Since snapping Houston Dynamo’s 36-game home unbeaten streak on May 12, Sporting Kansas City is winless in three MLS matches and suffered a surprise defeat to Orlando City in the U.S. Open Cup Fourth Round.
With Matt Besler, Graham Zusi and Kei Kamara among seven Sporting KC players away on international duty in the last month, Sporting KC’s squad has admittedly been cut thin. However, that doesn’t lessen the blow of multiple home losses and a “devastating” elimination from the U.S. Open Cup, as manager Peter Vermes described it.
Following two straight seasons of Eastern Conference supremacy, Sporting KC’s current position in the standings seems unfamiliar. The team is tied for third with 22 points, but falls to fifth -- the final Eastern Conference playoff spot -- after tiebreakers. New England and Columbus, both on 20 points, are breathing down their necks.
During these spells, it is easy to question tactics and dwell on mistakes. But the biggest mistake, as MLS history suggests, would be to panic.
Bummed about Sporting KC’s failure to defend the U.S. Open Cup? Just one team in the previous 14 MLS seasons (2005 Los Angeles Galaxy) has pulled off the U.S. Open Cup and MLS Cup double. Plus, if you aren’t going to win America’s oldest sports tournament, hindsight suggests it’s better to bow out early, especially when the CONCACAF Champions League thickens Sporting KC’s fixture list this fall.
Feeling uneasy about Sporting KC’s spot in the Eastern Conference standings? Since MLS split into two conferences in 2002, the Eastern Conference regular season champion has gone on to win MLS Cup just once (2008 Columbus Crew). During the same 11-year period, only three Supporters Shield champions have won MLS Cup.
In fact, several recent MLS Cup champions had mediocre regular seasons and narrowly qualified for the postseason, only to get hot at just the right time. The Houston Dynamo were seeded fifth in the 2006 playoffs before winning the first of two straight MLS Cups. 2009 champion Real Salt Lake had an 11-12-7 regular season record and snuck into the playoffs through a goal differential tiebreaker. 2010 champion Colorado had a 12-8-10 record and had the second-fewest points of any postseason qualifier.
The point here is that Sporting KC’s mid-table position has it all to play for in the regular season's final four months, beginning Saturday at FC Dallas.
This team -- given its experience and quality -- can still challenge for the Supporters Shield. Important players are set to return from international duty. Teal Bunbury is back in the attacking fray. Nineteen league games remain on the schedule. Add in four CONCACAF Champions League group matches, and Sporting KC has more than enough time to rediscover their form.
One final thought: the parity in MLS is most evident during the playoffs. Nine months of work ultimately boil down into a six-week mini-season contested by half the league’s clubs. The regular season's best teams don’t always win. No one knows that more than Sporting KC, winners of two straight regular season conference crowns and victims of back-to-back postseason heartbreaks.
While a current snapshot of Sporting KC’s season could always look better, the snapshot in MLS that matters most is the one at season’s end.
