FRISCO, Texas — Kevin Hartman's a glass-half-full kind of guy, which is why he isn't all that concerned that FC Dallas have yet to beat the Colorado Rapids this year.
“We haven’t beaten them this year, but they haven’t beaten us either,” said the veteran ‘keeper, who will likely start the fifth MLS Cup of his storied career.
On July 31, these clubs met at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo., and finished in a 1-1 draw [WATCH HIGHLIGHTS]. FCD drew first blood after an own-goal by the Rapids’ Julien Baudet, but Dallas' advantage lasted exactly four minutes as Mehdi Ballouchy drew things level off a penalty kick after Atiba Harris handled in the box.
These sides met again on Oct. 9 at Pizza Hut Park and Colorado jumped to an early lead through Jeff Larentowicz. A 27th-minute tally by Milton Rodríguez drew things level for the home team, and a goal by David Ferreira 10 minutes later gave FCD the advantage. However, Larentowicz struck again to tie things up [WATCH HIGHLIGHTS].
If those two results proved one thing to FCD head coach Schellas Hyndman, it’s that Conor Casey and Omar Cummings are just two players he and his team need to account for on Sunday night at BMO Field (8:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, Galavisión).
“I think they have arguably the two best strikers in the league with Casey and Omar,” Hyndman said. “One is big, strong and very courageous. The other one is Omar Cummings, who’s one of the fastest and most powerful players in the league.”
But Hyndman knows it doesn’t end there for the Rapids.
“In the midfield with Jeff [Larentowicz] and Pablo [Mastroeni], I think they’ve really made that team the engine of that team," Hyndman said. "In the back, Drew Moor and Marvell Wynne are two solid defenders. They complement each other.
"Pickens [is solid] in goal. That’s just the spine of the team, the center of the team. They’ve got the support players on the side of the field like the acquisition of Brian Mullan, Anthony Wallace and [Macoumba] Kandji. They’re a very good team.”
Ready to launch: MLS Matchday 2010, The new official MLS iPhone app. It's FREE! Download it here!
