KANSAS CITY -- Beginning with Saturday's home game with FC Dallas, the Kansas City Wizards have 10 games remaining in the rest of the 2008 season. Ten games to surpass a minimum of three teams to qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs -- the main goal when the season began. Kansas City head coach Curt Onalfo believes there are five keys to accomplish their goal in what is the last third of the season.
The first, said Onalfo, is maximizing points at home.
Six of the Wizards last ten matches are at home, including five of the last seven. For a team that has barnstormed at home, mouths would be watering -- the Wizards aren't that team, yet. Adjusting to the tight confines of CommunityAmerica Ballpark has been troublesome, and the Wizards 17 points from nine home games does not reveal their home to be the "fortress" they wished for at the beginning. But the atmosphere has been everything Kansas City desired and more.
"The home-field advantage is really helping us," said Onalfo, "and we're more comfortable with how we play there."
The Wizards' 25 points, good for only a tie for sixth place in the Eastern Conference, demands that they get maximum points at home from here on. Having two of next three games on the road -- at San Jose and Houston -- further make this weekend's home encounter with FC Dallas critical.
Next, said Onalfo, is getting six points from the remaining four road games.
The home results had been tempered by Kansas City's success on the road until a 2-0 loss at D.C. United two weeks ago and a 2-1 loss last Saturday at Colorado. Overall, the Wizards have earned eight points in 11 away games, including only one victory.
"I'm very optimistic; I believe in this team. I wasn't pleased with the performance in Colorado," said Onalfo, "but we're moving forward."
Onalfo also wants to see his team "play every play like it's the last."
The Wizards can look to right midfielder Michael Harrington for this adage. A few moments earlier, Harrington had separated his shoulder after an aerial battle, but that didn't deter him from fighting in Colorado's area for a ball that he deposited in the back of the net to tie the match. A full 90-minute game includes numerous plays that determine the outcome. And for the Wizards, one game can determine their playoff fate.
In addition to playing every play, Onalfo wants his team to play every game like it's the last.
Playing every play like it's the last will likely produce a complete, well-played game, something K.C. has had trouble doing, whether it be a half here or a half there. That inconsistency has stalled recent chances for significant movement up the standings.
The first half in Colorado and the recent road losses are good examples, and those blips in performance must become a thing of the past. The Wizards have not won back-to-back games since the first two games of the season.
"The consistency just hasn't been there. In the position we're in, we need to put two, three, four wins together here and get on a roll," said Harrington. "It's realizing we're fighting for our lives right now. We have to realize we have to start produce every game, not just one game here, one game there."
Kansas City's playoff fate last season, like the two before it, went down to the last match. Every game could be the last in the Wizards' playoff hopes in the end.
Finally, Onalfo wants to see his charges win their individual battles.
Not only does winning individual battles apply to those on the field, but also to those responsible for their performance. When asked if Onalfo felt pressure from seeing two MLS head coaching vacancies open in the past few weeks, Onalfo laid his thoughts out straight.
"I'm in a business that is results oriented. But keep in mind that I took over a team that hadn't made the playoffs in two years, and we made it [in my first season]," he said.
"We have 10 games left in the season; I put enormous pressure on myself to succeed. Having said that, I feel very good about the work we've done here, the progress we've made, and the talent we have in our locker room. It's a matter of now making the most of the last 10 games of the season and finishing strong. It's a process in which we're developing good, young players and we have a good core group of veterans, and I have a very strong belief that we'll succeed."
Onalfo feels that taking 16 points from the last 10 games will find the Wizards in the playoffs at regular season's end. Those 16 would be better than the first two thirds of the season - 12 and 13 points, respectively. Sixteen more points would mean 41 points overall, one more than last season's total, which was only three above the Columbus Crew, who ended out of the playoffs.
The five missions for 10 games begin Saturday against FC Dallas. Fortunately, the Wizards will be near full-strength as Harrington seems on target to play, even though he didn't train through Wednesday, and forward Davy Arnaud's few knocks shouldn't keep him out.
Limiting their falters should see Kansas City into the MLS Cup Playoffs. As the season has gone on, the Wizards have improved -- now it's time for the next step.
"My attitude is, out of the last nine games, we've gotten 16 points. And, as we go into these last 10 games, we have a favorable schedule. We have to build on the fact that we were able to get points from the middle third of the season. [Then] we have to take care of business at home and find a way to get some results on the road," said Onalfo. "If we do, we're going to be in very good standing."
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