Tobago. I made the difficult decision to pass on this opportunity because I had picked up a virus and have been playing with a sprained ankle. Considering the importance of my club's game versus Real Salt Lake this week, and that the National Team has already clinched a berth in the next round of qualifying, I felt it was the right thing to do to stay in Dallas and make sure I get well, and hopefully there will be other opportunities down the line."

FCD Jrs. Update: Austin and San Antonio

Both FC Dallas Juniors teams made their first road trip outside of the Metroplex this weekend, visiting San Antonio and Austin, Texas.

On Saturday, the U-16s defeated Classics Elite in San Antonio 4-0 behind a hat-trick from Ruben Luna and another goal by Jonathon Top. Afterwards, the U-18s defeated Classics U-18s by the same 4-0 margin, getting two goals from London Woodberry, and one each from Jesus Gamino and Enrique Sanchez.

The group then traveled to Austin for this morning's games versus Lonestar Soccer Club. The U-16 improved to 3-0 with a 1-0 win on a goal from Jose Perez. The coaching staff moved Ruben up to the 18s for today's game following yesterday's performance. He played 90 minutes, and Gamino and Sanchez scored again in a 3-2 loss.

Head Coach Oscar Pareja: "We are very happy because every day we see how the team is improving. Both teams showed how far they have come this weekend. Today's games were more difficult, but our boys played good. We had a great trip, great experience. From spending time together on the bus, the hotel, the team meals; the boys played great and really enjoyed themselves. We are very happy with their progress."

Follow the U.S. Soccer Development Academy: U-16s standings / schedule, and U-18s standings / schedule. FCD plays in the Central Conference, Texas Division.

FCD 2, Toronto FC 2

UPDATED: Positives and negatives...once again, we surrender the lead, and once again we are down and come back to earn points...Kenny ties Jason Kreis' record by scoring 18 goals on the season...

We've scored in 12 goals in the final 15 minutes of a game: five have been game-tying goals; two were game-winners; four extended leads; and one prevented a shutout.
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Awesome night for soccer...we're starting with the same XI as last week...Dax replace Rhine on the available subs... flip on Fox Soccer Channel or Fox Sports en Espanol, or follow along on the matchtracker on mlsnet.com.

Waiting for the game...

Plenty of sports to keep fans busy as we await tonight's last regular season home game, versus Toronto FC...College football and World Cup qualifiers dominate the sports scene...

We're currently tied with Colorado for the 8th spot with 34 points, only two points behind both RSL and NY, which tied on Thursday.

Plenty also going on tonight at PHP: the Texans Credit Union Walk of Fame ceremonies start at 6 pm between fields 6-7...we'll be giving out team posters to the first 5000 through the gates...Fox Soccer Channel's pregame starts at 7 pm and fans are welcome to attend (north concourse - inside the stadium)...the big game versus Toronto starts at 7:30...prizes will be given out throughout the game...when the game ends, the players will stop by the bottom of each section to sign autographs...and, we'll finish off the night with a post-game fireworks show.

Hope to see many of you out here...

It's Friday

Another week of training has come and gone, leaving only one thing left to do --- try to get the full three points from Toronto FC tomorrow night. Following last night’s 1-1 draw between Salt Lake and New York, an FCD win combined with a few favorable results (check out the full MLS schedule) over the weekend could really shake up the playoff chase.

As expected, both Blake Wagner and Adrian Serioux returned to go through the full training session today. Adrian also got some extra work in with a group of midfielders and forwards afterward.

Before heading into the locker room, Aaron Pitchkolan, Jamie Watson and Dax McCarty played a game of cross bar with a friendly wager as incentive….the first two to hit from about 30 yards out would enjoy lunch on the odd man out.

Pitch, in impressive fashion, hit the bar on his second attempt. Dax and Jamie on the other hand…let’s just say it took multiple tries but in the end Dax was the next one to hit the cross bar, leaving it up to Jamie to buy lunch. We heard Jamie pulling for McDonald’s, but there’s no way Pitch and Dax are going to let him get off easy like that.

Cameras Rolling

Good news today...both Marcelo Saragosa (right knee) and Blake Wagner (right glute) returned to the field. Marcelo participated in the full practice session with a lightweight brace on his knee, while Blake did some light jogging / cutting on the sidelines with the training staff. Blake is expected to step in with the rest of the team on Friday.

Now if we can just get Adrian Serioux back on the field...he did not practice today, as he’s still recovering from illness.

Following practice, Bruno Guarda, Andre Rocha and Eric Avila taped some promos for Univision. When they finished, the three of them had some fun juggling a bit for the camera….

Some comments from Bruno, Jeff Cunningham and Schellas Hyndman about Saturday night’s game:

Practice, with photos...

Today was about as perfect a day as you'd want: in the 60s to start off, and in the 70s by the time practice finished a little after 11. To change it up a bit, we thought we'd give you a glimpse of today's practice, in photos.

First, a couple of notes: Marcelo Saragosa had an MRI today to find out what has been causing a nagging right knee, so he didn't train. Also, some type of virus has hit the team, starting last week with Dax McCarty, who had to miss the SJ game because of it...Drew Moor had it bad on Friday/Saturday...Ray Burse missed Saturday's practice with it...Adrian Serioux appears to have had the worse of it. He trained through it on Tuesday, but had to leave today's session early. We hope it's stopped there!

