where they currently rest a point outside -- after falling in the U.S. Open Cup Final on Wednesday at RFK Stadium.
REFEREE: Ricardo Salazar. SAR (bench): George Gansner; JAR (opposite): Steven Taylor; 4th: Landis Wiley MLS Career: 98 games; FC/gm: 28.4; Y/gm: 3.7; R: 29; pens: 34
INJURY REPORT: FC DALLAS - OUT: MF Alvaro Sanchez (R ankle); PROBABLE: D George John (L hamstring) ... D.C. UNITED - OUT: MF Brandon Barklage (anterior cruciate ligament surgery); FW Thabiso Khumalo (broken radius); FW Ange N'Silu (hamstring strain); PROBABLE: MF Andrew Jacobson (ankle)
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none
SUSPENDED: DC: Dejan Jakovic (caution accumulation; through Sept. 6)
WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: DAL: Atiba Harris, Ugo Ihemelu ... DC: Marc Burch, Clyde Simms
SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: DAL: Pablo Ricchetti, Andre Rocha ... DC: Fred, Christian Gomez, Julius James, Ben Olsen, Chris Pontius, Rodney Wallace, Josh Wicks
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (33 meetings): FC Dallas 15 wins (4 shootout), 58 goals ... United 13 wins (0 shootout), 62 goals ... Ties 5
AT DALLAS (18 meetings): FC Dallas 11 wins (2 shootout), 34 goals ... United 6 wins (0 shootout), 24 goals ... Ties 1
• FC Dallas snapped a six-game league winless streak against D.C. United in the second meeting between the teams last year, a 3-0 on Sept. 28 at Pizza Hut Park. FCD had last defeated United on May 28, 2005, a 2-0 win at RFK Stadium; United won three of the following six encounters, with three draws.
• That 2005 win was just one of four all-time in the nation's capital for Dallas -- though just two have come with the final whistle. The last previous FCD victory came Sept. 19, 2002, in a golden-goal overtime winner; the first two Dallas wins on East Capitol Street both came via the shootout (May 10, 1997; June 7, 1998).
• FCD's 3-0 win last year also marked United's first-ever loss at Pizza Hut Park, winning the previous three league meetings there. The last Dallas home win in the series had come July 24, 2004, at the Cotton Bowl.
• The teams also met this season in a first-round play-in game in the U.S. Open Cup, April 22 at RFK Stadium. Fred (21) and Brandon Barklage (66) scored for United as they began defense of their title, eventually reaching Wednesday's final before losing to Seattle Sounders FC..
• Coaches record: Schellas Hyndman vs. DC: P3 W1 L1 D1 ... Tom Soehn v DAL: P5 W2 L1 D2
LAST MEETING (MLS):
5/2: DC 2, DAL 1 (Moreno 56, 66 - Andre Rocha 28)
• D.C. United claimed a 2-1 victory in the first league meeting between the teams this season, on May 2 at RFK Stadium.
• The teams were meeting for the second time in 10 days, after United had defeated FCD 2-0 in a U.S. Open Cup play-in match. This time it was Andre Rocha who put FCD into the lead in the 28th minute, stooping to send home a glancing header at the near post from a corner kick.
• But after the break, Moreno once again brought United to victory. After becoming the first-ever MLS player to hit triple digits in both goals and assists, he added to his all-time goals lead with strikes 11 minutes apart. First, in the 56th minute, the Bolivian was sent in alone by a long ball from Bryan Namoff over the FCD backline, and he sent a low shot home past goalkeeper Ray Burse.
• Then in the 66th minute, a sublime through ball was filtered through the Dallas defense from Christian Gomez, and Moreno was again in alone, this time lofting a lovely chip over Burse for the 124th goal of his MLS career.
• Here's Soehn's team (3-4-1-2): Milos Kocic - Bryan Namoff, Dejan Jakovic, Marc Burch - Chris Pontius, Ben Olsen (Christian Gomez 58), Clyde Simms, Rodney Wallace - Santino Quaranta - Luciano Emilio (Greg Janicki 84), Jaime Moreno (Andrew Jacobson 74). Substitutes Not Used: Louis Crayton, Thabiso Khumalo, Devon McTavish, Ange N'Silu
• Here's Hyndman's team (4-1-3-2): Ray Burse - Marcelo Saragosa, Drew Moor, Daniel Torres (Steve Purdy 67), Blake Wagner - Pablo Ricchetti (Peri Marosevic 75) - Andre Rocha (Eric Avila 79), Dax McCarty, Dave van den Bergh - Kenny Cooper, David Ferreira. Substitutes Not Used: Kyle Davies, Bruno Guarda, Josh Lambo, Alvaro Sanchez
FC DALLAS
FC Dallas return to action after losing for the second consecutive week last time out, a 3-2 loss to the New York Red Bulls on Aug. 23 at Giants Stadium. FCD has 23 points from 22 matches, still in seventh place in the Western Conference, 17 points behind division leaders Houston Dynamo.
