KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Galaxy may have the best record in Major League Soccer, but the Wizards have every right to believe they are hotter team.
That might sound like as strange statement heading into Saturday’s matchup at the Home Depot Center, but the statistics resoundingly back it up. Kansas City (6-9-5) are 3-1-2 in their last six games while Los Angeles (13-4-4) have lost four of the last six, including a 1-0 defeat in San Jose last weekend.
From the Wizards’ perspective, those struggles have exposed a chink in the Galaxy’s armor, even if they aren’t reading too far into it.
“If they can just continue to play like they’ve been playing the last two or three games, I would love that,” Wizards forward Kei Kamara said. “We’ll just keep pushing ourselves going forward to where we want to be. Nobody in that locker room wants to just play 30 games this year.”
And therein lies the difference between the two teams. Hot or not, Bruce Arena’s team is all but assured of a spot in the postseason.
The Wizards’ fate, on the other hand, is much murkier.
While Los Angeles focus their efforts on winning the Supporters' Shield, the Wizards are simply looking for a way to extend the season.
Manager Peter Vermes’ team is currently five points off the eighth and final playoff spot. And despite the fact that the Wizards have drawn Los Angeles in each of the team’s last three meetings, Vermes knows the hosts’ record at the Home Depot Center this season (6-1-2) speaks for itself.
The Galaxy boast both MLS’ best defensive unit (.67 goals-per-game) and one of its most explosive attacks (32 goals scored in 21 games). So while the Wizards aren’t ignoring the abilities of Edson Buddle and Landon Donovan among others, they also aren’t letting Los Angeles' success this season distract them from their own game.[inline_node:315757]
“We have to know the strengths and weaknesses of our opponent,” Vermes said. “But, more importantly, we have to know what we do well and concentrate on that. The first sign that you change your style of play or tactics for the other team and you’ve already given up something.”
Based on the two teams’ previous meeting this season, a scoreless draw in Kansas City on April 24, neither side is going to budge.
In all likelihood, the game will come down to which team takes chances first. The Galaxy are 13-0-0 when scoring first. The Wizards are 6-0-2. Neither has recorded a victory when conceding the opener.
That’s as good of a sign as there is for Kansas City, which has scored first in five of its last six games.
“Sometimes all it takes is one goal,” Kamara said. “We know what we can do. We just have to go there and not hold back. We can’t go and say we’ll play defense and come out with one point. When you do stuff like that, you don’t get what you want from it.
Make no mistake, the Wizards want three points, even if they have to fight tooth and nail for them against a Los Angeles side looking to turn around its recent run of bad results.
“It’s hard in this league,” Vermes said. “Every game winds up being a battle – a real, physical battle. You can never really take your foot off the gas pedal.”
With the playoffs approaching, neither side would dream of it.
