Hoops defeat Rapids in preseason play
Cooper's second half free-kick goal leads Dallas in Florida
After a scoreless first half, Cooper gave FCD the lead on a direct free kick in the 57th minute. The forward's right-footed strike from 20 yards out curled over the Colorado defense and inside the left post past a diving Matt Pickens. It was Jeff Cunningham who earned the set piece when he was fouled by Colorado's Stephen Keel on the edge of the penalty area.
The game opened up after the Dallas goal and Colorado nearly evened the score five minutes later. Kwame Sarkodie found Greg Dalby inside the Dallas penalty box, whose lunging attempt from point blank range was denied by FCD 'keeper Ray Burse.
Pushing forward for the late equalizer, the Rapids had two more solid goal-scoring chances in the 85th minute. Sarkodie fired a shot from 18 yards out, forcing Burse to make a diving save. The deflection bounced to Jordan Harvey, who immediately struck a hard shot of his own, but Burse again came up with the save.
Dallas is now 2-1-1 in preseason play and next faces Florida International University on Thursday, Feb. 19 (2 p.m. CT) at the Central Broward Regional Park Cricket Stadium.
Scoring Summary:
FCD - Cooper (unassisted) 57
FC Dallas -- Dario Sala (GK) (Ray Burse 46), Blake Wagner (Daniel Torres 60), Steve Purdy, Drew Moor (Aaron Pitchkolan 65), Marcelo Saragosa (Anthony Wallace 70), Dave van den Bergh (Brek Shea 70), Pablo Ricchetti, Dax McCarty (Andre Rocha 70), Eric Avila (Bruno Guarda 46) (Juan Guerra* 75), Jeff Cunningham (Sean Bucknor 60), Kenny Cooper (Peri Marosevic 60).
*on trial
