ESPN

FC Dallas midfielder Bobby Warshaw will have surgery Friday to repair a fracture in his right foot, FC Dallas announced today. FC Dallas has placed Warshaw on injured reserve while he recovers from the fracture.

In MLS, placing a player on Injured Reserve usually means the player is done for the year and FC Dallas is granted a roster spot, but not cap relief, to try and replace the player. If Warshaw is instead only on the disabled list, he can be replaced, then be recalled at a later time as long as said player sits out 6 games. I have yet to receive clarification from FCD about which kind of IR Warshaw is on.

Edit: I received confirmation from FC Dallas that Warshaw is on the 6 game short term IR. So he can be replaced, salary budget permitting, for 6 games and then return.

According to FCD, Dr. John Early will perform the procedure to repair a fracture of the fifth metatarsal in Warshaw’s right foot. The second-year midfielder injured the foot during Tuesday’s Reserve game at Sporting Kansas City.

When Warshaw was asked to elaborate on his injury he declined. However, the affable Pennsylvania native did say that was his first injury in some 15 years and that he didn’t expect to be out long.

Photos from the game between Real Salt Lake and FC Dallas.

Here's a direct link to the photos is you'er having trouble seeing them here.

FC Dallas coach Schellas Hyndman was asked after training on Monday if he sees much similarity between Andrew Jacobson and Bobby Warshaw and here’s what he had to say.

“I think they both have the similarity of a college player, a defender, a holding midfielder, technical, courageous, good distribution with the passes, good work ethic, fight for every ball, I think they’re similar. I think the difference is A.J.’s just a little bit more experienced. A.J. has a little bit greater range. He can get from point a to point b a little bit quicker and can even get further up the field or be aggressive going forward and A.J.’s a little bit stronger in the air,” Hyndman said. “But Bobby’s done fine for us in the role we’re asking him to play."

In what isn't a huge surprise, FC Dallas will be without midfielder Andrew Jacobson this weekend after he suffered a right hamstring strain in the first half of a 2-1 win over Montreal on Saturday night at FC Dallas Stadium.

Hernan Pertuz, who also was replaced at halftime due to injury, a swollen right foot, will travel to Vancouver. Here’s FCD head coach Schellas Hyndman making it official.

"AJ will not be traveling. Pertuz will be traveling and Villar not," Hyndman said.

With Jacobson unavailable, the likely pick to replace him in the first 11 is second-year player Bobby Warshaw, who really showed well for himself in the second half of the win over the expansion Impact.

As to when Ricardo Villar might be return, no one seems to know. But that didn’t stop his head coach from extolling his toughness and love of the game after training on Wednesday.

"Ricardo is such a tough player. He’s a guy that plays for the passion of the game. He doesn’t play for the money or the glory, he plays because he loves it. You may have players sometime say my leg doesn’t feel 100 percent and they’re looking not to play. Villar’s the opposite. I’m ready to go even if he’s 40 percent injured, I can help because he wants to play, because he has such a passion to play," Hyndman said. "So I think on this one, we’ve got to slow it down a little bit because this could be a serious injury."

Jacobson and Pertuz were both listed as questionable on the MLS injury report published on Tuesday while Villar continues to be listed as out.

It was a solid win by FC Dallas on Saturday night, beating the expansion Montreal Impact 2-1 at FC Dallas Stadium in a game that was eventful to say the least.

When Dallas gaffer Schellas Hyndman made two changes to start the second half, bringing on Bruno Guarda and Bobby Warshaw for Andrew Jacobson and Hernan Pertuz, respectively, few thought it was anything more than a tactical adjustment. And since those changes signaled a shift from the 4-4-2 formation that FCD had employed in the opening 45 minutes to more of a 4-1-4-1 in the final half of play, no one thought that those two substitutions could be injury-related.

However, injuries are exactly what had happened, something Hyndman discussed after the game.

It turns out Jacobson was having some issues in his back and leg after getting kicked more than a few times by the hard-fouling boys from Montreal. As for Pertuz, he had a foot swell up and was unable to answer the bell for the second half.

