We all knew it was coming, but on Sunday, the Dallas Sidekicks were officially eliminated from playoff contention for the 2019-2020 MASL. In a season where few things, if any, have gone right, there was little expectation of Simon Bozas’ first playoff run, although the team underperforming to such an extreme is, to put it lightly, historically significant.
This just might be the worst-performing Sidekicks team ever.
Let’s start with the few positive takeaways from the recent slate of games. Following the blowout in Ontario, the Sidekicks actually held their own against Turlock and San Diego. They even managed to take a 3-1 lead against Turlock in one of the league’s notoriously tough venues. Lipe de Andrade, Freddy Moojen, and Victor Almendariz tried to put the team on their backs, scoring or assisting on 7 of the 8 goals across the last two games.
The defense has also found something resembling consistency, conceding just 6 goals each to Turlock and San Diego as opposed to the 13 given up to Ontario last Wednesday. If this were still November or December, those would be promising signs, and the three attackers aren’t a bad offensive core to rebuild around.
Average attendance has also remained north of 2000, which isn’t terrible given the overall lower attendances league-wide this season. While the most recent game drew just 1,784, the team isn’t exactly inspiring fans with the results on the floor, and for a team having this bad of a season, it’s not terrible.
Unfortunately, that’s about all of the remaining positives. The Sidekicks have now lost 10 games in a row, sit 2-17, and at best can narrowly edge out the 1985-86 and 2002-03 teams, which both finished with a .250 win percentage, by winning their remaining five games. Things have never been this bad before.
Normally, in this situation, I’d be calling for a change in coaches or general managers, but given the unique circumstances surrounding the man who fulfills both of those roles for the team, that’s not very likely without some significant changes in the front office.
So that’s that, I suppose. At least the season’s almost over, MLS season is around the corner, and the Outlaws aren’t looking too hot at the moment either.