TFC Reference Library: For Those Who Remain

The MLS campaign resumes this week after a brief hiatus to mark the beginning of the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Toronto FC will still be shorthanded when they travel to FC Dallas this weekend, but it will remain imperative to the club to collect valuable points in the Eastern Conference table, as the matches continue to come, in earnest.

FIXTURES UPON FIXTURES

Over the next 57 days, the club will play 13 times, including two Voyageurs Cup matches — which is an average of a match every 4.4 days this summer. Many of the matches will be against tougher opponents, and the first match on the docket for The Reds has been historically tough: away to Dallas.

DONUTS IN BIG “D”

Toronto FC have never won a league match in Frisco, Texas and have managed to pick up only 2 points out of a possible 27. The Reds did famously beat FC Dallas away in 2011 CONCACAF Champions League play, which saw the Reds through to the knockout stage for the first time, but the league story has been without a happy ending.

SEVEN-MATCH SLIDE

Another streak that Toronto will be looking to snap this weekend is the “Winless in 7” stretch that they’re currently on. One would need to go back SIX seasons to the Fall of 2013 to find a time that Toronto went longer without a “W” — a stretch that also included three draws.

A SPOT OF TROUBLE

Historically, TFC have given out more than their fair share of PKs and have had an incredibly tough time stopping the shot from the spot — a trend that has continued lately.

For the first time in club history, the last three goals scored against TFC have all come from the spot. And the Montero and Gutierrez goals have exasperated an already dubious mark building for Toronto keepers.

Over the past 21 months, Toronto FC have allowed 19 PKs and stopped just one of them — a 94.7% success rate for their opponents. If one was to factor in the penalty kicks at the end of ‘that night in Guadalajara,’ the number rises to 95.7% (22 for 23).

Perhaps VAR has played a role, but the number of chances seems to be rising this season as well.

With the season less than half over, the 6 kicks (and goals) are well on their way to eclipsing the club record of 8 in league play for a campaign.

TFC have now conceded exactly TWICE as many penalty goals as they have converted, historically. and are a -5 in the category this season.

DECISIVE HAMILTON

To try and end on a positive this week, let me point out that Jordan Hamilton has seemed to develop a flair for the dramatic with the club.

More than HALF of Hamilton’s goals (8 of 15) have come in the all-important Final 15 of play, including his match-saving marker at the death v. Kansas City last time out.