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During last Wednesday’s scrimmage at SMU, there were several FC Dallas players who back in the day roamed the pitch at Westcott Field, notably FCD-veterans Daniel Hernandez and Ugo Ihemelu. That 4-0 win over the Ponies was Hernandez’s first game action of the preseason and the longest Ihemelu has played in the first three preseason game.

Other than the scuttlebutt surrounding the team being in a 4-4-2 for the first half, one of the biggest questions to come out of that game was about the one SMU product, Bruno Guarda, who has nowhere to be seen. It could have been a big return to the Hilltop for Guarda after a stellar collegiate career there. Few seemed to notice that the Arlington Oakridge product didn’t play, much less that he wasn’t even with the team there. Once the subject was broached with FCD head coach Schellas Hyndman after Friday’s practice the truth became known.

Guarda had been, according to a club official, suspended indefinitely for a violation of team rules. Hyndman didn’t want to discuss the situation at all, which is never a good sign, especially with the soccer sensei being one of the more forthcoming coaches in any sport when it comes to answering tough questions from the leering press.

So what does this mean for Guarda going forward? The answer is a simple one... probably not much. After Daniel Cruz, there might not have been two players who were more in need of a strong showing in preseason than Guarda and fellow midfielder Ricardo Villar.

Cruz never saw the field during preseason due to a knee issue and has left the club. Villar has recently battled a calf issue but has performed pretty well for much of preseason. Hyndman didn’t mince words earlier this preseason when asked what he expects from Guarda leading into this season.

“I think our midfield is getting thinner. We had too many midfielders last year and it hurt us in the balance but I think our midfielders are getting a little thinner as far as numbers. This is an opportunity for Bruno really to step up and make a difference,” Hyndman said. “This is his fourth year. He either needs to get on the field... or is he good enough to go somewhere else... or is he good enough to play somewhere else? Maybe it’s a different division but there’s a big difference when a kid goes to college his freshman year and when he leaves his senior year. He’s been there four years. This is Bruno’s fourth year in MLS, so this is a big year for him.”

The MLS roster freeze deadline is approaching, but a bit closer is FCD’s trip to Orlando, an excursion that the coaches have said will only include players who figure into their 2012 plans. So will that travel party include Guarda or not? Most likely it will. Word is Guarda apologized to his teammates for his transgression as well as to the coaches and the organization, so expect Guarda to be reinstated this week and also expect him to likely be on the roster come opening day.

Had Cruz been healthy during preseason, then maybe this is a story that turns out differently. Fortunately for this SMU product, Cruz’s knee woes came when they did. However, should Guarda make this roster and have another slip up, then all bets are off. Then, we could see him either traded or maybe even outright released.

Hopefully it doesn’t come to that though as Guarda is still a serviceable player who provides depth in the Dallas midfield.

Update: As of Monday, Guarda had not been reinstated and remained away from the team. When asked if there was an update in the situation after practice on Monday, Hyndman replied “That’s something I’m not going to talk about.”

Late today FC Dallas announced via twitter that the club will scrimmage River Plate tomorrow at 11 AM at FC Dallas Stadium prior to the US Women's game.

The River Plate side will mostly consist of reserves but should still provide some high level competition for a FCD side early in preseason preparation. River's reserves were in Dallas to play in a tournament at the Cotton Bowl that was canceled at the last moment.

FC Dallas also has some exibtions against local college teams over the next week or two. College opponents will see more of the 2nd team from FCD, but should still be some excellent watching for fans.

Sunday, Feb. 12, 11 a.m. vs. Memphis, FC Dallas Stadium adidas Field
Wednesday, Feb. 15, 7:30 p.m., at SMU, Westcott Field
Saturday, Feb. 18, 10 a.m., vs. Tulsa, FC Dallas Stadium adidas Field

Major League Soccer announced the initial list of 52 college seniors from 31 Division I schools who have been invited to participate in the 2012 adidas MLS Player Combine. The annual player combine will be held in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., Jan. 6-10, and is closed to the public.

The initial player list was determined by a panel of Division I college coaches, representing all conferences, who nominated and voted for players in conjunction with MLS coaches. These players will be joined by Generation adidas players, international invitees, additional collegiate players from NCAA Division II and III schools, NAIA schools, and Division I alternates.

The final player list of approximately 66 athletes, as well as additional Combine coaches and team assignments, will be announced at a later date.

