though they had lost just twice in that span, while FC Dallas had won two games on the trot.
• The Hoops opened the scoring after 55 minutes. Kenny Cooper received a pass at the left corner of the penalty area, shook off the marking of Chivas defender Tim Regan, and fired a wicked shot inside the far upper corner for his ninth goal on the campaign.
• But Chivas were able to fight back and snatch the equalizer nine minutes from the end. A cross came in from the right, but the wild clearance succeeded only in popping the ball up near the edge of the area. Juan Pablo Garcia came in and hammered home a volley past Dario Sala -- who had done more than his share in keeping Chivas off the board to that point.
FC DALLAS
FC Dallas is unbeaten in their last three games, now leading the Western Conference by seven points. They have 46 points from 26 matches, ahead of Houston Dynamo (who have played one more match), and still trail D.C. United by five points in the chase for the MLS Supporters' Shield.
TEAM NEWS
• FC Dallas head coach Colin Clarke made three changes to the team that defeated Houston 1-0 at Pizza Hut Park the previous Saturday. Bobby Rhine returned from suspension, coming in for Justin Moore at right back, while Clarence Goodson came back into central defense, replacing Alex Yi. Abe Thompson also got the start in attack, instead of the suspended Carlos Ruiz.
• Here's Clarke's team (4-4-2): Dario Sala - Bobby Rhine, Clarence Goodson, Greg Vanney, Chris Gbandi - Ronnie O'Brien, Richard Mulrooney (Dominic Oduro 88), Simo Valakari, Ramon Nunez (Arturo Alvarez 80) - Kenny Cooper (Marcelo Saragosa 69), Abe Thompson. [Substitutes Not Used: Shaka Hislop, Drew Moor, Aaron Pitchkolan, David Wagenfuhr]
• "We weren't good enough with the ball for about five minutes at the end," said Clarke. "You're up with 10 minutes to go so it's disappointing to give it up at the end."
• FC Dallas struggled to fend off Chivas USA's furious attacks on goal through much of the second half, particularly after bunkering into a defensive posture after Cooper put the Hoops ahead.
• "It was a pretty wide open game," said Clarke. "They threw a lot of bodies forward towards the end and we just couldn't hang on." Added defender Greg Vanney: "We lost our shape at the end and our lack of discipline led to too many chances for Chivas. We have to be tactically more disciplined from beginning to end. Before the game a tie would have been an OK result but to get a tie after being up a goal late is frustrating."
• The inability to hang on to a late lead is indicative of a problem midfielder Ronnie O'Brien said has followed the team through much of the season. "We get complacent and haven't played as well as we can," he said. "We really need to pick up our performance - we can't limp into the playoffs like we do every year."
• With a loss by the Los Angeles Galaxy on Sunday and a win at home on Wednesday again versus Chivas, FC Dallas can clinch a playoff spot. "We need to win Wednesday," said Vanney. "Chivas' backs are up against the wall and we're at home so we definitely need to get a result."
• Clarke was pleased with the play of Abe Thompson, who partnered Cooper in attack in place of Carlos Ruiz. But the Guatemalan international will return for the midweek game.
• "Thompson played very well, he held the ball up, maintained possession, brought people in to play and he was unlucky on a couple of chances," he said. "We've had goals from different areas and that's pleasing - we're not just relying on Carlos to score."
• The first game against Chivas began a run of three home-and-home series FC Dallas will play against Western Conference opposition over the remainder of the season - certain to have a massive effect on the end-of-season table. Over the next two weekends, the Hoops and Real Salt Lake will play a home-and-away series, then FCD and the Los Angeles Galaxy finish the season with a home-and-home couplet, Oct. 7 in Frisco and Oct. 14 in Carson. "We just got to keep picking up points here and there and hopefully it'll keep us firing away as we come into the playoffs," said O'Brien.
CHIVAS USA
Chivas USA now have 10 draws in their last 15 games (since June 21), but pulled into a tie for third place in the Western Conference with 35 points from 26 matches, level with the Colorado Rapids. The two teams trail Houston Dynamo by four points, and are two points ahead of fifth-place Real Salt Lake, three ahead of the last-place Los Angeles Galaxy.
TEAM NEWS
• Chivas USA head coach Bob Bradley made two changes to the team that lost 2-1 to D.C. United the previous Sunday at The Home Depot Center. Jesus Morales returned to the lineup, coming in to partner Ante Razov in attack as Jonathan Bornstein went back to fullback, replacing Orlando Perez, while Brad Guzan came in for Preston Burpo in goal.
• Here's Bradley's team (4-4-2): Brad Guzan - Tim Regan, Jason Hernandez, Claudio Suarez, Jonathan Bornstein - Juan Pablo Garcia, Sacha Kljestan (Matt Taylor 77), Jesse Marsch, Francisco Mendoza - Jesus Morales (Orlando Perez 70), Ante Razov. [Substitutes Not Used: Preston Burpo, Carlos Llamosa, Rodrigo Lopez, Lawson Vaughn, Brent Whitfield]
• "The biggest frustration I think we have tonight is another home game that we felt like we certainly had the best chances to take the lead, and yet we are always playing from behind," Bradley said. "That's when it takes a really good effort to still keep pushing. To tie the game up takes a lot energy out of you and when you want to push a little harder to win, your tank runs a little bit empty.
• For Brad Guzan, it was his first start in goal in a league game since May 20 (the sixth game of the season), a 5-4 loss to the New York Red Bulls.
• "Sometimes, in the run of the season, you feel like the goalkeeper that's played some games needs to take some time off to take a little bit of a deep breath, and step back," Bradley said. "I think Preston gave us a really good run of games, but I felt that it was a good time to push Brad back. He's been pretty sharp in training and I think he played well tonight.
• It was an 11th draw for Chivas, now two away from the MLS record set in 2004 by the Columbus Crew - which also led them to a Supporters' Shield that season.
• "We don't have a killer instinct," Juan Pablo Garcia said. "With a killer instinct, we could have scored a goal or two early and we could have made this a different result and not suffer as much going forward. We've been missing that all season and now it's really weighing on us, that lack of experience. We have left a lot of points behind and today we left two more on the table."
• Chivas finished the game with a season-high 20 shots but just seven on goal. Too often, poor marksmanship cost Chivas opportunities to score. Jesus Morales was the club's most active player and came closest to scoring before Garcia's late equalizer when he nailed the crossbar from 25 yards out midway through the first half.
• "That's the way soccer works. That's the frustration. The play ... is a great opportunity and we don't capitalize," Bradley said. "(Mendoza) also had a couple of good chances in the first half. To create some opportunities, take the lead and get rewarded I think is something is pretty important and of late we have not found a way to do that enough."
• Chivas now faces a difficult two-game trip to Texas. After Wednesday's game at Pizza Hut Park, they play Houston on Sunday at Robertson Stadium
• "Our mentality has been good. We haven't put our heads down when we're down. We keep playing. We keep getting after it," midfielder Jesse Marsch said. "Even sometimes I think we play better which is something if we can play that good from the beginning maybe we would not fall behind."
