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Frisco, Texas • It was a long, long year for Schellas Hyndman after he ditched a successful 31-year college career to coach FC Dallas.

His team was losing, his locker room was divided and his moves were roundly criticized.

He was afraid he knew the answer to the question everyone was asking — himself included — after he took the job in 2008. Why leave the cozy SMU campus in Dallas for the uncertainty of pro coaching?

"There were times I was going, 'Oh my gosh. Man, this could be the biggest blunder of my life,'" Hyndman said.

A year and a half later, Hyndman is taking FC Dallas to its first MLS Cup in part because he turned during the darker times to some of the players who helped him make 23 trips to the NCAA Tournament in 24 years with the Mustangs. Former SMU star Daniel Hernandez emerged as a captain and primary team-builder, while talent upgrades elsewhere ultimately led to Dallas' first playoff berth since 2007.

In the first two rounds, Dallas knocked off the top two MLS teams during the regular season — Real Salt Lake and the Los Angeles Galaxy — and will face Colorado for the title Sunday night in Toronto.

"There's a transition for anybody who goes into professional sports," said Hyndman, who turned 61 this month. "Sometimes I didn't expect the land mines, but there were some bumps in the road. It's so nice to put that in the past."

Hernandez said he sensed trouble in the locker room when he trained with Hyndman's new team before signing in the summer of 2009. At the time, Dallas was near the bottom of the standings before an improbable late-season run ended just one point shy of the playoffs. More personnel changes ensued during the offseason, and players say the resulting improvement in team chemistry helped Dallas through a strange early season, when the team didn't win much — or lose either.

Dallas had seven ties in the first 10 games, and the propensity for draws fueled an MLS record-tying 19-game unbeaten streak. Dallas tied another MLS record with just four losses.

"That's one of the things we pride ourselves on is being a tough team to beat," said midfielder Dax McCarty. —

MLS Cup

R Colorado vs. FC Dallas at TorontoSunday, 6:30 p.m.

TV • ESPN