2012 adidas MLS Player Combine List by Position

GOALKEEPERS (4): Brian Rowe (UCLA); Chris Blais (University of South Florida); Jhojan Obando (Providence); Ryan Meara (Fordham).

DEFENDERS (16): Aaron Maund (Notre Dame); Andrew Duran (Creighton); Aubrey Perry (University of South Florida); Austin Berry (Louisville); Charles Rodriguez (UNC Charlotte); Chris Estridge (Indiana); Diogo de Almeida (SMU); Hunter Jumper (Virginia); James Kiffe (UC Santa Barbara); Justin Chavez (Tulsa); Matt Hedges (UNC); Mykell Bates (Santa Clara University); Nick Blake (UConn); Pat Sigler (Cal Poly San Luis Obispo); Shawn Singh (UCLA); Tommy Meyer (Indiana).

MIDFIELDERS (19): Alec Purdie (Indiana); Andy Rose (UCLA); Arthur Ivo (SMU); Brendan King (Notre Dame); Calum Mallace (Marquette); Christian Barreiro (UPenn); Eder Arreola (UCLA); Greg Jordan (Creighton); Kenney Walker (Louisville); Kevan George (UCF); Kirk Urso (UNC); Lance Rozenboom (New Mexico); Luis Silva (UC Santa Barbara); Michael Green (New Mexico); Miguel Ibarra (UC Irvine); Nick DeLeon (Louisville); Rafael Garcia (Cal State Northridge); Tony Walls (University of Wisconsin – Green Bay); Warren Creavalle (UCF).

FORWARDS (13): Antoine Hoppenot (Princeton); Billy Schuler (UNC); Brian Ownby (Virginia); Bryan Gaul (Bradley); Casey Townsend (Maryland); Colin Rolfe (Louisville); Ethan Finlay (Creighton); Evan James (UNC Charlotte); Evans Frimpong (Delaware); Karo Okiomah (High Point); Luckymore Mkosana (Dartmouth); Luke Holmes (Akron); Tony Cascio (UConn).

2012 adidas MLS Player Combine List by School

University of Akron
Luke Holmes

Bradley University
Bryan Gaul

California Polytechnic State University
Pat Sigler

California State University, Northridge
Rafael Garcia

University of California, Irvine
Miguel Ibarra

University of California, Los Angeles
Eder Arreola
Andy Rose
Brian Rowe
Shawn Singh

University of California, Santa Barbara
James Kiffe
Luis Silva

University of Central Florida
Warren Creavalle
Kevan George

University of Connecticut
Nick Blake
Tony Cascio

Creighton University
Andrew Duran
Greg Jordan
Ethan Finlay

Dartmouth College
Luckymore Mkosana

University of Delaware
Evans Frimpong

Fordham University
Ryan Meara

High Point University
Karo Okiomah

Indiana University
Chris Estridge
Tommy Meyer
Alec Purdie

University of Louisville
Austin Berry
Nick DeLeon
Colin Rolfe
Kenney Walker

Marquette University
Calum Mallace

University of Maryland
Casey Townsend

University of New Mexico
Michael Green
Lance Rozenboom

University of North Carolina
Matt Hedges
Billy Schuler
Kirk Urso

University of North Carolina, Charlotte
Evan James
Charles Rodriguez

University of Notre Dame
Brendan King
Aaron Maund

University of Pennsylvania
Christian Barreiro

Princeton University
Antoine Hoppenot

Providence College
Jhojan Obando

Santa Clara University
Mykell Bates

Southern Methodist University
Diogo de Almeida
Arthur Ivo

University of South Florida
Chris Blais
Aubrey Perry

Tulsa University
Justin Chavez

University of Virginia
Hunter Jumper
Brian Ownby

University of Wisconsin – Green Bay
Tony Walls

The SMU men’s soccer team heads into the start of the 2011 season ranked No. 5 in the nation. Tim McClements’ Mustangs are also the preseason pick to repeat as regular-season champions in Conference USA. They also have the league’s preseason player of the year in senior midfielder/forward Arthur Ivo and last year’s C-USA Freshman of the Year Juan Castillo.

In short, there is much to be excited about on the Hilltop and specifically about what could go on at Westcott Field this fall. But such lofty expectations haven’t changed the approach of the face of the program.

