This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Frisco, Texas • There was a whole lot of new and different in the Real Salt Lake lineup Saturday night.

In the end, though, it was the same old result — a loss at FC Dallas.

Playing a makeshift lineup stuffed with young and little-used players, RSL fell 2-0 at Toyota Stadium, the latest in a long, long list of defeats in North Texas. The defeat dropped Salt Lake to 8-5-3 for the season (27 points), and 1-14-2 all-time at FC Dallas in all competitions.

Among the starters were eight players who have played for the USL Real Monarchs this season, as coach Jeff Cassar opted to rest most of his regulars.

Saturday's game was the fourth in a stretch of six games in 18 days for RSL, which played Wednesday against the New York Red Bulls and now faces home games Tuesday (a U.S. Open Cup game against Seattle) and Friday (an MLS match against D.C. United).

"You can't ever just look at one game," Cassar said. "When you have a five-game plan, you have to look at what happens at the end of it. We have a very important game on Tuesday and a very important home game on Friday.

"I had the utmost confidence in this group of guys to get a result here. We did show a little bit of naiveté on a few plays. But they got an experience they normally can't get. … I thought our men handled themselves extremely well."

But that naiveté cost them. In the 18th minute, Dallas midfielder Mauro Diaz caught the Salt Lake back line napping on a free kick, firing a quick pass to streaking winger Michael Barrios, who broke past flat-footed defenders Chris Wingert and Jamison Olave into the clear.

When goalkeeper Jeff Attinella came out challenge, Barrios simple slid an easy pass to equally open Kellyn Acosta, who tapped the ball into the open net for what turned out to be the winning goal.

"Just miscommunication," defender Phanuel Kavita said. "We kind of fell asleep. They took advantage of that."

"We talk about it all the time, never letting someone play quick," Cassar said, "and we were a little surprised. Typically, that won't happen. And shouldn't happen."

Though the defense tightened after that, RSL never appeared to be a match for Dallas, which controlled 59 percent of possession to Salt Lake's 41 and outshot RSL 12-4, including 5-0 in shots on goal.

FCD doubled the lead on a brilliant play in the 58th minute, when Diaz hit Fabian Castillo in stride with a sensational bicycle kick from midfield and Castillo blasted a shot through a tiny window into the far corner of the goal.

Still, Cassar found quite a bit to be positive about – notably the performance of rookie Omar Holness.

The fifth player selected in the 2016 draft, Holness suffered a terrifying seizure during a USL game on March 26, and his only action for RSL had been three minutes in a U.S. Open Cup game. Saturday he played 90 minutes, and Cassar beamed about his performance, which included a sizzling shot from distance just before halftime that went just wide and represented RSL's best scoring chance of the night.

"It was just absolutely incredible," Holness said. "A couple weeks ago, a month ago, I had a seizure as everyone knows. It was good to overcome that, build my way back into it, continuously improve, work my way from the bottom back up. Just incredible."

"He's had a tough year," Cassar said. "We have very high hopes for him and he did not let us down. He looked like he made a big step in becoming a man out there. … Got into challenges, read the game and still had something left in the tank at the end of the game, which is really surprising with the things he's gone through." —

Storylines

R Dallas' Michael Barrios scores off a free kick from Mauro Diaz in the 18th minute as RSL gets caught napping.

• Real Salt Lake falls to 1-14-2 all-time in all competitions at Dallas.

• Dallas controls 59 percent of possession and outshoots RSL 12-4, including 5-0 in shots on goal.