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Dallas aims to start new winning streak against D.C.

Jul 15, 2011 - 8:32 PM Frisco, TX (Sports Network) - FC Dallas may have had its three-game winning streak halted by Real Salt Lake last weekend, but the Hoops quickly returned the favor in a U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal midweek, beating RSL 2-0.

And now, with Schellas Hyndman's team having returned to the win column, they will try to start a new winning streak in league play on Saturday at Pizza Hut Park against D.C. United.

One player who would help the cause is midfielder Daniel Hernandez, who missed last weekend's defeat to RSL with a knee injury.

Hernandez had played every minute of every game for Dallas this season up until the match, and Hyndman felt as though his absence caused a bit of confusion.

"We left [Hernandez] behind at the last minute and I think that there was a little bit of confusion in our midfield," Hyndman said. "But I thought [our central midfielders] did do a pretty good job of just trying to stay compact and block the passing lanes and try to make the play predictable going out wide."

The status of Hernandez is still up in the air, but one player who will be looking to redeem himself a bit is goalkeeper Kevin Hartman.

In the loss to Salt Lake, Hartman let in a poor goal early in the second half that put his team behind, 1-0, after a free kick from Andy Williams managed to slip through his hands.

"I think that it was so easy that he took his eye off the ball, to be honest," Hyndman said of the goal. "You see in the other football sport, when a ball is thrown right to a receiver and he's got it in his hand and he drops it because he's looking somewhere else. I think that was very uncharacteristic of Kevin."

One thing that has been uncharacteristic of D.C. United in recent weeks is the club earning three points from a game.

Since a 3-2 win over the Portland Timbers on May 29, United failed to win any of its next five matches until a 1-0 victory over Red Bull New York last weekend.

D.C. had drawn its three previous games, and coach Ben Olsen expressed after the match how important it was for his team to get back to winning ways.

"Every win right now is key, especially winning a 1-0 game for us right now is important because we have had some leads that we have squandered and tonight was a good effort," said Olsen. "I thought we held the fort down. Offensively there was some pretty good stuff. We caught them on a day, they might have been a little leggy but that's what you have to do in this league. When you find teams in certain situations you have to take advantage of."

Dwayne De Rosario scored the lone goal against his former team in the second half, and Olsen has been very impressed with his play since arriving in a trade from New York for midfielder Dax McCarty on June 28.

"The way he dictated that game was pretty impressive and it's the reason why he is one of the best this league has ever seen," Olsen said.