FRISCO – Wanted: goal scorers.

For the third time in six home games this season, FC Dallas failed to score in a 0-0 draw against Houston on Saturday afternoon in front of 13,887 fans at Pizza Hut Park.

It's also the third time FC Dallas has blanked an opponent in its last four matches.

"We didn't give up hardly any chances, but to be fair, they didn't really create any," FC Dallas defender Bobby Rhine said. "And you can say we didn't, either. It was a bit of a boring game."

Houston (7-5-2) is three points behind first-place FC Dallas (8-6-2) in the Western Conference, despite playing two fewer matches.

But the state rivalry remains tilted toward Houston, which has won three of the six all-time meetings, including two draws and a loss at Pizza Hut Park.

Saturday, both teams played it safe, holding back to avoid making a mistake and not risking enough to open up the game.

Instead, it was a physical match in which the teams combined for 41 fouls.

Carlos Ruiz, who hasn't scored a goal since April 12, was active early in the first half. In the 10th minute, his header just missed the right post.

His best chance came in the 70th minute, when he received a pass from Dominic Oduro and missed an open shot from outside the box. Oduro and Arturo Alvarez also wasted scoring chances.

"You can't get too anxious, you have to be patient," said Ruiz, who has only two goals in 11 games this season.

Even though FC Dallas was without three of its four starting defenders, Houston couldn't mount a threat, either.

FCD defender Chris Gbandi was suspended because of yellow cards, Drew Moor is participating in Copa America, and Alex Yi has a left hamstring injury.

Instead, Aaron Pitchkolan started for the first time in his MLS career as a central defender. Rhine returned to the right back and David Wagenfuhr to the left.

Together, they kept Houston's Brian Ching and midfielder Dwayne De Rosario in check.

AP

FC Dallas midfielder Pablo Ricchetti (left) challenges Houston midfielder Brad Davis for the ball.

De Rosario escaped once in the 85th minute, but FCD goalkeeper Dario Sala was there to make the save with his chest.

"It was new-look back four for us," FC Dallas coach Steve Morrow said. "Those guys haven't played together. I thought they did a fantastic job throughout the game. [I give] a lot of credit to those guys."

No emotional return for Mulrooney: Midfielder Richard Mulrooney returned to Pizza Hut Park for the first time since a preseason trade to Toronto. He was later traded to Houston.

Mulrooney, who played with FC Dallas the last two seasons, had little to say about the trade that sent him to Toronto for a first-round draft pick in the 2008 MLS SuperDraft.

"I moved on, and I'm in a better place," he said.

"It's just another city. Whether in Kansas City, LA or Dallas, we're looking to win, and that's our mind-set now."

Briefly: Houston goalkeeper Pat Onstad missed Saturday's match after suffering back spasms during warmups. Onstad, the league leader with an 0.83 goals-against percentage, was replaced by Zach Wells. ... Adrian Serioux, who hasn't played since preseason knee surgery, was on the bench for FC Dallas against his former team.