CARSON, Calif. - The 2007 Chivas USA squad would do well to replicate much of what the 2006 version accomplished. After all, last year's team won double-digit games, won a playoff game and had the third-highest scoring offense in MLS.
But the start left something to be desired. After winning their opener against Real Salt Lake by a 3-0 scoreline, Chivas USA sputtered to an 0-4-1 mark in their next five games and went nearly two months between wins.
This year's players are well aware of last year's sputtering start.
"We talked about that," Chivas USA forward Ante Razov said. "We won our first game but didn't win a whole lot right after and we don't want to do that."
Chivas USA routed RSL in the 2006 opener as Razov had a brace and Juan Pablo Garcia added another goal. But three road losses as well as a heartbreaking 2-1 defeat to the Los Angeles Galaxy was a lowlight of the first two months of the season.
Midfielder Jesse Marsch said the club is focused on the task of being more competitive on the road this season.
"Certainly we need to be better on the road this year," Marsch said. "Last year on the road, we were pretty bad. We need to do better."
Perhaps a season ago the club was not ready to face the rigors of MLS as a unit from the start. But this year's team has already picked up the positives from the end of the 2006 campaign.
Chivas USA's Brad Guzan was superb in goal against Toronto FC as he made four key saves in the first half to help keep the match scoreless. The offense produced two standout goals with Razov netting his 99th career goal and rookie John Cunliffe connected with Sacha Kljestan for a late goal.
The club showed signs of strength on both sides of the field in beating the expansion club.
"We just need to keep pushing forward," Guzan said. "We can't get to a position where we think we did nothing wrong in this game and go from there. We need to continue to improve."
But while the club showed signs of strength, players cautioned against getting ahead of themselves. Chivas USA hit the road on Saturday but will then play the next two games on home.
For now, though, Saturday's match at Houston is primary. A win or draw would give Chivas USA points in consecutive games. A year ago, Chivas USA did not have consecutive games with points until games seven and eight, when the club followed up a 1-0 win against Chicago with a 4-1 win against Colorado.
"We just have to take every game as important. You can't just take a win and think the next one is going to be easy," Kljestan said. "The next one is going to be hard. We're playing the champs. We have to go into Houston with a good mindset. If all else fails we take one point out of there and we can't get on a losing streak again."
Luis Bueno is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
