Considering how many shots on goal Sounders FC had against the LA Galaxy, the result of Sunday’s match was a bit unusual. Only three other times in franchise history has Seattle hit the target on 10 of its shots, and each of those previous occasions resulted in at least three goals.
That was just one of the numerous strange occurrences during the first six weeks of the MLS season. Here are more examples of why it’s been an odd start to the 2015 campaign.
- There were two total goals scored in the Colorado Rapids’ first four matches of the season (both by opposing teams), and in their fifth game, the Rapids won 4-0 on the road over FC Dallas. The home team has been shut out in every one of Colorado’s games this year.
- After starting the season 3-0-0 and conceding just one goal in its first four matches, Dallas has lost two straight and given up seven goals combined in those two games.
- Orlando City SC has two wins, two draws and two losses after six games of its inaugural season. The two victories came on the road, and the two defeats were at the Orlando Citrus Bowl Stadium.
- The teams with the top two goals-against averages in the league (Colorado: 0.40 per match, Houston: 0.50 per match) have a combined 3-3-5 record.
- After losing three straight games to start the season, the Chicago Fire is in fifth place in the Eastern Conference thanks to victories over the Philadelphia Union and Toronto FC. Chicago now has a 20-day gap between its fifth and sixth regular-season games.
- During the first weekend of the year, Toronto FC won 3-1 at Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Toronto has lost all three of its matches since, while the Whitecaps proceeded to win four straight games after that loss.
Thus, Seattle is certainly not the only team irked by some of its early-season results. In reality, Sounders FC has the exact same record (2-2-1) that it had after five matches of the 2014 season, when the club went on to win its first Supporters’ Shield.
Although the Rave Green currently sit in eighth place in the Western Conference, their plus-two goal differential is tied for second in the league. There has been a lot of parity out West – The greatest goal differential in the conference is just three larger than the lowest. Only two teams in the league remain unbeaten, and just one has yet to earn a victory.
So while Sounders FC has had a somewhat frustrating start to the season, the numbers suggest it’s not time to panic for the Rave Green or any of their MLS counterparts.
