RSL v. FC Dallas[R]

[SoccerPrime]

Well the game will be at 6pm IF Iggy's has the Direct Kick package. If not, you'll have to wait until 11pm to see it.
🙁

[AreliusII]

Kreis heads up new MLS team
Ex-Dallas MVP brings expansion Real Salt Lake to Cotton Bowl


02:23 AM CDT on Saturday, April 23, 2005

By STEVE DAVIS / The Dallas Morning News


A franchise's longtime darling is coming home to oppose his former team – just as that team has become the darling of Major League Soccer.

Jason Kreis, the face of the formerly named Dallas Burn and the MLS all-time leading scorer, guides expansion Real Salt Lake today on its first Cotton Bowl visit.

Letting go of its six-time MVP last November helped FC Dallas build its new strike force. That heralded trio of attackers – Eddie Johnson, Carlos Ruiz and Ronnie O'Brien – solidified the local club as the trendy choice for lead title contender.

FC Dallas' performances thus far have only amplified the buzz: Manager Colin Clarke's team has won its only home game and earned a win and a tie in two road tests. With a win or tie at Fair Park today, the club will be undefeated after four games for just the third time in 10 seasons.

The 7 p.m. kickoff – 30 minutes earlier than usual – looms large for FC Dallas for yet another reason: Seven of its next eight games are on the road.

If FC Dallas' burst into the 2005 season is the dominant story line, Kreis' return is the chief subplot.

FC Dallas traded Kreis to Real (pronounced ray-ALL) six months ago for future considerations. Now he returns to face the team for which he scored 92 times over nine seasons. Kreis still has plenty of pals wearing the red and white FC Dallas "hoops."

"He's a great friend off the field," said FC Dallas defender Bobby Rhine, a Kreis teammate for six seasons. "I know he worked harder than ever in the off-season and he looks good right now.

"I hope he has a great season – just not on Saturday."

Real's roster also includes former FC Dallas defender Matt Behncke and goalkeeper D.J. Countess, the local club's starting 'keeper in 2003.

But the focus will be on Kreis, who scored Real's first goal and owns the unprecedented honor of recording the debut goals for two franchises.

After a turbulent period of adjustment, Kreis says he is enjoying Utah. The early preseason was difficult because his wife was in Dallas, handling the sale of their house, taking care of their two sons and overseeing the move without his assistance.

And putting on a different uniform seemed painfully odd initially, he admitted.

"Obviously, this weekend will be really weird," said Kreis, who said he always gets a little nervous before games. "For this one, I've had butterflies in my stomach the whole week."

Kreis says he harbors no bad feelings for FC Dallas management and describes the move West as "bittersweet."

"When I got here, I started to realize the opportunities I had in Salt Lake and started getting excited about the chances we had to do something here," he said.

E-mail stevedavis [at] dallasnews.com




MATCH FACTS
This is the teams' first of four meetings. ... Real managed a 0-0 tie in horrible weather in New Jersey and lost at Los Angeles in its two road matches so far. ... Clint Mathis, who helped build a career with huge games against Dallas, has Real's only assist so far. (And he brought back the Mohawk, first seen at World Cup 2002.)



MAN OF THE MOMENT
FC Dallas' high-scoring trio is getting all the publicity pop, but energetic midfielder Richard Mulrooney is the team engine. Mulrooney may not hammer opposing attackers as often as fellow midfielder Simo Valakari, but he does generally cover more ground.

[AreliusII]

FC Dallas-Real Salt Lake Preview
/ Associated Press
Posted: 24 hours ago

GAME: Real Salt Lake (1-1-1) at FC Dallas (2-0-1).

TIME: Saturday, 8 p.m. EDT.

Expansion club Real Salt Lake made Jason Kreis its first acquisition because of his prolific scoring. FC Dallas knows a little something about that.

Kreis faces his former team for the first time when Salt Lake visits unbeaten Dallas.

Salt Lake obtained its first player in MLS in November, getting Kreis from Dallas in exchange for future considerations two days before the league's expansion draft.

Kreis, the MLS' all-time leading scorer with 92 goals, had played for Dallas since it became a team in 1996. He also holds the MLS record for game-winning goals, with 28.

Kreis has scored one of Salt Lake's two goals this season as the team has gotten off to a 1-1-1 start. Salt Lake played its home opener last Saturday and recorded the franchise's first win, as Brian Dunseth scored in the 81st minute of a 1-0 victory over the Colorado Rapids.

The game drew 25,287 at Rice-Eccles Stadium, making the home opener the highest-attended professional sporting event in Utah history.

"It was a great day and a day I'll never forget," Salt Lake owner Dave Checketts said. "The community was very supportive, the game was fun and exciting and we won, so it couldn't be much better."

Kreis said Salt Lake City already feels like home to the players.

"It's pretty amazing," he said. "Those things took a lot of time in Dallas. I think all that stuff is just coming together really well and really quickly. The support has just been awesome."

Dallas hasn't missed Kreis' scoring so far this season. It beat CD Chivas USA 3-1 last Saturday to improve to 2-0-1, and is tied for second in the league in goals with five.

The club is off to the second-best start in team history, topped only by the 1998 season when it opened with three straight wins.

Ronnie O'Brien opened the scoring in the 40th minute Saturday, Carlos Ruiz added a goal in the 85th minute and Eddie Johnson completed the scoring in the 90th minute with his second goal of the season for Dallas.

"If you watched all three of our games so far, you can see that we're getting better and better every game," Johnson said. "Later in the season after we get more games in and people get comfortable with each other, we're going to be hard to beat."

STANDINGS: Real Salt Lake - 4 points, 2nd place, 3 PB, Western Conference. FC Dallas - 7 points, 1st place, Western Conference.

TEAM LEADERS: Real Salt Lake - Kreis and Dunseth, 1 goal and 2 points; Clint Mathis, 1 assist. FC Dallas - Johnson, 2 goals; O'Brien, 2 assists; Johnson and O'Brien, 4 points.

GOALKEEPERS: Real Salt Lake - D.J. Countess (1-1-1, 2 SO, 1.00 GAA). FC Dallas - Scott Garlick (2-0-1, 1, 0.67).

ROAD/HOME RECORDS: Real Salt Lake - 0-1-1 on the road; FC Dallas - 1-0-0 at home.

[dasoccerplayafosho]

Goal off of a flop-
that's kind of frustrating, ruiz needs to stay on his feet when he's not knocked over

[Rover]

I had a complete analysis ready for this game, but . . . there's no point.

BURN THE TAPE.

Nothing to learn from this one.

Bring on San Jose.

[Deuce]

That card was a mis-carriage of Justice.

Two of the goals were from dives.
The only legitimate goal was by Johnson when he ran passed Rojas.

That game was awful!

Classic analysis in post-game from Mathis;
"We will have to check our shorts to see what is there then move on"
Something like that anyway!

[SoccerAddict]

Defensively, the left side was awful. Rojas and Tiger should've just stayed in the locker room. 🙁

[RSL Supporter]

Tiger didn't play on the left...

[SoccerAddict]

Originally Posted by RSL Supporter

Tiger didn't play on the left...

Sorry, it's late... Those were supposed to be two separate observations.

1. Defensively the left side looked weak.

2. I thought Rojas and Tiger played exceptionally poor.

[Rover]

Originally Posted by SoccerAddict

Sorry, it's late... Those were supposed to be two separate observations.

1. Defensively the left side looked weak.

2. I thought Rojas and Tiger played exceptionally poor.

Think maybe they've seen enough of Eddie Johnson this year?