With only one win in their last eight games, one might think the Kansas City Wizards would be in dire straits in their quest to have a successful season. But that's not necessarily the case.
If one looks at the Wizards home game Sunday against Chivas USA and then a home-and-home series with Eastern Conference co-leaders New England Revolution, one might think the Wizards have some crucial games coming up. Maybe so.
"We're taking one game at a time, not really looking at any of that stuff," said Wizards head coach Curt Onalfo. "The objective from day one in preseason was to make the playoffs. If you make the playoffs, you give yourself an opportunity to be successful in those playoffs."
The Wizards currently sit in third place in the East, one point behind deadlocked frontrunners New England and New York, who each have 27 points. Close behind K.C. are the Columbus Crew and D.C. United, who trail the Wizards by one and two points respectively.
If the season ended today, the Wizards would fulfill Onalfo's wish and make the eight-team MLS Cup Playoffs as the team with the fifth-best point total, but their lead is slim and both D.C. and New England have a game in hand. The Western Conference's Chivas USA have 27 points and one game in hand.
In their approach to make the playoffs, the Wizards have broken the season down into three 10-game sections in which they targeted 16 points per section to ensure inclusion in the playoffs. The first 10 went well: 20 points. The second 10 so far: six points in seven games.
"It's been extremely difficult to get points. We've played well. In this game, there is so much parity, so you have to just keep plugging away," Onalfo said. "We feel like we're a good team, and we want to continue to get better."
Of their remaining 13 games, six are at home, where the Wizards have been underwhelming in gaining only 14 points of a possible 27. Seven are on the road, where the Wizards have taken 12 points of a possible 24.
"Obviously, there are some points we feel like we've given away or should have gotten, but I think we're pretty comfortable in where we're at," said right back Jack Jewsbury. "The second 10-game season that we talk about, we haven't done as well as we did in the beginning, but we're still playing the type of soccer we want, still creating chances. We just have to continue to try and finish a little better."
Finishing off their chances would help, as most of the matches the Wizards have tied or lost were ones in which the Wizards outshot, and arguably outplayed, their opponents. In fact, all of the Wizards' five losses have been one-goal games.
Since the Wizards' stated goal is to make the playoffs, all remaining games will be crucial as the top two teams in each conference, along with the next four highest point-gaining clubs, make the playoffs. But peering deeper into the future, K.C. will face teams presently above them in the playoff standings only five times and those below the other eight games.
"I believe we have a team that can compete to win our [conference]. I believe we have a team that can win a championship," Onalfo said. "But this team has not made the playoffs in two years. So getting into the playoffs needs to be the No. 1 priority. Once we're able to do that, God willing, then we start honing in on trying to win the [conference] and position ourselves for home-field advantage."
To solidify their playoff status and to have a strong shot at eventually winning the Eastern Conference, the future is now for the Wizards. Sunday's encounter with Chivas USA and the away-and-home set following against New England will be telling.
"The two against New England are like six-point games there. We just have to continue to gain confidence every game and once we get some wins, hopefully, we can start a roll here going into the latter part of the season," said Jewsbury.
Bob Rusert is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