LAST MATCH
• The Red Bulls were in the second game of a five-game homestand riding a six-game losing streak. FC Dallas were on the road for a second consecutive week, a two-game winning streak put to an end in Columbus the week before.
• The Red Bulls jumped into the lead after just four minutes. Albert Celades played a through ball from the center circle for Juan Pablo Angel and, seeing Dario Sala well off his line, the Colombian sent an audacious chip over his former River Plate teammate from well outside the area for the club's first lead in a game since June 20.
• But the visitors were level by the 19-minute mark. Jeff Cunningham chased down a long deflected ball in the right corner and floated a cross back into the heart of the area, where Dax McCarty came in from deep to send a looping header into the left side of the net for his first goal on the season.
• Yet nine minutes later the Red Bulls had again nosed in front. John Wolyniec chased down a long ball from Celades, cut back in the area and sent a low cross to the far post where Richards tapped the ball home.
• The Red Bulls went a man down in the 60th minute when Kevin Goldthwaite was shown a straight red card after some grappling for a corner kick, and then 12 minutes FCD took advantage to again pull even. McCarty slipped the ball to Dave van den Bergh on the left, and the former Red Bulls man hit a spectacular curling effort inside the far post for his second goal.
• But two minutes from the end, New York snatched the winner. Mac Kandji burst free down the left flank and hit a powerful angled drive that Sala could only parry. Angel steamed in to tap the rebound over the fallen 'keeper for his 42nd goal with New York, the club's all-time leader, securing its first victory since May 8.
• FC Dallas head coach Schellas Hyndman made one change to the team that lost 2-0 to the Columbus Crew the week before. Pablo Ricchetti came back from suspension, into central defense in place of Daniel Torres.
• Here's Hyndman's team (4-4-1-1): Dario Sala - Drew Moor, Kyle Davies (Eric Avila 71), Pablo Ricchetti, Jair Benitez - Atiba Harris, Dax McCarty, Dave van den Bergh, Brek Shea (Andre Rocha 38) - David Ferreira - Jeff Cunningham. Substitutes Not Used: Ray Burse, Bruno Guarda, Peri Marosevic, Daniel Torres, Blake Wagner
TEAM NEWS
• After the D.C. United match, FC Dallas will have four of their final seven games on the road, where they are just 1-8-2 on the season.
• "I think we've been very good at home and have won those. Then we have to find a way to steal some wins on the road. I thought we played well enough to win in New York and decent enough in Columbus to maybe steal a point," said Dave van den Bergh.
• After qualifying for the playoffs in each of the first seven years in club history, FCD did not reach the postseason in 2003 and 2004. The club then qualified for three consecutive years before missing out last year.
• "I think the future is we have to believe that we're mathematically still in position to get to 40 points," Hyndman said. "Once we are no longer mathematically in that position, then we can start talking about next year. I don't think I would do any justice to my position to have any other thought. I'm disappointed that we've let points slip through our hands but every team that's fighting for a playoff spot can probably say the same thing."
• While Hyndman has kept his team essentially the same since the departure of Kenny Cooper to Germany, he did make a fundamental change early in the New York match, taking off Brek Shea and putting Andre Rocha into a central midfield role, moving van den Bergh back to the left wing where he spent much of the first months of the season.
• "I think (Shea) wasn't having a great performance out there, and I thought we needed to get more into the midfield and get van den Bergh out wide. So that was more of a tactical move," said Hyndman.
• FC Dallas has now lost their last four road games, and hasn't won away from Pizza Hut Park since May 31 (a 2-0 win at Chicago). After the D.C. United match, FCD has four of its final seven games on the road - including the next two, at Los Angeles (Sept. 12) then at Kansas City (Sept. 19).