“Well, the rankings mean nothing now. The most important thing is at the end of the year where you are,” McClements said. “We obviously have high expectations for the group and we try to hold ourselves to a high standard. We have a very, very difficult schedule. We’re just worrying about ourselves, preparing, getting better every day and making sure that we’re doing the right things in training to face William and Mary. After that, we’ll deal with the next set of games.”

SMU comes off a season where they finished 16-2-2 overall and advanced to the round of eight in the NCAA Tournament before falling to fourth-ranked North Carolina on penalty kicks, denying them a trip to the 2010 Men’s College Cup.

McClements admits it’s a delicate balance in being proud of what the Mustangs accomplished in 2010 while also realizing that last year’s success has absolutely no bearing on what this current group could accomplish one year later.

“Obviously, we don’t forget about last year but it’s in the past. You’ve got to put it behind you and then you’ve got to move on. We had a great run,” the SMU head coach said. “We’re very proud of the steps forward that we made but that doesn’t have any bearing on this year or this year’s schedule, which is totally different than last year’s schedule. We have our work cut out for us.”

That schedule begins on Saturday night when the Ponies host William and Mary, a team they defeated in the second round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament at Westcott Field. SMU had a pair of scrimmages during preseason and for the most part, their coach feels like they’re ready.

“You never feel you’re ready but with one week of preseason, you just have a lot you’ve got to cram into a small space. But it was nice to have two games to kind of get things worked out, to get an opportunity to look at players in a couple of different spots and also the new players. That was great,” McClements said.

The Mustangs have a number of strengths, but on the attacking side of things, it all starts with the return of Ivo and Castillo, who combined for 20 goals and nine assists in 2010. While their coach is glad to have them back, he also knows he can expect opposing clubs to focus on shutting them down this fall.

Of course, taking Ivo and/or Castillo out of the equation would open the door for other players to contribute on offense and there is no shortage of players who could step up for SMU this fall when it comes to scoring goals or providing assists. Sophomores Robbie Derschang (5 goals, 5 assists) and Zach Barnes (5 goals) are two such candidates.

“It [having Castillo and Ivo back] gives you two weapons right off the bat that people know they have to deal with. I think there are some other players that will benefit from that. They get a lot of interest from the defenders and I think that our midfielders pick up points because the defenders are keying up on them,” McClements said. “I think that the tandem is great to have. They’ve been working well together. We just hope they continue where they left off last year at the end of the year.”

An additional strength for SMU is a back four that returns largely intact as three of four starters are back from last year. The lone question mark is at right back where Leone Cruz, who was a second-round pick in the 2011 MLS Super Draft, has departed.

“We want to try to keep our back four together as much as we can. Diogo [de Almeida] and Adam Still did a great job last year in the center and Ian Kalis out wide left. We’re trying to figure out who can figure in at the right back position. We’ve gone through a couple of different players,” McClements said. “Some of the kids are on the squad and some of the kids are new players that have come in. But I think that we feel pretty comfortable that we can fill that without a shift of other players.”

However, Cruz isn’t the only notable loss as SMU also lost talented attacker Josue Soto (7 goals, 7 assists) to MLS as he signed a contract with Houston. Not only will they both be missed for their contributions between the lines, but their absence will also be felt in the room.

“Well, their technical ability and tactical awareness are tough to replace but their leadership is the most difficult thing. Fortunately for us, we have guys that step up and fill those roles,” McClements said. “Adam Still’s been our captain since the spring and has done a great job. We’ll probably add another captain here shortly. We’re taking our time with that announcement. We have really good senior leadership and in the junior class as well.”

The other big loss was goalkeeper Craig Hill, who was 16-2-2 with a goals-against-average of 1.06 and four clean sheets in 22 games for last year’s squad. The race for the top spot in goal remains a hotly-contested one and a battle that could very well go down the wire just prior to Saturday night’s season opener on the Hilltop.

“We’re really excited about our goalkeeping situation. It’s just going to be a battle. We have Jaime Ibarra and Juan Robles back, both of those are very steady goalkeepers and we have a lot of faith in them,” McClements said. “We have two freshmen kids that came in this year and they’re challenging as well. It’s really going to be a toss-up. We’re using this last week to evaluate and see who starts. I don’t think in any person we could pick we’d go wrong.”

One reason why the Ponies had so much success in 2010 was partly due to the fact that they were unbeatable at home, with an 8-0-1 mark at Westcott. That’s clearly a bit of history trend their head coach wants to see repeat itself again this fall.

