FC Dallas shut out by Tigres UANL 1-0
Hoops lose series by 3-0 aggregate and Rio Grande Plate
By Steve Hunt / MLSnet.com Staff
FRISCO, Texas -- In Wednesday night's match against Mexican Primera Division side Tigres UANL, FC Dallas needed an offensive outburst and a clean sheet to capture the Rio Grande Plate for the second straight year.
In the end, it was Tigres who emerged victorious, getting a 76th-minute goal from Walter Nicolas Gaitan to prevail 1-0 and capture the Rio Grande Plate after finishing the series with a 3-0 win on aggregate. The Hoops outshot Tigres 10-4 in the match but had nothing to show for their efforts.
Just as he did in Saturday's 2-0 loss to Tigres in Monterrey, Mexico, FCD head coach Steve Morrow fielded a lineup consisting mostly of reserves. However, the Hoops boss made several changes to his starting 11 from the one he fielded just four days ago.
The first alteration involved the entrance of 21-year-old Liberian striker Francis Doe, who is with the Hoops on trial. He had previously played for the Minnesota Thunder of the United Soccer League's First Division. Morrow also moved Adrian Serioux, who had played at holding midfielder on Saturday to center back. Michael Dello-Russo, who played right back in the first leg, moved to the holding midfielder spot.
The Hoops offense got started early. In the first minute, Abe Thompson worked his way up the right side of the field and got off a shot, but it was right at Tigres goalkeeper Cirilo Saucedo.
But at the break, FCD had outshot Tigres by a 4-1 margin but only one of those efforts was on frame. Tigres made four changes at halftime while FCD made none.
In the 60th minute, Tigres logged their second shot of the match when defender Nicolas Rene Ruvalcaba got a nice look at the FCD net, but his shot went wide right. It was their first shot in 49 minutes since Gaitan lobbed one over the goal in the 11th minute.
FCD was quiet until the 64th, when they were awarded a free kick about 30 yards from the Tigres goal. Ramon Nunez stepped up and hit a perfect ball that the young midfielder attempted to curl just inside the right post. Unfortunately, Saucedo made a scintillating diving save to send the ball over the endline.
The Hoops made three changes in the 65th by bringing on Scott Jones for Thompson, Chase Wileman for Nunez and Aaron Pitchkolan for Serioux.
In the 67th, the host team got a scare when Yi went down with a left hamstring injury. He left the field in the 69th and was replaced by Arturo Alvarez one minute later. His status will be further evaluated Thursday by the FCD medical staff.
Gaitan's goal in the 76th was unassisted. The Tigres midfielder beat FCD goalkeeper Ray Burse far post from the edge of the six-yard box. In Saturday's first leg, Gaitan also scored, converting a penalty kick in the 93rd minute to ice his side's 2-0 victory.
In the 81st, FCD brought on Guatemalan international Carlos Ruiz for Dello-Russo. Just one minute later, he had a great one-on-one chance with Saucedo but shot it right at the Tigres 'keeper in the Hoops last real chance of the game.
FCD's next action, which will mark their third game of the week, will be on Saturday when they travel to the nation's capital to face D.C. United. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CT.