Dallas tries to snap road woes at RSL

Dallas saw its winless streak extended on Wednesday following a 2-1 defeat at
the Chicago Fire as the home side rallied from a goal down to claim the win
after Marco Pappa’s 63rd-minute goal.

The Hoops have earned only three points from their last eight matches, and if
history is any indication, head coach Schellas Hyndman shouldn’t expect his
side to leave Utah with much.

FCD has not won at Real Salt Lake since 2007, and the club is still looking
for its first win away from home this season, posting a 0-6-1 mark on the
road.

Making matters worse, Dallas will be without midfielder and second leading
scorer Brek Shea, who will be serving the last game of a three-match
suspension.

While Dallas will be playing its third contest in a week, RSL will be well
rested having not played for two weeks.

Head coach Jason Kreis is hopeful the break will give his team a chance to
rest both mentally and physically, and refresh the side, which is on a five-
game unbeaten streak.

Salt Lake enters Saturday’s match one point back of the San Jose Earthquakes
at the top of the Western Conference table after a 1-0 road victory at
Seattle.

Kreis might have a rested group of players at his disposal, but he will be
missing a key duo because of international obligations.

Midfielder Kyle Beckerman and goalkeeper Nick Rimando are both away with the
United States, leaving Kreis with a pair of big shoes to fill.

With Rimando out, Kyle Reynish will get the call in goal and make his second
start of the season between the posts, while Yordany Alvarez is expected to
fill Beckerman’s position.

RSL general manager Garth Lagerwey is aware of how important Beckerman is to
his team’s success, but he is also looking forward to giving Alvarez a chance
to prove himself.

“Kyle, our captain, is the heart and soul of the team, so I don’t know that
you can replace Kyle Beckerman,” Lagerwey said. “Everybody’s got to chip in a
little bit to replace him, but Yordany Alvarez is a young player and we’re
excited for him to get the opportunity. He did well in some instances for us
last season, and we want to see him out there this Saturday and see how he
does.”

Both Javier Morales and Chris Wingert have been battling injuries for RSL and
will leave Kreis with a pair of late decisions to make regarding the
availability of both players.