The Union have a real chance to set a record for Major League Soccer’s stingiest defense
With three games to go, MLS's decade-old goals-allowed record in a 34-game season is very much in sight — and the Union want it.
In the wake of the Union’s latest headline-grabbing romp, the statisticians at MLS headquarters noted that the club is on track to become only the third team in league history to finish with a goal differential of plus-40.
The previous two were Los Angeles FC in 2019 at plus-48 (and a single-season points record at the time, 72); and the Los Angeles Galaxy (1998) at plus-41 in the league’s third season.
The Union’s current margin of plus-46 is buoyed at the front by 68 goals scored, including the five scored against Orlando on Saturday. What really stands out, though, is at the back: just 22 goals allowed in 31 games.
With three games to go, the Union are unlikely to catch the goals-scored record of 85 by those two L.A. teams atop the pile. Perhaps they’ll catch the 74 registered by the next teams in line, D.C. United in 1998 and Toronto FC in 2017.
But the goals-allowed record in a 34-game season, Sporting Kansas City’s 27 in 2012, is very much in sight — and the Union want it.
» READ MORE: Dániel Gazdag leads the Union’s latest blowout win, 5-1, over Orlando City
“To not concede goals is obviously the name of the game and something that makes me proud,” manager Jim Curtin said. “What they’re doing right now is phenomenal. It’s unprecedented, it’s impressive, and I can’t say enough about how hard this team works defensively.”
Former strikers or attacking midfielders out there might disagree with the ex-centerback’s view of what counts most. But they wouldn’t deny Curtin the right to be proud of the achievement.
“Defense is still our foundation as a group,” he said. “We score a lot of goals, but I still think we score those goals because of the team defending.”
He cited defensive work by Julián Carranza and Dániel Gazdag that started the buildups to two of Saturday’s goals and noted that he’s been preaching on the subject for months.
The message has gotten through.
“For sure, the record is in our head,” midfielder Leon Flach said. “I think we will break the record. The question is by how many goals. But I’m pretty optimistic that we [will] break the record because how we defend, and how everybody’s investing almost everything in the defense, is incredible.”
Jack Elliott brought some historical perspective to the chase, fitting for one of the team’s longest-serving players. He recalled that at a season’s start a few years ago, goalkeeper Andre Blake “put out a number like 30, 32, and was almost laughed out of the room with that.”
It isn’t fanciful anymore, and Blake isn’t the only reason why. The entire team is involved.
» READ MORE: Dániel Gazdag might not be the Union’s most valuable player, but he is the most outstanding
“I think it’s a testament to the guys that are here and the whole team that helps defensively,” Elliott said. “I think we’re all a part of this record — you can’t say it’s defenders or the goalkeeper. Even the strikers, and sometimes Dániel puts in a shift to defend.”
He laughed for a moment, since Gazdag was sitting next to him on the podium.
“He does, everyone does it, and I think it’s a testament to the team,” Elliott said.
Do it three more times, and the Union will write themselves into the history books.