Photo by Bill Barrett/ISIphotos.com
By THOMAS FLOYD
When Sporting Kansas City realized it would be playing its first 10 games on the road this season while Livestrong Sporting Park neared completion, the club surely assumed it would start slow and hopefully pick up the pace in the season's second half.
But it's hard to imagine anyone expected this drastic a turnaround.
After going 1-6-3 on that historic road swing, Kansas City has still not lost a match since debuting its new stadium in early June, compiling a 6-0-6 record during that span. With Wednesday's 2-0 win over Real Salt Lake, Kansas City moved into a tie with the New York Red Bulls for third in the Eastern Conference.
"The guys have really dug down deep to get us back to where we are right now," coach Peter Vermes said. "It's a credit to them and their perseverance and work ethic game-in and game-out. Training sessions, as much as we've had to travel up to this point -- I'm extremely proud of them."
Here are some more notes from around the Eastern Conference:
Pavel Pardo's debut with the Fire went about as well as one could hope for Wednesday, as the Mexican drew his side even with a 54th-minute tally during Chicago's 1-1 tie against Philadelphia. After the match, Fire coach Frank Klopas said he was pleased with the contributions of the club's new acquisition.
"It was fantastic to see the first game what he did tonight, [and] not just that he scored the goal," Klopas said to the Chicago Tribune. "Even if he didn't, it was [his] leadership qualities on the field, how good he was with the ball."
COLUMBUS CREW
When Columbus used goals from Eddie Gaven and Tommy Heinemann to jump to a 2-0 lead in the first 10 minutes at Real Salt Lake on Saturday, it marked the first time the Crew got off to such a start since the club's inaugural season in 1996.
"It's cool to be a part of a record," Gaven said to MLSsoccer.com. "It's nice just to be able to get some goals early. It takes a little pressure off our defense."
D.C. UNITED
At 4-3-3 on the road, United is tied for second in MLS in victories away from home. But matters at RFK Stadium, once a seemingly impenetrable fortress for opposing sides, have been much different, with United boasting just a 2-3-5 mark at home. D.C. will look to improve upon that record Saturday against Toronto FC.
"We have to go into it with the right mentality, don't we?" midfielder Chris Pontius said. "We haven't been as good as we should at home for whatever reason, and we need to change that. We should be getting three points, and the road games should be the tough ones."
HOUSTON DYNAMO
If the playoffs were to start today, the Dynamo would make the cut as the last club to qualify for the 10-team field. As such, Houston will certainly want to be as fresh and healthy as possible for the stretch run, which is why coach Dominic Kinnear ran a light workout Tuesday to start his team's week of training.
"I think we kind of toned it down today," Kinnear said to the Houston Chronicle. "It's hot. They put a lot into the game on Saturday. I just want to make sure that when we head into these games, especially with a busy August and September, we have as many guys as healthy as possible."
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION
Argentine striker Milton Joel Caraglio is not only the first Designated Player signing in Revolution history -- he is also one of the only players the club has signed without scouting him in person. New England instead relied on video and word of mouth, Revolution Vice President of Player Personnel Mike Burns told the Boston Globe.
"It is always a little bit of a risk any time you sign an international player," Burns said. "Video is different than live, but our coaches were able to see some stuff they liked."
NEW YORK RED BULLS
After capping off their unlikely Emirates Cup triumph with 1-1 draw against Arsenal on Sunday, the Red Bulls will hope to carry momentum from the tournament into their MLS campaign. New York hasn't won a league match since thrashing Toronto 5-0 on July 6.
"The players must take this momentum boost back with them," coach Hans Backe told MLSsoccer.com in London on Sunday. "I said to them yesterday anything could happen in this Emirates Cup. We could lose 6-0 both games and embarrass ourselves. But to pick up a 1-0 win yesterday and tie a game with Arsenal, even after only having 20 percent of possession, it shows that we can defend well, and we will take that with us."
PHILADELPHIA UNION
After leading scorer Carlos Ruiz's abrupt departure from the City of Brotherly Love, the obvious storyline entering the Union's trip to Chicago on Wednesday revolved around how Philadelphia would fill that sizable void. For one night, at least, it was midfielder-forward Veljko Paunovic who stepped up, notching a goal in the Union's 1-1 draw.
"We asked him to play a different role tonight," acting Union coach John Hackworth said to MLSsoccer.com. "We started him out high alone, with attacking players joining him. But he wasn't really finding the game early, so we moved him farther wide, switched him with [Sebastien Le Toux], and that allowed him freedom to come find the ball underneath. It was better for him once we did that."
TORONTO FC
Having advanced through the CONCACAF Champions League preliminary round and making it to the group stage, Toronto must now face the proposition of playing an extra six games during the final months of the season. For a team already sitting at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, the additional travel and fatigue could be difficult to cope with.
"I think it's going to take a team effort," midfielder Matt Stinson said. "Everybody is going to have to do their part to get through this."
