Sporting Kansas City have lost five straight games when allowing two goals in a match, dating back to July 18, 2012. [Sporting Kansas City]
Sporting are right on track to equal the low total of just 27 goals conceded on the season (13 in 15 games so far) that made them so tough to be in 2012, but find themselves short of even last year's 42 goals scored pace (18 goals) that wasn't enough then, and still isn't now.
The New England Revolution scored five goals against the LA Galaxy on Saturday. The last time the Revs scored five goals in a league game was in a 6-1 victory over the Colorado Rapids on September 18, 2004. The last time the Galaxy conceded five goals in a league game was in a 6-3 loss to FC Dallas on September 12, 2009.
Sure, Juan Agudelo arrived in New England the same time this three-game winning streak started for the Revs, but look no further than their defense — nine goals allowed in 13 games — which is statistically tops in the league by a fair margin, to explain why things have turned around for Jay Heaps.
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Toronto FC have just one win — vs. Sporting Kansas City, March 9 — in their last 27 league games.
They say, "Things will get worse before they get better," but exactly how much worse must they get for the Reds before that turnaround comes? At least on Saturday, they held a lead into second-half stoppage time, which they then squandered and drew the Union, 1-1.
The Montreal Impact are first in the Eastern Conference with 26 points from 12 games — 2.17 points per game — and currently hold a four-games-in-hand advantage on second-place New York.
They're not only atop the East after a dozen games, but by the time the games played column lines up evenly on the standings, the Impact could very easily be 10 points clear of any realistic challengers in the East. Beware, though, for Sporting started equally as hot in 2012, yet they needed a victory on the last day to seal the East's top spot after a summer drop in form.
