FRISCO, Texas - FC Dallas defeated Chivas USA 2-0 tonight in front of 6,015 fans at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas.
Benefiting Kids Across America and the FC Dallas Foundation, the charity match was the defending Western Conference Champions' final preseason tune-up before it faces the Chicago Fire at Pizza Hut Park on Saturday, March 19. The opening match of the 2011 season, next weekend's match is scheduled to kickoff at 7:30 p.m. CT. FC Dallas will also host a reserve match against the University of Central Arkansas on Sunday at 11 a.m. CT on the adidas Field at Pizza Hut Park.
PURCHASE TICKETS: FC Dallas vs. Chicago Fire, March 19 at 7:30 p.m.
FC Dallas got things rolling in the 24th minute when Chivas was whistled for a handball at the top of the box. Dallas’ captain Daniel Hernandez opted to take the free kick, bending a light shot to the near post. Blinded by the large contingent of FC Dallas and Chivas players in the wall, Chivas goalkeeper Zach Thornton did not see the shot until it was too late. Thornton did not move and the shot ducked just under the crossbar to give Dallas the one goal lead.
Chivas fired back in the 35th minute, when a through ball played in to the feet of Marcos Mondaini had the FC Dallas defense beat. In alone on goal against Chris Seitz, Mondaini chipped his shot over the sliding goalkeeper to the back post, only to have FC Dallas center back Brek Shea recover in time to knock the ball off the goal line.
“I thought Seitz did a really good job of cutting down the striker’s angle on the play,” Shea said following the match. “If I was the striker, I would have taken the same shot he did. Chipping the ball to the back post was the only shot he had. It gave me just enough time to catch up to it though.”
Playing with a 1-0 lead, FC Dallas head coach Schellas Hyndman made three changes at halftime. He brought on Ricardo Villar for Eric Avila and pushed Eric Alexander out to the left flank. In the back, Hyndman switched Zach Loyd in for Jair Benitez at left back. Ruben Luna also replaced Milton Rodriguez up front.
It only took Luna eight minutes to find the back of the net. Following a long run by Ferreira down the left flank, Chivas won back possession of the ball deep inside the 18-yard box. Attempting to knock the ball back to their goalkeeper, a Chivas defender passed the ball directly to Luna, who chipped a shot to the back post for a 2-0 lead in the 53rd minute.
The match took another turn in favor of the home side near the 60th minute. Chivas captain Jimmy Conrad got into a shoving match with Luna following the next FC Dallas scoring chance. The altercation produced yellow cards for both parties. After the players had separated, FC Dallas gained control of the ball near midfield, getting it to the feet of Marvin Chavez on the right side. One quick cut to the inside by Chavez left Conrad a step behind. The resulting tackle brought Chavez to the ground and the referee deemed it worthy of a second yellow card, forcing Chivas to play the remainder of the match with 10 men.
Three minutes later FC Dallas nearly made it a three-goal game when Jackson came free on the right flank. With plenty of time, Jackson drove a low cross in to the foot of Luna, who struck the ball well with his first touch. Moving right-to-left, Chivas goalkeeper Thornton made the save of the night, getting just enough on Luna's shot to keep it from dribbling over the goal line.
Scoring Summary:
DAL: Daniel Hernandez 24
DAL: Ruben Luna 53
FC Dallas: Chris Seitz, Jair Benitez (Zach Loyd 46), Brek Shea, George John (Scott Gordon 86), Jackson (Moises Hernandez 81), Marvin Chavez (Bruno Guarda 85), Eric Alexander (Andrew Weideman 76), Daniel Hernandez (Bobby Warshaw 83), Eric Avila (Ricardo Villar 46), David Ferrreira (Andrew Jacobson 76), Milton Rodriguez (Ruben Luna 46).
Subs Not Used: Josh Lambo, Bryan Leyva, Peri Marosevic, Victor Ulloa
Chivas USA: Zach Thornton, Heath Pearce, Zarek Valentin, Jimmy Conrad, Ante Jazic, Ben Zemanski, Labrocca, Francisco Mendoza (Mariano Trujillo 76), Marcos Mondaini (Jorge Flores 84), Justin Braun, Alejandro Moreno (Tristan Bowen 76)
Subs Not Used: Dan Kennedy, Andrew Boyens, Owusu, Michael Umana
Misconduct Summary:
Ruben Luna (caution) 61
Jimmy Conrad (caution) 61
Conrad (caution) 62
Conrad (ejection) 62
