Three months ago it looked like the Houston Dynamo were going to cruise to another top finish in the Western Conference standings.
The offense was clicking, the defense was as good as ever and the machine-like defense was turning in shutout after shutout to keep the team at the top of the power rankings.
But lately, as the number of games and injuries have piled up, the Orange have been largely undisciplined and somewhat porous defensively. Those things have to change starting Sunday against the L.A. Galaxy, who feature two of the best players in the world, Landon Donovan and David Beckham.
"It all just comes down to concentration," said Dynamo defender Eddie Robinson. "And that is the difference in this league. The difference isn't athletic ability. The difference isn't physical strength or speed. The difference is mental toughness, especially in the last games of the season."
Two games left is all the Dynamo have to turn the ship if they want home-field advantage in the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs. They need to win both and get some help in order to clinch the top overall seed, and Robinson said that can happen with the right approach.
"Have we been at our best lately? Maybe not," said Brad Davis. "But I think come Sunday, you can throw the last couple of months out the window, because we are going to come out firing."
Geoff Cameron was one of the team's best players in the first two-thirds of the season. Recently, just like many of his teammates, his game has slipped as the Dynamo have fallen back in line with the rest of the league.
Over and over and almost to a man, the Dynamo point to a lack of mental awareness as a reason for the team's slide from the top.
Cameron said there is still a passion for the team to win. But with Sunday's huge match looming, there is no room for error.
"I think we have just been letting down mentally," said Cameron. "But we showed the opposite against K.C. (a 1-1 draw on Oct. 4).
"Granted they did come back to tie that one, but we got a goal with a man down, and that just shows you how passionate we are and how we just work our butts off both on and off the field."
The Dynamo had to play most of that game with just 10 men as an early red card to Cam Weaver wrecked the team's plans to dominate from start to finish.
Concentration very well could be a reason for the late-season stutter, but so is the lack of discipline in key games. The Dynamo need to play smarter football and keep 11 men on the field for their last two games against the Galaxy and Chivas USA.
"We know the statistics, and we know we have had too many red cards this season," said Cameron. "We know we have to cut that out because we are only hurting ourselves. (Head coach) Dom (Kinnear) told us that the stupid stuff has to stop. And I think the guys have responded to it.
"You can't go around putting the blame everywhere. You have to start with yourself first."
Andrew J. Ferraro is a contributor to MLSnet.com
