Chivas USA did not come away from their trip to Dallas unscathed, as forward Ante Razov suffered a knee injury that could sideline him for more than four weeks.
However, the club maintained its hopes of earning the Supporters' Shield alive and took a step closer toward claiming their first-ever Western Conference title. While the MLS Cup remains the overarching objective, hitting a couple of other goals along the way would also be significant.
"I think everyone on this team would love to say we got the Supporters' Shield and give yourself an opportunity to win some trophies next year by getting into all those tournaments," defender Jonathan Bornstein said.
By finishing with the most points in the league, Chivas USA would gain entry into the 2008 CONCACAF Champions Cup and claim the first major trophy in their three-year history.
In order to do that, Chivas USA will have to make up two points on D.C. United. The four-time MLS champions have 54 points -- as well as the tiebreaker edge -- to Chivas USA's 52 points. United will close out their season with home games against Chicago (Saturday) and Columbus (Oct. 20) while Chivas USA hosts Colorado on Sunday and Houston on Oct. 20.
Chivas USA has not changed their mentality much since securing a playoff spot on Sept. 22, and the club likely won't deviate much from that in the coming games.
"I would like to see our team continue the mentality we have," Chivas USA midfielder Jesse Marsch said. "Whether it means that certain guys are getting a rest or if we're playing our first team the whole way through to maintain the winning mentality, the fighting for loose balls, the little things that make a difference all year I think we've got to keep that going."
Changing the club's approach to games might come back to haunt the club in the playoffs, Marsch said.
"If we get too relaxed or too complacent I think that's a recipe for danger," he said. "The best thing I think we have going for us is, (a) We're still fighting for the conference title and (b), fighting for the Supporters' Shield. We're not complacent. We want to keep going."
The first 28 games have mostly gone Chivas USA's way. The club has a club-record 15 wins this season and can become just the second MLS team ever to finish their regular-season home campaign unbeaten. With a pair of wins, draws or combination of the two, Chivas USA would match the 2005 San Jose Earthquakes' unblemished home mark.
Also, it would ensure that the club is hitting its stride at the most important time of the year.
"It's preparation for getting into the final," Bornstein said. "If we can end the season on a high note, you are going to have momentum heading into the playoffs. If you are playing well at that time and win every game, I don't think it would take away from the road to the final at all. I think it will only help it."
The one caveat, however, is that clubs have finished with sterling records before and have crashed out of the playoffs early. In each of the last three seasons, at least one conference champion has gone out in the first round of the playoffs. Of those two, the 2004 Columbus Crew and the '05 Earthquakes walked away with the Supporters' Shield.
Of the 11 previous Supporters' Shield winners, four have gone on to win MLS Cup. The last to do so was the 2002 Los Angeles Galaxy.
"Sometimes what you have is certain teams get so far ahead that they start to put it on cruise control and their mentality and their chemistry isn't quite right come that first playoff game, as opposed to the team that just fought their way to get in and they're used to kind of those high-intensity games. So you see that happening sometimes," Marsch said. "That being said, we've talked about it and we're aware of it and I think for the most part we've been in the playoffs for a while here, but I think we've still had our foot on the gas pedal and we're going to try and keep the winning mentality going."
Luis Bueno is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