• "It just comes down to the little things and doing those right-defending well as a team and putting away your chances," Dax McCarty said. "It seems like there are just little breakdowns here and there that cost us dearly. If we can eliminate that and put together an important run in the last few weeks and try to grind out some results, I think it's definitely a possibility.
• In the days leading up to the match, FCD dealt its longest-tenured player, defender Drew Moor, to the Colorado Rapids in exchange for defender Ugo Ihemelu. Ihemelu played for Hyndman during his collegiate days at Southern Methodist University.
D.C. UNITED
D.C. United put an end to their four-game winless run, defeating the Chicago Fire 1-0 on Saturday evening at Toyota Park. United have 32 points from 23 matches on the season, now in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, a point behind the third-place New England Revolution and seven points out of first place.
LAST MATCH
• The Fire were coming off a stirring 3-2 come-from-behind win against Colorado that gave them two wins in a week-long stretch, while United had been shut out in back-to-back league games and were winless in their last four in MLS play.
• The game's only goal came after 11 minutes. Christian Gomez flighted in a free kick from the right flank and Bryan Namoff slashed into to meet at the top of the box, flicking it over a defender and into the left corner for his second goal on the campaign.
• United head coach Tom Soehn made one change to the team that played to a scoreless draw with the Los Angeles Galaxy the Saturday before at RFK Stadium. Julius James made his first league start for D.C., coming in for Rodney Wallace.
• Here's Soehn's team (4-4-2): Josh Wicks - Bryan Namoff, Dejan Jakovic, Julius James, Marc Burch - Santino Quaranta (Chris Pontius 72), Clyde Simms, Ben Olsen, Fred (Rodney Wallace 83) - Christian Gomez (Jaime Moreno 62), Luciano Emilio. Substitutes Not Used: David Habarugira, Avery John, Milos Kocic, Devon McTavish
TEAM NEWS
• After playing the entirety of the league campaign with three defenders, Soehn put out his team in a back four - something he had done in the Champions League matches prior to the visit to Chicago.
• "I was most pleased with the defensive effort," Soehn said. "We had more urgency going in. We know we've had success in this building and we wanted three points." Said goalkeeper Josh Wicks: "It's great, they threw everything but the kitchen sink at us, but we did our job. We're a good team, we're putting the pieces together and the defense was very solid."
• For United, the victory ended a nine-game road winless streak, their first MLS victory away from RFK Stadium since the dramatic comeback April 26 at New York. "There was a lot of focus going into this game," said Soehn. "We came here for three points and they did a great job to accomplish that today."
• Bryan Namoff scored a second goal in a season for the first time in his nine-year MLS career, and increased his career league output to four goals, three of those coming in the last two seasons. His first MLS goal came in 2005.
• "It's a play we've been working on in practice, making sure our runs are dynamic," said Namoff, who estimated he had 15 family members at the match. "I ran around a couple of picks to create some space and Christian hit it perfectly."
• The goal ended a 194-minute scoreless streak for United dating to the 87th minute of their 4-3 loss at Houston on Aug. 1, and snapped an eight-game winless run in all competitions, which included two losses and two draws in CONCACAF Champions League play.
• "We were wound pretty tight the last couple days," midfielder Ben Olsen said to The Washington Post. "We really wanted this and sometimes it spills over. It shows that guys care. People get pretty intense during stressful times. I don't like to see it, but it happens."
• On Wednesday, United went lost 2-1 to Seattle Sounders FC in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final. Fredy Montero put the expansion club ahead in the 67th minute, and United goalkeeper Josh Wicks was sent off in the aftermath. Roger Levesque doubled Seattle's lead in the 86th minute, and while Clyde Simms scored three minutes later, it wasn't enough to bring the 10-man United all the way back.
• "To his credit, Josh kept us in there and then Josh makes a mistake that costs us in the end," said Soehn afterwards. "He's got to be smarter than that. ... Actually when they got their goal I thought we were getting the momentum our way. It was discouraging to [concede] the goal and I feel like if we would've had 11 men on the field we still could've impacted that game better."
• Here's Soehn's team: Josh Wicks; Bryan Namoff, Dejan Jakovic, Marc Burch; Fred (Santino Quaranta 46), Clyde Simms, Ben Olsen (Rodney Wallace 82), Chris Pontius; Christian Gomez (Milos Kocic 71), Jaime Moreno, Luciano Emilio. Subs Not Used: Avery John, Andrew Jacobson, Danny Szetela, Devon McTavish
