PHOENIX, Arizona -- FC Dallas returned to the training fields at Reach 11 Sports Complex in Phoenix, Arizona today. The team was greeted by head coach Schellas Hyndman, who rejoined the squad following a scouting trip.
Hyndman kicked off practice with a short talk that included congratulating the squad for their 5-4 penalty kick victory over the Houston Dynamo in the final of the Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic on Saturday. The coach also touched on yesterday's 3-0 loss to the Montreal Impact of the North American Soccer League.
"No matter who is on the field, we need to find a way to win," Hyndman said.
Following a long warm-up
session, the team ran through a high-paced passing drill conducted by Oscar
Pareja. After another 15 minutes of work, the team broke up into four teams to
play an all-inclusive game in a 60-yard area. Kevin Hartman patrolled the north
goal while Chris Seitz guarded the south net. Blue and orange teamed to shoot at
the south goal while white and green aimed to find the back of the north net.
Every five to 10 minutes, Hyndman would limit the amount of touches on the ball
each team was allowed per possession.
Teams
Orange: Brek Shea,
Moises Hernandez, Jonathan Top, Andrew Wiedeman, Milton Rodriguez, David
Ferreira
Blue: Eric Alexander, Jackson, Kevin Gall, Christian Arreita, Andrew
Jacobson, Ruben Luna
Green: Peri Marosevic, Bryan Leyva, Daniel Hernandez,
Charlie Campbell, Marvin Chavez, Scott Gordon
White: Bruno Guarda, Eric
Avila, Victor Ulloa, George John, Bobby Warshaw, Jair Benitez
Early in the drill one of the bright spots in yesterday's loss, Bruno Guarda, broke down the right flank before picking out Victor Ulloa with a short centering pass. Ulloa one-timed a shot, low to the far post for the first goal of the day.
Another bright spot was the return of George John to a full training session for the first time this year. The absence of Zach Loyd and Maykel Galindo, both due to illness, left Ugo Ihemelu and Ricardo Villar as the only two players who were limited to working on the sidelines with the FC Dallas training staff.
Late in the drill, Hyndman installed a new twist. Each team was allowed a single touch on the ball per possession. However, if a player was forced to make more than one touch, they would automatically be charged with going to goal on their own. After Warshaw took a long-range shot on the north goal, the blue/orange counter-attack led to a wide-open David Ferreira on the right flank. Ferreira sent in a centering pass that was knocked around a bit before falling to the feet of Milton Rodriguez at the back post. A staple of his play in recent weeks, Rodriguez was in the right spot at the right time to finish off the scoring chance.
FC Dallas returns to training in Arizona at 6:30 this evening. Stay tuned to FCDallas.com for updates.
