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Cooper boots FC Dallas past Toronto FC

Aug 3, 2008 - 11:11 PM TORONTO (Ticker) -- Kenny Cooper scored twice late in the second half to propel FC Dallas to a 2-0 triumph over Toronto FC on Sunday.

The All-Star striker tallied in the 81st minute on a penalty kick and added an unassisted insurance goal 10 minutes later for FC Dallas (6-6-7), which moved into third place in the Western Conference.

Toronto (6-8-4) fell for the first time in 10 contests this season at BMO Field. It is 5-1-4 on home soil, but remains winless in its past six overall contests.

The teams remained scoreless through the contest's first 80 minutes before a red card was issued to Toronto FC star Amado Guevara, who appeared to strike FC Dallas' Pablo Ricchetti in the face in the penalty area.

Cooper buried the penalty kick past goalkeeper Greg Sutton to open the scoring.

"Well, it's never easy with all the drama, but we did (emerge victorious)," Cooper said. "Luckily, it was going our way and we were able to put the ball in the net. After the first goal, you generally keep your cool and able to play a calmer game - and that's what helped us come out on top."

Toronto FC coach John Carver admitted that he did not see the fireworks which ultimately led to Guevara's dismissal.

"Well it's kind of hard to answer that right now because I haven't seen the video yet," Carver said. "I mean it was so out of the play, and in all fairness, I was watching the ball the whole time.

"I asked Amado what had happened, and he told me that further back field he hit me with an elbow in the chest, and then he retaliated. So if that's what my player is saying, then I trust him. The linesman is saying he didn't see anything, and the ref.didn't see anything, so I have to look at the video before I can comment on it."

After Toronto defender Marco Velez received his second yellow card of the contest to leave his side down two men, Cooper added his career-high 13th tally of the season with a 30-yard strike.

"Well Toronto is a place we love to come to because we know that it going to be a great atmosphere, but at the same time, with the crowd out here it feels like they have an extra player on the field with them," Cooper said. "But to walk away out of Toronto with three points - it's a great feeling."

While Cooper felt great, Carver was left to figure out how he's going to fill the spots vacated by Guevara and Velez.

"It's frightening," he said. "I mean here we are in the middle of looking for another forward, now I'm looking at filling in the spots of a midfielder and defenseman. I just have to see what my options are, and go from there."