Photo by ISIPhotos.com

By JOSE M. ROMERO

TORONTO — Heath Pearce might not be on the field to try and finish the mission with his FC Dallas teammates, but he can take some pride in having had a career-turning season.

The MLS All-Star defender, who was also named to SBI's MLS Best XI, is dealing with a hamstring injury. He's hoping to be cleared to play in Sunday's MLS Cup final against Colorado at BMO Field, but even if not, Pearce has been an integral part of FC Dallas and it's success this season.

Pearce, only 26, is important to FC Dallas not just for his play but because he shares his vast experience with younger teammates, such as his roommate and Dallas centerback George John.

Pearce hopes his contributions to the team since his arrival in September 2009 are taken into account when coach Schellas Hyndman and staff decide whether to go with him. And Pearce also has his team's back.

"We're here for a reason. We've done well to get here," Pearce said of FC Dallas. "People didn't expect us here [in the final]. There's people who have been criticizing us all year. Some people called us pretenders not contenders and now we're here. So for me as well as the other guys, we prepare for it the same way we would any other game. When we play our game and we stick to what we've done to get here, we're a tough team to beat no matter who we play against."

The criticism is motivation.

"We've flown under the radar a lot of the year," Pearce said. "We set multiple MLS records for different things… Until we reached it nobody said anything about it, which was good for us because it didn't put any extra pressure on us." 

The day after Pearce signed on with Dallas, the club crushed the L.A. Galaxy 6-3 and went on to win five of its next six games, going from far out of playoff contention to a win away from clinching a spot. But that last big victory eluded FCD as it lost the regular-season finale at Seattle 2-1 on Oct. 24, 2009.

The strong finish propelled the club into the 2010 season, and Pearce, discouraged by those close to him and plenty of outsiders to sign with FC Dallas, got the last laugh.

"When I came back to the league [MLS], I was getting e-mails from everybody, friends, enemies, saying 'Good luck and have fun at the worst team in the league… Enjoy yourself in Dallas. It's hotter than [expletive].'" I didn't know what to expect when I got there," Pearce recalled.

Dallas lost in Pearce's first game, at Kansas City, but went on a run the rest of the season.

"We finished the season saying it's a failure in terms of where we are, but it's a success in the way that we finished," he said. "We were able to hold on to a core group of those guys that I think has carried over."

FC Dallas found some swagger, Pearce said.

"There was no way we were going to let that happen to us again," he said of the team having a losing season. "I think that's one of the reasons we are where we are. At a certain point this season, we stopped discussing other things and only focused on ourselves."

Pearce has to focus on himself,too. He's not likely to be in the starting lineup for Sunday's match even if deemed healthy enough to play.

Hyndman said he'd decide on Pearce's status later Saturday after Pearce meets with team medical staff. While Pearce could be in the active 18, Jackson Goncalves figures to get the call at right back Sunday against Colorado.

For his part, the U.S. national team veteran feels he can play even though he hasn't appeared in a playoff game leading up to the final. 

"I feel good," Pearce said Saturday after FC Dallas practice. "I'd like to play, obviously the decision is out of my hands. It's up to the training staff and our coaches to make a decision on what's best for not just me and my situation but what's best for the group."

Despite whatever frustration he has from the injury, Pearce is content with his decision to return stateside from year of playing in Europe.

"On a somewhat selfish level for me, my most important thing was to be playing somewhere regularly," Pearce said. "It wasn't so much where, but there was a level that I wanted to be playing at and I wanted to play regularly. I also believe that when I came here, I looked down the roster and I saw a ton of experience on this team and I saw guys who are good players. Sometimes it just takes that one game or that one moment where the team, just everybody looks at each other and says 'What are we doing, we're better than this.' And I think that happened at the end of last year going into this year."