FRISCO, Texas – In a special #ThrowbackThursday edition of the FCD Rewind series, FC Dallas will be streaming the second game in franchise history this Thursday, April 30 from 7-9PM on fcallas.com/OnDemand. Three players who featured in the game, Jason Kreis, Ted Eck and John Kerr Jr., will provide commentary over the match replay on FC Dallas’ Facebook page.
Building The Dallas Burn for Opening Day
For fans who weren’t watching back in ’96, here’s some background on the game and former players who will relive it along with viewers this Thursday evening.
The Game
In its second-ever outing, the Dallas Burn (as FCD was known back then) took on the Kansas City Wiz at the Cotton Bowl on April 18, 1996. The matchup came just four days after the club earned its first win against the San Jose Clash in a dramatic shootout after a scoreless 90 minutes. Kansas City also entered the match on a high having defeated the Colorado Rapids 3-0 in its inaugural game the week prior.
Original Burn head coach Dave Dir fielded a 3-5-2 with a back three of Brandon Pollard, Ed Puskarich and Diego Soñora and a midfield that included Chad Ashton, Leonel Álvarez, Jason Kreis, Richard Farrer and Lawrence Lozzano. Starting up top was the duo of Ted Eck and John Kerr Jr., who will reprise their partnership this Thursday night on Facebook Live.
After a scoreless first half, the Burn erupted into life with rookie Jason Kreis scoring the club’s first goal three minutes after the restart. Washington Rodriguez doubled the lead in the 72nd minute and Kerr added a third goal with five minutes remaining to cap off a resounding 3-0 win for the Burn in front of their home fans. The three points propelled Dallas to the top of the Western Conference and the club wouldn’t fall further than third place during that inaugural campaign; eventually finishing as runners-up to the LA Galaxy over the regular season.
The Players/Commentators
The trio of Jason Kreis, Ted Eck and John Kerr Jr. will be watching the match replay along with viewers this Thursday night and will give commentary in real time on a second screen via FCD Facebook Live.
Kreis was the Dallas Burn’s fifth-round draft pick in 1996 and finished the season as its inaugural top scorer with 13 goals in 31 games. He’d go on to win the 1999 MLS MVP award with the Burn and set club records for most goals (91), assists (65) and appearances (247), all of which are still standing today. Kreis is the current head coach of both the USMNT U-23 squad and Fort Lauderdale CF, Inter Miami’s USL League One affiliate.
Eck became the Burn’s first-ever draft pick after being selected third overall in the original MLS draft. An Illinois native, Eck earned 13 USMNT caps prior to joining the Burn and finished the 1996 season with two goals and six assists—second most on the team. He helped the club win its first trophy with the 1997 U.S. Open Cup victory over D.C. United and retired with the Burn in 2001. He’s now the Director of Video Analysis for Real Salt Lake.
Also a former USMNT player, John Kerr played 12 games for the Burn and scored three goals before joining the New England Revolution in June of 1996 as part of the club’s first-ever player trade. He’s currently the head coach of the Duke men’s soccer team, the same program where he won the Hermann trophy as a player in 1986.