“Pertuz got kicked over on the sideline and just wasn’t able to go. He fought his way through the first half but we knew something was wrong,” Hyndman said. “When we brought him up here [to the locker room at halftime], the foot was swollen and he just couldn’t go. AJ took a few hits, more of the back and leg that was bothering him.”

Obviously, if these injuries keep one or both of these guys off the field for any significant period of time they are big negatives for Dallas. No matter whether it’s been at left back or at right back, where he has started each of the last two weeks in Hyndman’s 4-4-2, the Colombian defender Pertuz has been a rock-solid addition to the FCD backline.

Some might have questioned why Jair Benitez, who normally starts at left back for Dallas, wasn’t back in the first 11 for the Montreal game, but the answer is simple. If Hyndman is anything, he’s consistent, especially when it comes to winning. When a formation and a lineup works, if all of those same 11 players are available the following week, it’s a safe bet he’ll employ the same look barring something unforeseen.

That’s why Pertuz was in the starting lineup against the Impact and Benitez was on the pine. Pertuz has earned his playing time and will be until he slips up or Jair plays his way back into the first 11 through a string of strong performances in training... pending injury of course. Pertuz might be relatively new to MLS and to this club, but he’s already more than shown his value and if he’s not available for a while, it would definitely be a big loss.

Ditto for Jacobson, who after a rough start to the season, seems to have found himself and is no longer trying to do too much in the middle of the field. Some feel he might best serve this team as the holding mid with Warshaw possibly starting in the linking role but that’s a whole other discussion. The fact of the matter is that he and Daniel Hernandez form a steady if not a bit nard-nosed tandem in the middle of the yard and if A.J. is out for a while, that too would be a big loss.

Of course, the Dallas midfield is already a bit thin with David Ferreira out for about the next two months, as is Andrew Wiedeman, after both of them underwent recent surgeries. Ricardo Villar is week to week. Help is on the way as Jackson is thought to be arriving this week but it’s unknown what his current fitness level is, but if he’s ready to roll, he can definitely provide help in very short order.

We’ll find out more about the condition of Jacobson and Pertuz on Monday. Hopefully the news is good.

Even with Ricardo Villar out for this Saturday’s game with Montreal, FC Dallas head coach Schellas Hyndman has options when it comes to who could fill in for him at the No. 10 role. Of course, he could plug homegrown player Bryan Leyva in there, even Bruno Guarda or Bobby Warshaw would be a possibility. We’ll just have to wait and see which option he chooses come Saturday.

“Yeah, Bruno’s a possibility. Warshaw’s a possibility but we’re also getting Daniel [Hernandez] back. If we stay in the 4-4-2, it could be Daniel and AJ side-to-side holding midfielders and then we’ll add on another striker, which now gives us what we’ve had before as that attacking midfielder,” Hyndman said. “So we’ll just have to wait and see. Right now with the reserve game, you’ve seen the last few practices we’re lower numbers. Today the boys really got a good workout in, a good hour-45 minutes of good work and I was really pleased with that.”

FC Dallas returns to the field at FC Dallas Stadium on Thursday night against New England. Dallas gaffer Schellas Hyndman was asked about a wide array of subject matter on Tuesday afternoon and here’s what he had to say.

How rusty did you feel Carlos Rodriguez and Brek Shea were in the 4-1 loss at D.C. United on Friday?

Hyndman: I think Carlos was probably a little bit more ready to go. Brek, we talked about it, I think he had a lot more mental frustration because U.S. was expected to go through where I don’t think anybody expected Panama to go through. So I think there was a little bit anguish in there and frustration. As far as fatigue, I think it showed more in Brek than in Carlos.

With Daniel Hernandez suspended for the New England game, do you go with either Bruno Guarda or Bobby Warshaw in his place or do you have other options at d-mid?

Hyndman: I think those are good options. Going to a 4-4-2 is another option. Whether it’s Pertuz, George John or somebody else that can go in there, I think we need a ball winner there because that what Daniel Hernandez does. We’ve been trying different things in training and we’ll finish it up tomorrow.