Schellas talked about Marcelo, Blake, the lineup, and a certain Bayern Munich player with the media after practice. We'll let them bring you what he said.

Now, some photos.

Brek Shea finished his rehab inside, and then made his way back out to the training field to watch and chat (here, with Eric Avila and Bruno Guarda).

Dax McCarty lines up a volley...we got the photo of him making contact, but it came out pretty blurry. So, just imagine how well he hit it - and if Ray saves it or it goes in...
The goalmouths on the adidas Field have taken some abuse this summer, which is normal when you have four keepers training as hard as they do. So last night, our grounds crew painted regulation-size goal boxes on the sidelines, one on each half. As you can see, Bryant Rueckner in now off the playing field.
Andre Rocha goes down the right side, marked by Victor Sikora. Oscar Pareja and Francisco Molina, our Juniors coaches, get the sideline observation access.
Victor clears a cross...as some of you have realized, Victor's feet do not touch the ground.

Cohen and Moffat Join Walk of Fame

On Saturday, prior to the FCD vs. Toronto game, we'll be inducting the newest members of the Texans Credit Union Walk of Fame, former Dallas Tornado players Neil Cohen (#2, right) and Bobby Moffat (#14, below). The ceremony, open to the public, will take place at 6 pm between fields #6 and #7.

The Walk of Fame is a stretch of soccer history at Pizza Hut Park that runs through the complex fields and includes commemorative markers with plaques recognizing members of the soccer community and key events that have been instrumental in helping build the sport of soccer in Texas.

Previous year’s inductees to the Texans Credit Union Walk of Fame were: Kenny Cooper Sr. and Schellas Hyndman (2007); Ron Newman and Jeff Agoos (Class of 2006); and the inaugural class of 2005, which included Lamar Hunt, Gordon Jago, Bill Kinder, Carla Overbeck, Kyle Rote Jr. and Tatu, along with four great moments in Texas soccer history.

Back on the Field

The team returned to practice on the adidas Field this morning after having Sunday off and spending Monday at the Michael Johnson Performance Center.

As we’ve seen when the guys are away from the ball for a few days, today they started with an extended warm-up (about 30 min) to get some touches on the ball and get back into the swing of things.

After that, the team split into two groups to work on a transition / counterattack drill, with emphasis on winning the ball near midfield and getting numbers forward. The team then went into a full field 11 v 11 scrimmage, before ending with an 8 v 8 game on a 40 yard field.

Couple Notes:
Blake Wagner headed into the locker room about halfway through after straining his right glute muscle...we're told he'll be ok for Saturday...Felix Garcia will train with the team this week, before returning to Laredo on Friday...Adrian Serioux will be available for the Toronto game, and then report to the Canadian National Team on Sunday for their World Cup Qualifier vs. Mexico on Oct. 15; he is suspended for Canada's game on Oct. 11.

The guys will continue to train at 9 a.m. for the rest of the week ahead of Saturday night’s clash with Toronto FC.

Playoff Update

With three games left, we're now tied with Colorado for the 8th and final playoff spot, though the Rapids hold the tie-breaker if the season ended today.

The top three teams from each conference automatically qualify for the playoffs, along with the next two team with the most points, regardless of the conference. Here's how the playoff table looks today:

Columbus - 53 pts
Houston - 43 pts
New England - 43 pts
Chicago -42 pts
Chivas - 39 pts
Real Salt Lake - 35 pts
New York RB - 35 pts
Colorado - 34 pts
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FC Dallas - 34 pts
Kansas City - 33 pts
DC United - 33 pts
Toronto FC - 31 pts
San Jose - 30 pts
LA Galaxy - 29 pts

Columbus, New England, and Houston have already qualified. No teams have been eliminated. Which means, all games have something on the line this week:

Thur, Oct. 9
NYRB at RSL - 9 pm CT, ESPN2

Sat, Oct. 11
NE at KC - 7 pm CT, Direct Kick
CHV at SJ - 9 pm CT, HDNet
TOR at FCD - 7:30 pm CT, FSC / FSE

Sun, Oct. 12
CLB at CHI - 2 pm CT, Telefutura
DC at HOU - 6 pm CT, Direct Kick
COL at LA - 7 pm CT, Direck Kick

Felix Garcia, guest player

We had a guest player on the Reserves today, 18-year-old Laredo, Texas forward Felix Garcia. He trained with the FCD Jrs. U-18s yesterday, as Oscar contemplated having Felix join the Jrs. However, a conference call with MLS revealed that Felix would not be eligible for the Jrs, as he'd forgone his college eligibility / had committed himself to being a professional.

We're told that, given he's played for the U.S. U-20s, and is now considered a pro, if he chooses to play in MLS he'd need to be offered and then sign a contract, and then either be placed in a lottery or the MLS SuperDraft. Doesn't matter at this time, as rosters are frozen. Still, we thought it interesting to let you know his status.

