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Winless Dallas seeks victory at Toronto

Apr 11, 2009 - 2:15 AM By Kate Hedlin Stats Writer

FC Dallas (0-3-0) at Toronto FC (1-1-1), 4:00 p.m. EDT

FC Dallas knew the loss of its starting goaltender was going to make things difficult to begin the season, but it probably didn't figure on the offense struggling, too.

Off to the worst start in franchise history, Dallas looks to avoid remaining the league's only team without a point when it visits Toronto FC on Saturday.

Dallas (0-3-0) lost goaltender Dario Sala, who made 28 starts last season, following the first game of the year. Sala, who was 8-8-12 with a 1.32 goals-against average in 2008, underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee and will be out another few weeks.

Ray Burse has done a respectable job since replacing Sala, allowing four goals in two games, but he's received little support from the offense, which has two goals this season - both by Kenny Cooper - and only one in Burse's starts. In 2008, Dallas was tied for second in the Western Conference with 45 goals, including a league-high 22 on the road.

Dallas is the only MLS team to lose every match it has played.

The team is coming off an especially frustrating 2-1 loss to New England last Saturday. Dallas had gone ahead in the 38th minute on Cooper's goal, but New England scored twice in the second half, scoring the game-winner on a penalty kick in the 80th minute after George John was called for pulling on a Revolution player's jersey.

"It's disappointing, of course, not to get a point or a win, but I think there are two encouraging things for me," coach Schellas Hyndman told Dallas' official web site. "One is that we're playing better and starting to get the lineup right. ... The other thing is that a lot of other teams in the league are not off to good starts."

Hyndman said he's been especially frustrated by Jeff Cunningham's play. Cunningham had five goals and two assists in 11 games last season, but the 11-year MLS veteran, who has 104 career goals but none through the first three games, was relegated to the bench against New England and entered at the 73rd minute.

"I don't think he had a good week of training and I thought we needed to make some changes," Hyndman said. "In two games, I think he had one shot, and you can't live and die on that."

Dallas is 0-4-3 since a 3-0 win over D.C. United on September 28.

Those struggles mean it could be a good time for Toronto (1-1-1) to get its first win in the series since the first meeting between the clubs. Dallas has won twice and the teams have tied once since Toronto's 4-0 home win in 2007.

Toronto is coming off a 2-0 loss to Seattle last Saturday. The Sounders scored twice in the first half against goalkeeper Greg Sutton, who made his first start of the season. Toronto had three shots on goal.

"Every single one of (the players) I was disappointed in," coach John Carver said. "I'm making no excuses, I'm not going to defend anybody today."

Armando Guevara returned from international duty after missing the previous game. Guevara has two of the team's four goals this season.

Toronto's only game on the road among its next six comes next Sunday, when these teams meet again at Pizza Hut Park.