Fabian Castillo looked like his old self in training on Monday. Is he ready to return?

Hyndman: Yeah, I think he’s an important piece of the strike force. He’s a player that we’re counting on to help us on one of the flanks. Whether it’s the speed that he brings, the quickness that he brings, the speed from the flank, I think what it does is it helps us with a lone striker to have another two players that are attacking from the flanks whether it’s Brek [Shea] or it’s Fabian. I think he’s important for Blas to play better and our strike force to play better. I thought he looked a lot better as far as coming off that injury.

You put your guys through the vaunted tunnel of love drill on Monday. Was that done as a way to punish them or did you feel they needed some extra fitness work?

Hyndman: I never use punishment to motivate. I think there’s a lot better ways of motivating players than punishing. I’m not sure how much you get out of it if you’ve got everybody upset. Nobody wants to be punished, especially adults. That was purely a fitness thing. There was a game coming up on Thursday. I think there has been some characteristics that have been repeating-late in the game getting scored on, second half struggling, end of the first half struggling. I think we’ve done a really good job in preseason but if you look at our schedule, a lot of teams have had breaks, off weeks and very few teams have had so many games back-to-back. We played late on a Sunday but then we turn around on the road on a Friday. Then you come home. There’s not a lot of rest time, so there’s not a lot of recovery time or opportunities to do a little bit more work. So I took that opportunity to work us a little bit. We’ll go through some physical testing on Friday for the guys who didn’t play on Thursday. Then we’ll go through physical testing on Monday for the guys who did play on Thursday. So I think we need to know where we are on fitness level.

FC Dallas head coach Schellas Hyndman had a tough decision on his hands when starting central attacking midfielder Ricardo Villar went down late in the first half of FCD's last game with an injury. Hyndman had summoned both Bruno Guarda and Bobby Warshaw from the bench to warm up as it was unknown whether or not Villar would be able to play on.

The gritty veteran was able to return for the rest of the opening frame, but couldn’t return to the field after the break. That was when Hyndman brought on Warshaw, a smart, physical yet more defensive-minded player, instead of Guarda, who is considered more of an attacking player.

Hyndman had starting linking mid Andrew Jacobson move to the No. 10 role, with mixed results, while Warshaw filled in for AJ at the linking spot. As the FCD coach looks back, he realizes what a tough decision it was to make but from the sounds of it, it’s one he’d make all over again.

“Well there’s always hindsight, isn’t it? You make your decisions. I think at that time, it was 1-1. I didn’t take Villar out until second half because when we got in [to the locker room], he couldn’t go. But he was out. Villar was getting attention while I was having those two warming up and when Villar couldn’t go, our decision was made that let’s go out there and make sure that we try to get a win or at least get a tie,” Hyndman said.

He added: “So that was the decision, [they] pick up a quick PK against us like seven minutes in and what a great save from Kevin [Hartman]. It was outstanding. And then it just looked like we were losing the attacking midfielder. We tried to move Andrew Jacobson up and he was unable to do the things-hold the ball, penetrate. Saying that, he almost got on the end of Jair’s ball. So we felt that we needed a little bit more strength in there as physical as they were so that’s why I went with that decision.”

And since it was such a tough and physical game, the FCD coach admits it was hard to evaluate the performances of many of his players given how chippy things were out there.

“I think it was a hard game to come in. What they were doing was they were occupying the central midfield with those three and those three that they had were pretty active. Espinoza and Zusi, they were really active on diagonal runs and penetration and then they were changing the point of attack with the passes going out to the right side to Kamara or to Myers, who was holding balls or running,” Hyndman said. “It was hard for Bobby [Warshaw] to catch into the rhythm. Again, it’s a tough time to be put into a game.”

Just over four months ago, a counter-attacking Dallas squad was eliminated from the 2011 playoffs by the New York Red Bulls. The two sides kicked off the 2012 season on the same pitch using the same tactics and formations, but the 2-1 Dallas victory was quite a different result.

