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Toronto FC-Chivas USA Preview

Oct 8, 2010 - 7:32 PM By ALAN FERGUSON STATS Writer

Toronto FC (8-12-7) at Chivas USA (7-15-4), 10:30 p.m. EDT

Consecutive losses have all but finished Toronto FC's chances of earning its first playoff berth. That postseason chase could officially end before the start of its next game.

If still alive, Toronto will try to help itself by claiming a road win over Chivas USA for the first time Saturday night.

After suffering a second straight 3-2 loss last Saturday in Seattle, Toronto FC (8-12-7) avoided elimination when San Jose finished in a scoreless tie with Columbus. Another draw - or a win - from the Earthquakes earlier Saturday night against D.C. would lock TFC out of the postseason again.

Toronto finished last in the league in its inaugural 2007 campaign but has missed the playoffs by a combined seven points in the past two seasons. Toronto has steadily fallen behind in this year's race by going 1-6-2 since Aug. 10, but forward Chad Barrett wants his team to end the season positively.

"We still want to finish with the maximum points that we can from now on," Barrett said. "We want to go out on a high. We still gotta go out there and give everything we've got."

To get that strong finish, Toronto could use a better effort from its defense, which has given up three goals in each of the team's last two league defeats.

"It's very demoralizing," goaltender Stefan Frei said. "We have to take a good look at ourselves, although our mentality should've been there from the get-go of the season. People are maybe going to have to look at themselves and worry about their jobs a little more now."

While the defense has struggled, midfielder Dwayne De Rosario has been outstanding at the other end with four goals in the past three games. Having scored a career-high 13 times this season, the TFC captain is chasing his first Golden Boot award but trails Los Angeles' Edson Buddle by three goals.

De Rosario didn't score against Chivas (7-15-4) at home Aug. 7, but Barrett and Nana Attakora did in a 2-1 victory. TFC, however, has been outscored 6-1 while going 0-3 on the road in this all-time series.

Toronto, though, will face a team that has totaled one goal while losing its last three league matches. That lone tally came from Alan Gordon in last Sunday's 2-1 loss to rival Los Angeles and helped coach Martin Vasquez come away with something positive after his team gave up two early goals.

"I was disappointed with the result but pleased with the second half, the effort and response after being down 2-0," Vasquez said. "We came out with a lot of energy and created some chances."

Chivas has lost two of three meetings with Toronto after winning four straight.