“Well, you want to get your home points. That’s for sure and it’s nice to play [at home]. Our guys really enjoy playing for our home crowd,” McClements said. “Our attendance picked up a great deal last year, especially toward the end of the year. We hope with that as well that continues to increase and it gives us a home-field advantage, having the fans behind you with your family and loved ones getting a chance to watch you play.”

Ed note: please welcome a guest writer today, Harlan Bowling, the FCD blogger over at the TheOffside.com. - Buzz

Just a few days after making the trek up to Frisco to catch FCD against Houston Baptist University, I once again found myself on that familiar field 4, this time for a night scrimmage that saw FCD cruise past SMU 3-1. During the Schellas Hyndman regime, SMU has become a sort of minor league farm system for FCD recruits, so I was interested in catching this one. The turn out from those supporting both FCD and SMU seemed to bring out the energetic atmosphere in fans and players alike. Here's how it panned out:

Final : FC Dallas 3 -1 SMU

Goals:
15' SMU Goal
18' Rodriguez Goal on header (Shea assisted with cross)
56' Luna Goal (unassisted)
77' Ogunyemi Goal (Luna assisted)

Lineups:
FIRST HALF (4-1-4-1)
GK: Hartman
D: Jackson - Loyd - Pradie - Benitez
DM: Hernandez
M: Chavez - Alexander - Ferreira - Shea
F: Rodriguez

SECOND HALF (4-4-2)
GK: Seitz
D: Weidemen - Warshaw - Gordon - M. Hernandez
M: Avila - Guarda - Martins - Lleyva
F: Luna - Galindo

The changes in the second half at the 70th minute were expectedly wholesale, but they also changed the formation back to the 4-1-4-1, so here's how it moved around:

SECOND HALF VERSION 2 (4-1-4-1)
GK: Seitz
D: Ulloa - Pradie - Gordon - M. Hernandez
DM: Warshaw
M: Merosovic - Avila - Guarda - Ogunyemi
F: Luna

OBSERVATIONS:

- Chavez looked especially strong in the first half, darting up and down the field chasing transfers most players would give up on. He also made quite a few nifty moves on defenders, using his speed to go around them, or just as easily straight through them. It will be nice to see if he can bring that sort of work rate a full 90 minutes.

- On the defensive side of the ball, Dallas is obviously trying to find any sort of chemistry in the back four. Hard to blame them, considering the absence of George John in center and Heath Pearce out wide. Nonetheless, Alexis Pradie is making a case for himself as a bench player, and Zach Loyd's maturity seems to be helping, even if his first touch fails him on occasion.

- Speaking of Pradie, it was interesting to see him come back on in the 70th minute after being subbed at the half. It's apparent after 90 minutes on Tuesday, and 65 minutes Friday, Hyndman's wanting to see what this guy can do. In my opinion, he handled himself quite well.

- Hernandez doesn't seem to be too troubled by the knee at this point. He was solid in linking play from the back, and got forward as a disrupter often.

- Of course we can't make any post regarding FCD without mentioning the striker situation, and this won't be the first. While FCD remains committed to finding a top caliber striker, it's becoming apparent that both Rodriguez and Luna don't want to be forgotten. Rodriguez found the net again against SMU, after finding it twice against Houston Baptist. He seems to have found some chemistry with the midfield that will be interesting to watch this season. Luna, on the other hand, is a player that has proven himself at every level as he has progressed. He fought through traffic to score his goal, and was instrumental in providing service to Galindo in the 5th minute (whose 1v1 shot was saved, though it should've been finished), and service to Ogunyemi, who found the net in the 77th. I'm not ready to say we'll be fine without a striker signing, but it's nice to see these guys performing well so early.

FC Dallas will face two college teams this week in scrimmages that will most likely feature bottom of the roster players that should compromise the bulk of the reserve team.

Originally set to take place on Tuesday, Feb. 8, FC Dallas’ scrimmage against Houston Baptist was moved back one week due to wintry conditions in Dallas. The match is scheduled to kick off at 11 a.m. at Pizza Hut Park (Field 4). The match is free and open to the public.

FCD will then face off against coach Schellas Hyndman's former college team on Friday as SMU travels north to Frisco. The match is scheduled to kick off at 7:30 p.m. on Field 4 at Pizza Hut Park. The match is free and open to the public.