Manager Schellas Hyndman employed a comparable formation to the 4-2-3-1 he used last season, though naturally some of the personnel changed. Gone were Jackson and Marvin Chavez, replaced by Blas Perez and Fabian Castillo. Also, a recently-returned George John was benched in favor of newcomer Hernan Pertuz.

Perez, Castillo, and Pertuz all made vital contributions to the victory. Perez garnered assists on both goals (more on Perez in the diagram below); Castillo's speed was instrumental in earning the free kick that led to the first tally; and the young Pertuz made a veteran's canny tackle to prevent Thierry Henry from getting a shot in the 13th minute.

As noted, Hyndman's main strategy was to counter at pace, which is how the goal was partially created. Castillo powered into New York's half following a Red Bulls corner, and though he was dispossessed, Ricardo Villar was able to earn a free kick on the ensuing scrum for possession. New York made a mess of a pair of clearances following the free kick. Zach Loyd then latched onto the loose ball and beat keeper Andrew Meara.

But, like the playoff encounter, New York controlled much of the match. Despite New York's high percentage of possession (63% to 37%), the Red Bulls' earliest scoring opportunities were courtesy of misplaced Dallas passes. In the third minute, Jair Benitez even sent a free kick straight to an unmarked Juan Agudelo. Ihemelu, though, was able to clean up the mistake

The second half played out much life the first. Dallas picked up a goal off a counter and had to do some desperate defending to garner the full three points. Oddly, New York left back Roy Miller started the second Dallas scoring sequence with a pass remarkably similar to Benitez's third minute gaffe. Under no pressure whatsoever, the Red Bulls' fullback casually sent a pass to Perez. The striker made an intelligent pass to find Ricardo Villar in space, and the Brazilian chipped Meara to put Dallas up 2-0.

New York manager Hans Backe responded by bringing on former Dallas striker Kenny Cooper and switching from a 4-4-1-1 to a lopsided 4-4-2 (forward Juan Agudelo was stationed at right midfield but was essentially a third striker). An exhausted Dallas began to retreat deeper and deeper into their own half, a problem compounded by the removal of Villar.

As the attacking midfielder in the 4-2-3-1, Villar's intelligent passes had ensured Dallas retained possession long enough to relieve pressure on the back four. When holding midfielder Bobby Warshaw came on for the Brazilian in the 74th, Andrew Jacobson moved up to Villar's position but failed to replicate his intelligent outlet passes. As a result, over the final 16 minutes New York completed 84 more passes than Dallas.

Under that much pressure, it was likely that a single mistake would lead to a goal. When Benitez and Pertuz failed to mark Cooper, the striker was easily able to chip Kevin Hartman, but New York was otherwise unable to ripple Hartman's net.

While the end result couldn't be better, Hyndman needs to find a way to relieve pressure late in games without the use of Villar.

Blake Owen is the editor and publisher of futbolforgringos.com.

A FC Dallas side made up of reserve and home grown players fell to Toronto FC by a 3-0 scoreline in the 3rd game of the Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic on Thursday night.

The defeat pushed FCD down to second in the group with four points, three points above both BK Hacken and Orlando City, who face off in the second match of the night. Though Dallas maintain a three- and five-goal advantage, respectively, over their group foes, they must still await the result to find out if they'll play the Houston Dynamo in the consolation match at 5 pm CT, also on March 3.

SCORING SUMMARY:
TOR -- Luis Silva, 35'
TOR -- Luis Silva, 40'
TOR -- Ryan Johnson, 82'

FC Dallas Lineup: Seitz, M. Hernandez, Ibeagha, Hedges, Ulloa, Warshaw, Tulasne, Guarda, Villar, Wiedeman, Luna.

Updated for status as we see it right before Florida camp.

The Roster Dance is a long running feature of 3^rd Degree. It is an effort to break down the FC Dallas roster into its various components with all the trialists and draft picks competing for spots. The Roster Dance includes things like nationality, age, status, green cards, and anything else that might impact space on the roster and the players that might fit into it.

Last updated: 2/24/12

Senior Roster (18 to 20)

For now MLS rosters hold at up to 30 players. Players 1 to 20 are on the senior roster and have to fit in the salary cap. (MLS teams may carry only 18 players on this senior roster if they wish)

FCD has 8 international slots in 2010 with 8 currently filled.

