FC Dallas’ first team sprints across Westcott Field on SMU campus yesterday afternoon during warm ups for open practice day. (Christopher Saul / The Daily Campus)

FC Dallas was at Westcott field Tuesday holding an open practice. Over 300 hundred people showed up to the event, a spectacle that Marketing Coordinator Robert Casner called “an A plus event.”

“I couldn’t be happier, we had a great turnout,” Casner remarked. “We had a couple of hundred t-shirts and we ran out of them.”

The practice, which went from 5 p.m. to about 6:30 p.m., started with typical warm up and drills followed by a scrimmage that lasted for about half an hour. Both teams played with a more relaxed rhythm that saw very few goals scored.

A group of fans with drums pounded out beats that sounded like those akin to war drums leading the fans and adding a true soccer atmosphere to the stadium.

After the practice, the players stayed around to sign autographs for the loyal fans that attended.

For some of FC Dallas’ players and staff, the practice at the field was somewhat of a homecoming.

Head coach Schellas Hyndman was the skipper of the SMU squad for more than 25 years. In addition, players Ugo Ihemelu, Ramon Nunez and TJ Nelson played their collegiate careers on the hilltop.

The team’s practice at Westcott field was one of its first events after returning from a road stretch against Toronto and New England.

FC Dallas’ next game will see them match up against conference foes and rivals LA Galaxy.

The Galaxy, who are third in the western conference, have been a thorn in the side of the Dallas club since their formation in 1996.