Throughout the 2007 MLS campaign, Chivas USA has been all but unbeatable at home as the Red-and-White boast the league's top home record.
But away from home, the club has struggled to pull out results.
Now as the club prepares to visit one of the liveliest environments in the league, Chivas USA will try to carry over whatever momentum remains from the club's recent road trip into the match.
Chivas USA played in New York and Kansas City four days apart to close out last month and have not played since. A win against the Red Bulls combined with a strong effort against the Wizards gives Chivas USA players a base from which to draw confidence.
"We're just trying to continue to move this thing in the right direction," Chivas USA midfielder Jesse Marsch said. "For me, I think that road trip was a huge step in the right direction."
Having won just once in eight road games, Chivas USA visited New York on July 26. The Red-and-White beat the Red Bulls for the first time, by 2-0 on goals by Ante Razov and Sacha Kljestan. The match was a change of pace for Chivas on the road, as the club had allowed 14 goals in their away games.
But Chivas USA displayed much of the elements of success that the club has enjoyed at home. Chivas USA have allowed just two goals at home.
For defender Jonathan Bornstein, the match was a just reward.
"We've just got to put in the work at practice. When we work real hard to set up the game the right way, I think we do well in the games," Bornstein said. "The week before New York, the training sessions were good and everybody was mentally in it."
Although Chivas USA's defense allowed three goals to Kansas City, the effort was strong. Chivas USA coach Preki blamed a bit of bad luck on the result.
"We were very unfortunate not to get a result in Kansas City," Preki said. "There were a lot of positives and hopefully we can build on that."
Overall, the two-game road swing boosted the team's confidence.
"The good thing about the New York-Kansas City trip was that we combined a good mentality with some good soccer to give ourselves a chance," Marsch said. "Obviously we won in New York and lost in Kansas City but in a lot of ways I thought that our effort was better against Kansas City than it was against New York."
Now, the club will be tested against a Toronto side that has been strong at home. Despite sitting in the Eastern Conference cellar on 20 points, Toronto has a respectable 4-4-1 mark at BMO Field. As the season has worn on, the atmosphere at the expansion team's stadium has remained intense.
The atmosphere will probably be one of the liveliest Chivas USA has played in this season.
Still, as long as the club can replicate its recent road success, Chivas USA will have a chance of success.
"The whole year we've been talking about how can we get better on the road, how can we play better on the road, how can we get results on the road," Preki said. "Our last couple of games in New York and in Kansas City I thought we played a lot better, the mentality of the team was much better."
Luis Bueno is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