1	David Ferreira	32, Colombian F/M. (8/9/79) Got his green card.
2	Daniel Hernandez	New 5 year coach/player deal. 35, US M/D (7/23/76)
3	Jair Benitez	33, Colombian LB, (1/11/79). Green card.
4	Blas Pérez	(I1) Panamanian striker, turns 31 this year. (3-13-81)
5	Brek Shea	20, US Nats MF. (2/28/90).
6	Ugo Ihemelu	28, US D. (4/3/83)
7	Kevin Hartman	37, US GK. (5-25-1974)
8	Zach Loyd	24, US Nats M/D. (7-18-87)
9	Fabian Castillo	(I2) 19, Colombian striker. (6-01-92)
10	Ricardo Villar	(I3) 32, Brazilian, AM. (8-11-79) working on green card
11	Andrew Jacobson	26, US DM. (9-25-85)
12	Hernan Pertúz	(I4) 22, Columbian U23, D. (3-31-89)
13	Chris Seitz	24, US GK. (3-12-87)
14	Bobby Warshaw	23, US M/D. (11-21-88)
15	Carlos Rodriguez	(I5) 21 year old Panamian M/D from Tauro FC. (4-12-90)
16	Bruno Guarda	26, Brazil MF. (2/6/86). Green card
17	Scott Sealy	T&T F. 30, Previously with KC and SJ. (6/4/81) green card.
18	George John	US CB. (3/20/87) Not currently on FCD roster. Spot saved?
19	Dogba	(I6) Ange Pacome Dogba Gnagbo.Ivory Coast F
20	Open Spot	Sports 19 and 20 don’t have to be filled.
--

Players occupying roster spots 1-24 will earn at least $42,000 in 2011.

Off-Budget Roster (10)

Roster Spots 21 to 30. Generation adidas, developmental players, and home grown. Players 24 and under that don’t count on the salary cap. MLS teams can have a maximum of 10 off-budget players.

21	Matt Hedges	UD D, 2012 1st pick. (4-1-90) Senior roster?
22	Andrew Wiedeman	(Ga1) 22, US versatile. F/M/D. (8-22-89)
23	Bryan Leyva	(HG1) 20, Mexican U20 MF (2/9/92) green card.
24	Ruben Luna	(HG2, I7) 19, Mexican U20 striker. (2-10-92)
25	Victor Ulloa	(HG3) 19, US Midfielder. (3-4-92)
26	Moises Hernandez	(HG4) US D, former U20 (3-5-92)
27	Jonathan Top	(HG5) 19, US striker. (1-26-93)
28	Richard Sanchez	(HG6) 17, Mexican keeper, US Citizen. (2-28-94)
29	Christian Ibeagha	22, Former US U17 from OK (born Nigeria). (1-10-90)
30	Alex Lee	2012 supplemental pick, D from Maryland.
--	Ian Kalis	2012 supplemental pick from SMU. Injured? Still on roster, not traveling.

Players occupying roster spots 25-30 will earn at least $32,600 in 2011.

Other Players

Anyone connected, rumored, tried out, waived, training invited, or signed as a short term player.

Jack Stewart	Late 2011 defender depth, didn’t stick in 2012
Rodolofo Espinoza	30 year old Mexican M, spring trial.
Kleyner Bejarano	a.k.a. Kleyner Bejarano Colombian D, spring trial
Scott Gordon	23 year old US D, spring trial
Daniel Osorno	Formerly of Puebla, AM/F
Nicolás Gianni	a.k.a. Nicolas Cridani. 29, F/M
Daniel Cruz	Colombian, M didn’t play well in 2011, injuries cost him in 2012.
Marvin Chavez	Traded to San Jose.
Walter Hines	M, preseason trialist
Martin John	LB, preseason trialist
Joe Madigan	M, preseason trialist
Jackson	Brazilian M, on loan to Cruzeiro
Mykel Galindo	Waived in off season.
Edson Edward	Waived in off season.
Josh Lambo	Former Ga GK, waived in off season.

