FC DALLAS STAYS HOT DESPITE THE COLD:
In its first week of preseason matches, FC Dallas was a perfect 3-0, picking up wins over college teams, the University of Memphis and SMU before claiming a 2-1 win over Houston 1836 on Saturday at Pizza Hut Park in the first match between the two Texas rivals. The one constant in all three games was inclement weather, but not even that could stop Colin Clarke's side from claiming three wins while conceding just one goal. Rookie forward Dominic Oduro and second year striker Abe Thompson each had a pair of goals against SMU and Houston respectively, making them the joint top-scorers for the club with four players, Christopher Joyce, Justin Moore, Carlos Ruiz and Mario Torres just behind them with one goal each. At the other end of the pitch, rookie Ray Burse Jr. recorded shutouts in his two matches against Memphis and SMU while Jeff Cassar and Dario Sala each saw 45 minutes of action and played well against Houston. The Hoops will have one match in McKinney this week against Southwest Missouri State and will hold training session every other day.
TRAINING SCHEDULE*:
Tuesday, February 21: 10:00 a.m. @ Pizza Hut Park
Wednesday, February 22: 10:00 a.m. @ Pizza Hut Park
Thursday, February 23: 10:00 a.m. @ Pizza Hut Park
Friday, February 24: 10:00 a.m. @ Pizza Hut Park
Saturday, February 24: 10:00 a.m. GAME vs. Southwest Missouri State @ Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas
- Schedule is subject to change.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES:
MONTERREY MATCH OFF: FC Dallas' match against Monterrey, originally scheduled for Wednesday evening in Laredo has been called off. There will be no makeup date for this match and instead the team will now train on Wednesday morning at Pizza Hut Park. FC Dallas will be back in action on Saturday when it hosts Southwest Missouri State at Craig Ranch in McKinney.
CLUB RELEASES THREE: Colin Clarke made his first roster moves of the season on Monday afternoon when he released three players from his 34-man training camp squad. Midfielder Mike Ambersley, forward Peter Louis and defender Brad Napper were all released by the team, putting the Hoops just three players away from the 28-man roster limit. Ambersley played in all three of FCD's preseason matches while Louis and Napper each appeared against Memphis and SMU.
FCD ADDS A PRESEASON GAME: Despite having to cancel its match against Monterrey, FC Dallas will still play five preseason matches this month as Colin Clarke has added a second game against SMU. FCD beat the Mustangs 4-0 on Wednesday night at Westcott Field, and the two teams will be in action once again on Tuesday, February 28. This match will be played at 5:30 p.m. on the adidas Field at Pizza Hut Park and will be free and open to the public. This will be the team's final preseason game before leaving for it's two week stay in Europe.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE COMES TO PHP: On both Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon, Pizza Hut Park will be the place to be for fans who want to see the UEFA Champions League. At 1:45 p.m. on Tuesday, Arsenal will take on Real Madrid at Bernabeu in Madrid while Chelsea and Barcelona will do battle exactly 24 hours later from London with both matches being broadcast on ESPN2 and aired live at the Verizon Wireless Club.
The return legs of each of these fixtures will be played two weeks later on March 7 and 8 with both matches again being shown live inside the Verizon Wireless Club. </p>
