With 24 goals in 14 games at Pizza Hut Park so far this season, FC Dallas are tied with MLS Eastern Conference-leading D.C. United for the most goals at home. On the road, however, it is a different story as FCD have only scored 15 goals away from Frisco. That ranks them tied for fourth in the Western Conference.
That is clearly a trend that must be corrected, especially since three of the Hoops' final five regular season games are on the road. Earlier this season, FCD experienced two three game-losing streaks: one from late June to early July and another that saw them nearly go winless in a four-game road swing in August before winning 2-0 at Colorado on Aug. 30.
While those two losing skeins were the big story, an equally intriguing development was that FCD failed to score in each of those six games. And five of those six matches were played away from home.
Hoops assistant coach Steve Morrow and the FCD players know that the team's lack of scoring on the road is something that must be quickly addressed.
"Mentally, I don't think we change our approach too much (away from home)," Morrow said. "It's probably one of those stats that is difficult to explain. I think any team naturally away from home approaches the game a little more cautiously than at home.
"It certainly hasn't been a conscious thing. We probably haven't created as much as we would like away from home. Our road record isn't bad but I certainly think we could be scoring more goals away from home."
The FCD players agree.
"I think it's just sort of a road mentality, going into things wanting to keep them a little tighter in terms of our shape," said right back Bobby Rhine. "I think when we're at home, we're expected to attack and create chances. On the road, you just look to try and throw teams off their rhythm and disallow chances for them."
Second-year forward Abe Thompson, who scored the game-winner in second half stoppage time of a 1-0 win at Real Salt Lake on July 22, reiterated the lack of risk-taking away from home.
"I think it's just because we play a little bit tighter on the road," Thompson said. "It's harder to pick up points there. So, we try to be a little more aware of what we're doing and tend to take fewer risks than at home because it's tougher."
But for one member of the Hoops, all-star midfielder Ronnie O'Brien, the reason for their offensive struggles away from Frisco is simple.
"I think in the last couple of games, we haven't played well enough," O'Brien said. "We aren't playing as well as we feel we can play and just not getting the rewards for it."
O'Brien added that scoring first, especially on the road, is crucial to managing the flow of play, something FCD hasn't done much of away from their home field.
"I don't think we're controlling games as well as we should on the road," he said. "When you control games, those chances fall for you. It's easier to work hard when you're playing well. When you're not and are sitting back and defending, it doesn't fall for you as often."
O'Brien feels that reversing the trend boils down to soccer basics.
"We need to come back out, pass the ball as well as we can because when we do that, we're one of the best teams in the league," he said. "We work hard. So that's not a problem for us. We need to take better care of the ball, move it one or two more touches and we'll get our chances off that."
Morrow said the number of FCD's road goals is skewed a bit because of five games without a goal, but knows that trend is something that must be reversed before the playoffs begin.
"The majority of games we lost were away from home because we have a very good home record," he said. "That will go hand-in-hand with not scoring enough goals. It's one of those things that you're very aware and conscious of going into the playoffs."
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