The Roster Dance is a long running feature of 3^rd Degree. It is an effort to break down the FC Dallas roster into its various components with all the trialists and draft picks competing for spots. The Roster Dance includes things like nationality, age, status, green cards, and anything else that might impact space on the roster and the players that might fit into it.

Last updated: 2/9/12

Senior Roster (18 to 20)

For now MLS rosters hold at up to 30 players. Players 1 to 20 are on the senior roster and have to fit in the salary cap. (MLS teams may carry only 18 players on this senior roster if they wish)

FCD has 8 international slots in 2010 with 8 currently filled.

1	David Ferreira	32, Colombian F/M. (8/9/79) Got his green card.
2	Daniel Hernandez	New 5 year coach/player deal. 35, US M/D (7/23/76)
3	Jair Benitez	33, Colombian LB, (1/11/79). Green card.
4	Blas Pérez	(I1) Panamanian striker, turns 31 this year. (3-13-81)
5	Brek Shea	20, US Nats MF. (2/28/90).
6	Ugo Ihemelu	28, US D. (4/3/83)
7	Kevin Hartman	37, US GK. (5-25-1974)
8	Zach Loyd	24, US Nats M/D. (7-18-87)
9	Fabian Castillo	(I2) 19, Colombian striker. (6-01-92)
10	Ricardo Villar	(I3) 32, Brazilian, AM. (8-11-79) working on green card
11	Andrew Jacobson	26, US DM. (9-25-85)
12	Hernan Pertúz	(I4) 22, Columbian U23, D. (3-31-89)
13	Chris Seitz	24, US GK. (3-12-87)
14	Bobby Warshaw	23, US M/D. (11-21-88)
15	Carlos Rodriguez	(I5) 21 year old Panamian M/D from Tauro FC. (4-12-90)
16	Nicolás Gianni	(I6) a.k.a. Nicolas Cridani. 29, F/M. (3/9/82) starting for Ferreira.
17	Scott Sealy	T&T F. 30, Previously with KC and SJ. (6/4/81) green card.
18	Bruno Guarda	26, Brazil MF. (2/6/86). Green card
19	Daniel Cruz	(I7) 30, Colombian, M. Injured. (5-3-81) May be in roster trouble…
20	Jack Stewart	28 year old US D. (5-29-1983) He gets John’s spot for now.
--	George John	US CB. (3/20/87) Not currently on FCD roster, loan ends in March?
--	Rodolofo Espinoza	(I9) 30 year old Mexican M, Chivas USA 10-11. (6-14-81)
--	Kleyner Bejarano	(I10) a.k.a. Kleyner Bejarano Mena 22, Colombian D. (9/16/89)

Players occupying roster spots 1-24 will earn at least $42,000 in 2011.

Off-Budget Roster (10)

Roster Spots 21 to 30. Generation adidas, developmental players, and home grown. Players 24 and under that don’t count on the salary cap. MLS teams can have a maximum of 10 off-budget players.

21	Matt Hedges	UD D, ‘12 1st pick. (4-1-90) Senior roster?
22	Andrew Wiedeman	(Ga1) 22, US versatile. F/M/D. (8-22-89)
23	Bryan Leyva	(HG1) 20, Mexican U20 MF (2/9/92) green card.
24	Ruben Luna	(HG2, I8) 19, Mexican U20 striker. (2-10-92)
25	Victor Ulloa	(HG3) 19, US Midfielder. (3-4-92)
26	Moises Hernandez	(HG4) US D, former U20 (3-5-92)
27	Jonathan Top	(HG5) 19, US striker. (1-26-93)
28	Richard Sanchez	(HG6) 17, Mexican keeper US Citizen. (2-28-94)
29	Scott Gordon	23 year old US D, 3rd round pick in 2011. (4-6-88)
30	Christian Ibeagha	22, US U17 from OK (born Nigeria). (1-10-90)
--	Alex Lee	2012 pick, D from Maryland. Just arrived in camp.
--	Ian Kalis	2012 Supplemental Draft pick from SMU. Injured?

