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Toja scores as FC Dallas hands Rapids their fourth straight loss

Jun 24, 2007 - 4:27 AM COMMERCE CITY, Colorado (Ticker) -- Juan Toja scored the game's only goal and Dario Sala recorded a shutout to lift FC Dallas to a 1-0 victory over the Colorado Rapids.

Toja scored his fourth goal of the season on an easy tap-in into an open goal off a rebound in the 62nd minute.

Clarence Goodson received a nice drop pass from Drew Moor and blasted a shot off Colorado goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul. The rebound fell right to Toja for the easy goal.

"I was very pleased, I thought it was a good road performance for the team," FC Dallas coach Steve Morrow said.

Sala made just two saves en route to his second shutout of the season and the eighth of his career.

"We had a game plan going in of what we wanted to do," Morrow said. "For everyone to get behind the ball defensively and be compact and possess the ball well when we had it, I thought we did that very well throughout the game."

Even though he did not make many saves, Sala did keep the game scoreless with a nice save on Hercules Gomez's shot just before the end of the first half. Sala deflected the point-blank shot over the net.

FC Dallas, which has won three of its last four games, outshot Colorado, 8-7.

Colorado lost its fourth straight contest despite an excellent effort from Coundoul.

"June was a rough month, but there is nothing we can do about it now," Coundoul said. "June is over, July is coming and July is going to be positive."

Coundoul made five saves, including two big ones in the second half which kept Colorado in the game. The 25-year-old stopped Carlos Ruiz's breakaway opportunity in the 74th minute and made a one-handed save on another shot by Ruiz in the 86th minute.

"At the end of the day they scored a goal, we open up and Bouna had to make two great saves," Rapids coach Fernando Clavijo said. "You know the score could have been 2-0 or 3-0."

"I thought that making that it would bring back my team, their spirit, knowing we were only down by one instead of down by two," Coundoul said.

Rapids midfielder Jose Cancela nearly tied the game on a free kick in the 72nd minute but the shot sailed over the net.