Reserve Game: FCD 2, San Jose 2

Forward Jamie Watson fends off San Jose's Gavin Glinton.
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FCD and San Jose's Reserve squads traded goals in the second half to tie 2-2 this morning on the adidas Field

SJ's Michael Gehbru scored in the 76th, but Jamie Watson tied the game six minutes later, receving a great through ball from Chase Wileman before slotting it home.

FCD went up 2-1 in the 86th when San Jose defender Jamil Roberts knocked the ball into his own net, in an attempt to clear an Anthony Wallace cross.

But just seconds from the final whistle, Roberts was able to score the game-tying goal, connecting on a header from a free kick sent in by Matt Matzhe.

The FCD Reserves (3-5-3, 12 pts.) will play their final game of the season on Oct. 26 at LA.

FCD 1, SJ Earthquakes 1

UPDATE: Schellas made a good point in the post-game talk with the press. The last ten minutes, at least we grabbed a point, and kept SJ from getting three. Cooper scored the game-tying pk in the 89th minute. We're now tied for third place with COL and RSL with 34 points...this is the 6th time this year we've given up the first goal, and come back to earn points. Its also the fifth time we've earned points with a goal in the last ten minutes.
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Great night for soccer. Only one change to the FCD lineup from the last two games, Duilio Davino returns to center back in place of Aaron Pitchkolan. Pitch is available, as is Victor Sikora who replaces Dax McCarty on the bench. Dax come down with a virus / illness this morning and is on antibiotics.

Gameday

It doesn’t get much better than this. Tonight at Pizza Hut Park, FC Dallas (8-9-9, 33 pts.) squares off against the San Jose Earthquakes 7-10-8, 29 pts.) in an important battle in the playoff race.

Take a look at the standings -- with four games left, FCD is just one point out of the third and final automatic Western Conference playoff spot and three points out of second place. San Jose is four points behind with a game in hand.

FCD has outscored its opponents 7-1 during the team’s two-game winning streak, but the surging Earthquakes have plenty of attacking options in newcomer Darren Huckerby and former Dallas players Arturo Alvarez and Ronnie O’Brien. Read all about how the teams stack up against each other here.

Join us tonight at the stadium where you can enjoy $1 beers on the stage from 7-8pm and $1 sausages throughout the game. If you can’t make it out, you can catch the game live on ESPN2 beginning at 8 p.m.

Splish Splash

Lasting about an hour and 15 minutes, today’s practice on the stadium field was short and focused. First up was an 11 v 11 walk-through followed by some work on set pieces and corners. The team ended training as usual on the day before a game -- with a high intensity small field 6 v 6 game.

As focused as the guys were on the field today, describing them as relaxed off the field would be an understatement. It all started when Andre Rocha and Marcelo Saragosa picked up Chase Wileman (clearly the smallest guy on the team), pulled him out of the hot tub and dropped him into the cold tub, which everyone got a kick out of including Chase.

After some more goofing around resulted in water being splashed everywhere, assistant athletic trainer Alan Reid stepped in a couple of times to ask the guys to stop in an effort to keep the area clean. Of course, that didn’t happen, and it really only caused the guys to step it up a notch.

Resorting to desperate measures, Alan then grabbed Andre’s pants from his locker and after a few minutes of threatening to toss them into the water, actually did so. That’s when Andre got out, picked up Alan (the two are about the same size) and dropped him into the hot tub. All you could hear throughout the locker room was hysterical laughter. Even Alan couldn’t help but crack a smile as he walked away to change into dry clothes.

Funes Brothers at River Plate

Ramiro and Gabriel Funes. Photo: Jimmy Vanegas
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The FCD Juniors teams split their opening games of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy, the 16s winning 3-2 and the 18s surrendering two late goals to U.S. Youth Soccer National Champs Andromeda to fall 2-0. They are preparing for their next games in San Antonio on Oct. 11-12.

Here's a couple bits of news we're excited about, with regard to the Juniors and our relationships with a couple of international clubs...

On Oct. 14, when Tigres UANL comes to Pizza Hut Park to face FCD in the second-leg of the Rio Grande Plate, the Tigres U-16s and U-18s will also be coming up from Monterrey to face our FCD Jrs.' U-16 and U-18s, also here at PHP. We know the players are excited for this opportunity, as are the coaches and execs at both clubs...

The second bit we're excited about: FCD Jrs. U-18 brothers Gabriel and Ramiro Funes are currently training with River Plate's U-18s in Buenos Aires, Argentina. They'll be training there while their documents are finalized to return to school here in the Metroplex. River Plate GM Alfredo Wodke, who traveled to Frisco in July and took care of us in August during our visit to River, welcomed the pair to the complex on Monday.

Gabriel sent us the following note last night:

"We're here at River Plate - its awesome! Being here is such a great experience, because you live with other kids, and more importantly, because the soccer is very competitive. We are living in the River Plate dorm, which is inside what is the stadium complex. We train inside the club, and at Villa Martelli, which is a complex with many fields. We are training with the River Plate U-18s, which so far we've been working a lot with the ball. When we're not at practice, we're at the dorm with the other player, and also go out to mall. We'll try to send some photos. Thanks and hello to everyone."