Players occupying roster spots 25-30 will earn at least $32,600 in 2011.

Other Players

Anyone connected, rumored, tried out, waived, training invited, or signed as a short term player.

Marvin Chavez	Traded to San Jose.
Walter Hines	M, preseason trialist
Martin John	LB, preseason trialist
Joe Madigan	M, preseason trialist
Jackson	Brazilian M, on loan to Cruzeiro
Mykel Galindo	Waived in off season.
Edson Edward	Waived in off season.
Josh Lambo	Former Ga GK, waived in off season.

FC Dallas has upped the ante on their little video's and this one made me chuckle.

Bobby Warshaw has a kicking problem.

The 2011 MLS Expansion Draft is right around the corner (November 23rd). FCD is in the process of finalizing their protected list. But rather than wait for them to announce it, we're going to take a guess.

Each MLS team will submit a list of 11 protected names that coach Jesse Marsch and the expansion Montreal Impact can't draft.

In addition automatically protected are all the Home Grown and Generation adidas players. CD currently has eight of them: Josh Lambo, Andrew Wiedeman, Bryan Leyva, Ruben Luna, Victor Ulloa, Moises Hernandez, Jonathan Top, and Richard Sanchez. Any player graduating from Generation adidas (Josh Lambo?) will do so before the expansion draft and won't get automatic protection.

So here's our educated guess at the 11 FCD protected players.

1. David Ferreira - the 2010 MLS MVP. Injured all of 2011. Still a dead solid lock to be protected.

2. Brek Shea - the 2011 FCD MVP and a finalist for MLS MVP. Also a dead solid lock to be protected.

3. Kevin Hartman - The best keeper in MLS the last two years in many minds.

4. Marvin Chavez - FCD's second leading scorer in 2011 as he became the player FCD thought they were getting.

5. Ugo Ihemelu - The defensive leader for FCD. Hyndman raves about Ugo every chance he gets.

6. George John - Hyndman says the transfer thing is all water under the bridge. All it good.

7. Jair Benitez - FCD just gave him an extension. Oh, and speed kills.

8. Zach Loyd - By the end of 2011 the for sure starter at right back and he's even in the US National team pool.

9. Andrew Jacobson - When not injured he was one of FCD's best mids, led FCD is assists.

10. Fabian Castillo - You don't pay what FCD paid for this kid and then let him get taken in an expansion draft.

11. Jackson - Some days he's the best player on the field, some days he's a liability. Just to much talent to let go.

Which leaves a list of 10 names unprotected for Montreal to pick from. FCD could lose one, but only one, of these players. Let's look at each and talk about why I think FCD will expose them.

Daniel Hernandez - The captain and my 2nd place FCD MVP. Yes, he's a vital part of FCD... but he's 34. Montreal would never pick him.

Chris Seitz - A danger to get taken, has been an MLS starter and an expansion team could get a solid keeper here. When you have Kevin Hartman, a 2nd keeper is a luxury you can't afford to protect.

Ricardo Villar - Turned out to be a nice player down the stretch although more production would be nice. Would he start in Dallas if everyone was healthy? No. so he'll be exposed. Another player in risk of being taken.

Maicon Santos - Didn't produce the goals FCD needs up top, but has been a decent player for a couple clubs. A player an expansion team might take a shot on.

Daniel Cruz - Have we even seen what this guy is really like, he's only been in Dallas a short time. Does anyone else even know what he is about? There's just no room for him to be protected.

Bobby Warshaw - A talented young holding mid or defender with a bunch of upside, versatility and soccer smarts. A Hyndman kind of player. But not yet good enough to be protected. It would be a shame to lose him too.

Bruno Guarda - One of Hyndman's boys, but little risk he gets nabbed at his contract number.

Jeremy Hall - Played with an injured groin from the TFC CCL game (and a half) on. For a player who relies so much on pace, a groin injury is debilitating. His contract number means he won't get picked even if someone thinks he might fill out their back line.

Mykel Galindo - Injuries have killed his career. Low risk since FCD is almost certainly gonna waive him anyway. So if you want him just wait for the waiver.

