Monday MLS Breakdown: Bobby Rhine's sudden passing leaves FC Dallas at a loss

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – FC Dallas defender Zach Loyd understood the somber significance of the number on his back ahead of Saturday night's 2-0 defeat at New England. 

On a normal night, the defender would have worn his usual number 19 without a second thought. This night didn't qualify.

Any sense of normalcy surrounding FCD dissipated earlier in the week after the sudden passing of broadcaster and former player Bobby Rhine on Monday. Rhine – among his many other memorable traits – had donned Loyd's current number during his ten-year spell (1999-2008) with FCD.

To Loyd, it just didn't feel right to take the field in Rhine's shirt so soon after the 35-year-old shockingly succumbed to an apparent heart attack. Instead, he and the club devised a temporary gesture to carry them through this match as the club sorted through its plans to honor Rhine in the future.

“It's been pretty emotionally exhausting this week with everything that has been happening,” Loyd said after the game. “Me and the club decided that, out of respect for Bobby Rhine, tonight I would change numbers. I decided to go with 91. I hope people got the meaning behind it.”

They would have struggled to miss it after a week filled with an outpouring of praise and sadness from every corner of the American soccer world. Rhine drew people to him for his ability, dedication and selflessness on the field and his gregarious, kind and positive demeanor off of it. After his playing days concluded, he slotted seamlessly into a front-office role and transitioned into the world of broadcasting with the same determination he once showed on the field. 

Rhine's significant presence within FCD made his death all the more jarring. His absence wouldn't slip away undetected, nor would it occur without exacting a significant mental toll upon a squad already grappling with the strenuous physical demands imposed by participating in the CONCACAF Champions League.

All of those considerations – plus Marvin Chavez's absence through injury, Ugo Ihemelu's suspension and Brek Shea's fatigue after his U.S. exploits – ultimately impacted FCD's performance on Saturday night. No excuses were offered in the locker room after the match, but none were really needed after FCD noticeably lacked its usual verve against the Revolution.

“It’s been such an emotional week for us,” FCD coach Schellas Hyndman told reporters after the match. “Losing Bobby Rhine, who we all love, and as I said to the players, if their emotions have been as rollercoaster as mine have been, I can understand just not having it. I thought there were a couple of key opportunities that we didn’t capitalize on and those key opportunities kept us from building (our) confidence and fighting through it.”

The inability to persevere through all of the factors surrounding the match – what player prepares to attend a visitation for a club icon on Thursday night, travel across the country on Friday and then play a game on Saturday? – left veteran FCD goalkeeper Kevin Hartman to sort through how Rhine's death impacted his side's efforts.

“Obviously, it's on your mind,” Hartman said. “You want to win games and you want to dedicate something to Bobby. But then when you're not able to do it because you're not good enough as a soccer team, you feel like you've hurt somebody.”

Those feelings won't subside straight away, but they also won't change the demands placed upon FCD on the field, either. FCD will need to cope with the emotional strain of the past week as it progresses through a campaign that it hopes will end with safe passage through the group stage of the Champions League and the club's first MLS Cup triumph.

“For us, we need to get on the page that certainly we need to make sure that we have him in our thoughts, but we also don't need to be burdened beyond playing the way that we need to play,” Hartman said. “It's going to be interesting for us to try to figure out how to deal with it emotionally. Certainly, it's something fresh and something that's going to be on your mind. He was somebody who was a huge part of FC Dallas. I mean, I saw guys from the Burn from ten years ago who were at the viewing. This is something that is not easy to get over.”

FCD will not cast Rhine's death to the side or get over it any time soon. The club will mourn the loss of one of its cornerstones as the squad dons armbands to honor his memory and tries to pay him the ultimate tribute through its success on the field. Those aspirations and gestures won't dull the pain, but they may just allow FCD to somehow move forward without their departed number 19 around to chronicle the club he loved.

Five Points – Week 26

1. Galaxy clinch postseason berth with deserved victory over Colorado: Landon Donovan continued his under-the-radar MVP campaign by scoring his 12th goal of the season to give Los Angeles a 1-0 victory over Colorado on Friday night.

Bruce Arena's side nearly lamented its inability to convert several chances in front of goal during a rampant first half as the Rapids attempted to snatch an equalizer. Wells Thompson tucked home from an offside position, but the Galaxy once again held out to seal the first of the ten available postseason berths. Based on the current league table and the engaging performance in this match (even with Robbie Keane only available as a second-half substitute), the Galaxy once again looms as one of the principal challengers for MLS Cup glory.

2. Maybe Seattle should skip the spot altogether?: Mauro Rosales missed a first-half penalty as Sounders FC tumbled to a chaotic and tumultuous 2-1 home defeat to Real Salt Lake. Seattle has converted just six of 12 opportunities from the spot in MLS play in franchise history.

3. Changing the game in all of the wrong ways: Carlo Costly spurned three decent chances and then got himself sent off for a ridiculous and unnecessary challenge on Chance Myers in Houston's 3-0 defeat at Sporting Kansas City. 

4. Pontius injury robs D.C. United of a key midfield performer: Chris Pontius could miss the rest of the season after suffering a fractured right tibia in the second half of United's 3-0 romp over Chivas USA. Pontius' influential showing (his inch-perfect feeds set up all three Charlie Davies goals as Davies broke a two-and-a-half month scoring drought in style against a shambolic Red-and-White back line) on the night reinforced his importance to the side and underscored why United coach Ben Olsen will have trouble replacing his production despite the in-house presence of Austin da Luz and Santino Quaranta.

5. Earthquakes finally claim three points: Chris Wondolowski scored his tenth goal of the season after ten minutes and supplied Ramiro Corrales for the killer second goal in the 69th minute as San Jose snapped a 13-match winless run with a 2-0 home victory over Chicago. San Jose had posted a record of 0-6-7 since a 4-2 victory at D.C. United on June 11.

“I think the word would be relief,” San Jose coach Frank Yallop told reporters after the match. “We played well tonight and deserved the three points. As a coach, I don’t look at runs, I look at performances, and I think we’ve performed very well the last six games. Hopefully we can go to Houston with a fresh attitude, and if we can win there, we’ll be right back in it.”

BONUS: Check out Davide Chiumiento's stunning turn and finish in Vancouver's 1-1 draw at New York on Saturday.

Kyle McCarthy writes the Monday MLS Breakdown and frequently writes opinion pieces during the week for Goal.com. He also covers the New England Revolution for the Boston Herald and MLSsoccer.com. Contact him with your questions or comments at kyle.mccarthy@goal.com and follow him on Twitter by clicking here.