FC Dallas cruises past Colorado

Frisco, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - FC Dallas cruised past the Colorado Rapids on Saturday by picking up a 3-1 home victory at Toyota Stadium.

The hosts were two goals to the good inside the opening 11 minutes as strikes from Matt Hedges and Michel put daylight between the two sides.

Dallas was in front by the ninth minute when Walker Zimmerman's header was parried directly into the path of Hedges, who was unmarked inside the six-yard box to complete the simple finish.

Two minutes later, Dallas earned a penalty when Marvell Wynne committed a needless sliding challenge on Tesho Akindele. Michel stepped up to hammer home the ensuing attempt from the spot.

Dallas was in cruise control for the remainder of the match but managed to tack on an insurance goal 10 minutes into the second half when Fabian Castillo smacked a failed clearance into the back of the net from the right flank.

Gabriel Torres pulled back a consolation goal four minutes from time, but it was not enough to soften the blow as Colorado (8-9-6) drops its third straight match to remain in fifth place in the Western Conference with 30 points.

FC Dallas (10-7-6) has won four of its last five league games and is unbeaten in its last eight regular season outings. The club climbs to third place in the Western Conference with 36 points.