Edson Edward - Out for a year injured, it will be very tough for him to make the FCD roster in 2012. I doubt he would have made it in 2011 if not for the injury.

Whatever momentum FC Dallas had accumulated with the recent wins against Vancouver and Chicago was lost out in the bay as the San Jose Earthquakes manhandled the FCD side missing half its starters. A sell out crowd watched the home town Quakes beat the depleated FCD side 4-2.

Dallas was missing 6 starters with Brek Shea, Ricardo Villar, Kevin Hartman, Daniel Hernandez, and Andrew Jacobson all being left in Dallas for rest and recovery. Jackson was also suspended for the match due to yellow cards. “Some of the players we left at home are injured,” said Hyndman. "They wouldn’t have been at their best, and we might have made the injury worse. And a couple of them we just wanted to rest."

With Real Salt Lake tieing Portland earlier in the day, a FCD win would have seen them move into 3rd in the West and earn a bye in round one of the playoffs. It has to be wondered if resting those player will pay off since FCD now has an extra game against either New York or Houston (depending on the Houston/LA result on Sunday).

Chris Seitz started in net with Jeremy Hall, Jack Stewart, Maykel Galindo, Bruno Guarda, Bobby Warshaw and Maicon Santos filling in for the other missing players.

It all went sour for FCD in the first half, shortly after RSL had stumbled, FCD proceeded to give up four goals in a span of just twelve minutes. One of the four goals was a PK by Chris Wondolowski allowing him to tie Dwayne DeRosario for the MLS Golden Boot with 16 goals on the season. Seitz made several second half saves to deny Wondolowski the outright title.

One bright spot late was the first career MLS goal for FCD starlet Ruben Luna who netted in the 90th minute.

Attendance: 10,744

Scoring Summary:
SJ – Simon Dawkins (unassisted) 26
SJ – Rafael Baca (Steven Beitashour, Khari Stephenson) 27
SJ – Chris Wondolowski (penalty kick) 34
SJ – Simon Dawkins (unassisted) 38
DAL – George John (Jack Stewart, Daniel Cruz) 46+
DAL – Ruben Luna (Bruno Guarda, Jair Benitez) 90

Misconduct Summary:
SJ – Bobby Burling (caution; Reckless Tackle) 77

FC Dallas – Chris Seitz, Jeremy Hall, George John, Jack Stewart, Jair Benitez, Daniel Cruz (Victor Ulloa 81), Maykel Galindo (Andrew Wiedeman 63), Bruno Guarda, Bobby Warshaw, Fabian Castillo, Maicon Santos (Ruben Luna 73)

Substitutes Not Used: Richard Sanchez, Moises Hernandez, Bryan Leyva, Zach Loyd

TOTAL SHOTS: 12 (Fabian Castillo 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 7 (7 tied with 1); FOULS: 5 (Maicon Santos 2); OFFSIDES: 3 (Maicon Santos 3); CORNER KICKS: 3 (Daniel Cruz 3); SAVES: 5 (Chris Seitz 5).

San Jose Earthquakes – Jon Busch, Steven Beitashour, Bobby Burling, Jason Hernandez, Justin Morrow, Rafael Baca, Ramiro Corrales, Sam Cronin, Simon Dawkins (Ellis McLoughlin 85), Khari Stephenson (Joey Gjertsen 62), Chris Wondolowski.

Substitutes Not Used: David Bingham, Nana Attakora, Chris Leitch, Matt Luzunaris, Brad Ring

TOTAL SHOTS: 19 (Chris Wondolowski 7); SHOTS ON GOAL: 9 (Chris Wondolowski 4); FOULS: 10 (Sam Cronin 4); OFFSIDES: 2 (2 tied with 1); CORNER KICKS: 5 (Rafael Baca 3); SAVES: 5 (Jon Busch 5).

Referee: Kevin Stott
Referee’s Assistants: Adam Wienckowski, Brian Poeschel
4th Official: Yader Reyes

Time of Match: 1:51
Weather: Clear and 76 degrees