You'd have to say that if Real Salt Lake could be assured of winning or drawing 10 games between every loss it suffered, it would jump at the chance.

But most players were having a hard time looking at things that way, after last night's 2-0 loss at FC Dallas snapped its 10-game unbeaten streak and kept it still — after all these years — without a single point on the road against the Hoops. The team might be the defending MLS Cup champions, but they remain 0-8-0 all-time in Texas.

“We're never satisfied with a loss,” defender Nat Borchers said.

Least of all, coach Jason Kreis.

The man whose autographed Dallas Burn jersey hangs on the wall outside the press box at Pizza Hut Park was the first to shoulder the blame for the latest loss, suggesting he should not have switched to a 4-5-1 formation for the game. It looked like it might have been a good idea for awhile in the 101-degree heat and humidity, but ultimately RSL never produced the offense it would have liked.

“First and foremost, I'm looking in the mirror about the decision to change the formation,” Kreis said. “Ultimately, I think that we have to consider all things, you know, when we put the players in different positions and we're frustrated because we're not possessing the ball. There's reasons for that. And so I think we're going to really have to analyze that decision to see about whether or not we can make that same one going forward. We have to continue to learn as coaches.”

Forward Alvaro Saborio was dropped from the starting lineup with the switch — he had started 12 straight games — and RSL used Robbie Findley as the lone striker up top. Forward Fabian Espindola moved into a midfield role on the left side, along with Javier Morales, Ned Grabavoy, Will Johnson and Jean Alexandre.

And though the game might have been different if Morales hadn't hit the crossbar in the 17th minute or defender Jamison Olave's header hadn't been cleared off the line just before halftime, RSL could simply could not find the opening goal that has proved so important for it this season. The team is 9-1-0 when scoring first and 8-1-0 when leading at halftime.

“We came out wanting to be the aggressors in that game, but I don't think we brought the energy that we necessarily wanted to bring,” Borchers said. “We weren't very good possession. I think that was tough for us … we couldn't get guys forward. But give them credit. They played very well and were able to shut down our attack.”