FC Dallas remains in the playoff hunt despite inching closer to the longest winless stretch in team history.
Facing the only Western Conference club that's virtually out of postseason contention might give it a good chance to end the skid when Dallas visits Chivas USA on Wednesday night.
FC Dallas (8-7-9) trails Vancouver by three points for the fifth and final playoff spot in the West, despite being in an 0-5-6 slide.
The winless streak is the franchise's second longest, trailing a 13-match stretch from April 21-July 7 of last year.
Dallas has allowed 13 goals in its last six matches after yielding 15 during its 8-2-3 start.
Defender Zach Lloyd and midfielder Andrew Jacobson were out due to a knee strain and a sore hamstring, respectively, in a 2-1 loss at Portland on Saturday. Their status for Wednesday is uncertain.
Hyndman was encouraged by the performance of Mauro Diaz, who scored his first goal in his first start since Dallas acquired the 22-year-old Argentine midfielder last month.
"I thought the offense was playing quite well," Hyndman said. "I think it was Diaz settling things down and making good penetrating passes. The coordination and the feel of what is going on the pitch at that moment really showed us good soccer."
Chivas (4-13-6) will be without Gabriel Farfan and Tristan Bowen as they begin serving two-match suspensions. Farfan was tossed for a serious foul play in a 1-all draw with Colorado on Saturday, while Bowen was sent off after spitting at the Rapids' Chris Klute.
Farfan has played in 12 matches, starting 10, while Bowen is among five Chivas players tied for the team lead with two goals.
Chivas is in the midst of a 1-12-5 stretch and is winless in its last three. However, it beat Dallas 3-1 on March 10 for its only victory in the last nine meetings.
The teams also played to a scoreless draw July 4.
"It's very important to us, especially against a good team," midfielder Eric Avila told Chivas' official website. "It's good to match up and know that we can do big things out here; it just took a little bit of patience.
Hopefully winning the (season) series will also give us a boost to the next game. It's a home game and we promised to try and win every home game for the fans and ourselves. I think we're ready."
