U.S. Open Cup preview as Revs, Hoops square off

Soccer Betting Lines

09/14/2007 - Foxborough, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FC Dallas travels to New England Saturday for a Major League Soccer fixture between two teams that are virtual locks for the upcoming MLS Cup playoffs.

The Revs are currently second in the East, seven points back of leaders D.C. with a game in hand while the Hoops are third in the West, within striking distance of the top two teams - CD Chivas USA and the Houston Dynamo.

In the second and final league match between the two clubs, they will be battling for playoff position as well as sending a message for an upcoming game for the U.S. Open Cup championship, which will be played between the Revs and Hoops at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas - the home of FC Dallas - on Oct. 3.

The first meeting saw the Revs pull out a 1-0 win in Frisco behind a Taylor Twellman tally in the first month of the season. Both teams have evolved since that early season contest, meaning it should have no relevance to Saturday's fixture.

The Revolution are coming off a 4-2 loss to D.C. United, the current league leaders. Coach Steve Nicol was ejected from that game and will be suspended for Saturday's contest after arguing a non-call that led to D.C.'s go-ahead goal Sunday.

"I'm not talking about a hairline decision one way or the other," Nicol said. "I'm talking about a free kick that everybody within 20 yards could see what it was. Not one of them saw it? That's what they'll probably tell you. And if they did see it - are you kidding me?"

FC Dallas is coming off a 2-0 win over Toronto FC, but head coach Steve Morrow wasn't happy that it took two penalty kick goals to best the expansion franchise.

"I didn't think it was our best night," Morrow said. "We're happy to get the win and I think we deserved to get three points. It's often the sign of a good team when you don't play your best, win 2-0 and keep a clean sheet."

The Hoops will have to step up their game considerably to be successful at Gillette Stadium against the second highest scoring team in the league. TFC, currently on a league-record 732 minute scoreless streak and the lowest scoring team in the league, had numerous quality chances on a shaky Dallas defense last week.

"We certainly gave up a few more opportunities than I would have liked and at times, it was a bit uncomfortable," Morrow said of the Toronto fixture. "They got the ball into the box a lot. I thought we needed to get a little more pressure on that first ball and stop the delivery in the first place. We could have done a better job in those situations of marking in the box. I thought we dealt well with their direct style for the most part."

The Revs have a number of attacking options with Twellman and his team-leading 12 goals leading the way. Andy Dorman, Pat Noonan, Adam Cristman, Shalrie Joseph and Steve Ralston are just a handful of players who can find the back of the net on the New England roster.

New England will also have to be wary of the Dallas attack that features Juan Toja, Carlos Ruiz and Denilson among others. Denilson, the league's latest designated player signing, scored his first MLS goal last week against Toronto and is slowly finding his groove with his new team.

"He nearly got on the end of a few things," Morrow said. "We just have to get used to the way Denilson plays. When he gets on the ball, we have to make runs. I think it will take a few games to adjust to that."

After Saturday's fixture, New England will travel to Eastern rival Red Bull New York for a Sept. 22 fixture while the Hoops host playoff bubble team, Chicago, on Thursday.

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Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.