FC Dallas to face Colorado Rapids in crucial home game

October 17, 2:22 PMFC Dallas ExaminerRobert Walker

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Jeff Cunningham and FC Dallas are in a virtual must-win situation tonight vs. Colorado.
(AP photo/Tony Gutierrez)

It’s rivalry day again in Dallas, and while all eyes may be on the little tussle going on over at the Cotton Bowl, the more heated affair may actually take place a few (dozen) miles to the north, at Pizza Hut Park, where FC Dallas hosts the Colorado Rapids at 7:30 p.m.

Neither team has yet secured a playoff spot with only two games left to play in the regular season, so the competition should be fierce for that reason alone. FC Dallas has 36 points, two points behind New England for the eighth and final playoff spot, and travels to Seattle next week, to face the Sounders in both teams’ final regular season game. Colorado has 40 points, and travels to Real Salt Lake next week, also both teams’ regular season finale.

Considering the Rapids have knocked Dallas out of the playoffs on four separate occasions since 1997, including 2002, 2005 and 2006, tonight’s game has the makings of a tasty little grudge match. FC Dallas can’t knock Colorado out of playoff contention, even if they hand the Rapids a loss, but they can make the road a lot tougher, forcing them into a possible must-win situation when they face Real Salt Lake next week in Utah.

Throw in the fact that these teams have a history of violence, with Dario Sala receiving a six-game suspension and $3,500 fine back in the 2006 MLS playoffs for punching two Rapids players, and things could get down-right personal. Granted, few of the players on either team back then will be on the field tonight at Pizza Hut Park, and neither of the players Sala punched, Hunter Freeman and Jovan Kirovsky, are still with the Rapids. Nor is Mike Petke, who was fined $500 for leaping feet-first at Sala in a sort of half-hearted karate kick. But an incident like that often stays with the clubs involved, and if the two matches earlier this year in Colorado were any indication, tonight’s match will have some tense moments, chippy play, and harsh words between Colorado midfielder Pablo Mastroeni and Dallas midfielder Dax McCarty, both of whom were with their respective teams that night back in ’06.

However, even without all the bad blood between these two teams, tonight’s match-up holds plenty of intrigue, as the two top scorers in the league face off in a battle that could decide the winner of the MLS Golden Boot, annually awarded to the league’s top scorer. FC Dallas striker Jeff Cunningham has been on fire since taking over the starting role in June, scoring 16 goals in his last 13 games, and currently leads the league with 17 goals, one more than Colorado forward Conor Casey. Casey has been on roll as well, having scored twice for the U.S. National Team in their dramatic victory over Honduras Saturday night. He also has been on a torrid goal-scoring pace for the past year and a half, with 26 goals in his last 36 MLS games.

Any question of whether or not this was an important game was answered earlier this week, when FC Dallas coach Schellas Hyndman closed practice to the public and media. According to a story by MLS staffer Steve Hunt, Hyndman said he was trying to limit the team’s distractions during this crucial time of the season. “With a very important game coming up, a game that can separate us from the playoffs…, I want to keep the guys focused,” said Hyndman.

Seems like a reasonable strategy to me, kind of like putting blinders on a racehorse to keep it focused on the race. Also, it could be away of instilling a playoff atmosphere, since FC Dallas probably needs to win the next two games in order to make the postseason tournament for the MLS Cup.
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The good news for FC Dallas is that they definitely have momentum on their side, having won three in a row and four of their last five. They also have a nice 7-game unbeaten streak at home, including wins over league powerhouses Columbus and Houston. The Rapids, on the other hand, have not won a road game since May, and are currently mired in a five-game winless streak that dates back to early September. In fact, they haven’t even scored a goal in the run of play since September 12, when Michael Holody scored in the 89th minute against Toronto.

More good news for FC Dallas is that Colorado will be without the services of midfielder Mehdi Ballouchy (suspended for caution accumulation) and defender Julian Baudet (suspended for red card in last match), and midfielder Colin Clark is out with a torn ACL.

FC Dallas is virtually at full strength, missing only back-up defender Anthony Wallace to a knee injury.