With J Hutcherson -- What we learned over the weekend from the contending clubs in Major League Soccer isn't exactly new or news. Real Salt Lake doesn't normally drop points at home. Columbus should be expected to take advantage of teams like DC.
The Crew's expected opportunism aside, the story of the weekend cuts across both Conferences. Salt Lake's home undefeated streak is intact, taking all three points in their game with the New York Red Bulls. Both teams remain second in their respective Conferences. However, while New York trails Columbus by seven points, the Galaxy's draw with Chicago means their lead in the West is all of a point. Salt Lake is level on games played with a superior goal differential (+21 to +16) and LA are the ones facing a top of the Conferences meet-up with Columbus on Saturday.
For RSL, the problem with an undefeated home streak is chasing it with a road record where they've won three times, lost four, and drawn four. 6th-place Seattle has lost four games at home, just like the two teams behind them in the standings. Whatever is left of what used to be a sizable home field advantage is going to be tested on Thursday. The Sounders are one of three teams trying to break out of the logjam between 4th and 6th.
Salt Lake's uninspiring away record makes this a bigger game than their point total suggests, and that's going to follow them until they show they can consistently not lose home and away. As impressive as the home undefeated streak is, it's just that. A streak, the kind of statistic that is a nice addendum in a championship season, but ultimately only really matters when it ends.
What this pushes up against is the idea of the complete team, and that's always going to mean being as good on the road as you are at home. Right now, that doesn't describe Real Salt Lake even if they're 1st-place in the Western Conference this time next week.
Again, this isn't new or news. RSL is currently suffering alongside most teams in MLS under a peculiar form of parity. For teams in contention to win their conferences, it highlights points dropped. For the teams struggling at the bottom of the table, it's the idea that the only thing separating them from the playoffs is some combination of bad luck and bad calls.
Part of this has a simple explanation. There are very few teams that can consistently punish opponents who don't match up well. Even during LA's undefeated run earlier this season - by any standard an impressive showing since it wasn't confined to the Home Depot Center - they had their moments.
Kansas City should have taken all three points on April 24th, with literally people all over the World trying to figure out how the Wizards didn't score. It's worth noting that Kansas City followed that 'should've been moment' by losing 3-0 to Houston and 2-1 to DC United. It took seven games after that miss against LA for the Wizards to win another game, and it was at home against Philadelphia. They would take on three more losses before finally getting their marquee moment, beating Columbus at Crew Stadium on July 14th.
There are very few teams in MLS who can't point to a game or two that was a season changer one way or the other. It presents the illusion of another table, one that counts those near misses and blown opportunities, magically turning teams with bad records and sub-par displays in the real World into misunderstood title contenders.
As we watch the once mighty Galaxy struggle to win back-to-back games, it's worth remembering that LA and Columbus are the teams in contention for the Supporters' Shield that haven't drawn or lost to Philadelphia or DC United. If you're looking for a class distinction, not giving up points to the expansion team or the team on their way to the worst record in MLS is a pretty good one.
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