2009 Recap: The Goats had a decent 2009, all things considered. They qualified for the playoffs after finishing fourth in the West, but they led their conference for most of the year, so their final 13-11-6 record was a bit of a downer. Plus, they got schooled in the playoffs by their crosstown rival, the LA Gals. All in all, Preki’s posse was disappointing. Less than a week after the season ended, their leader jumped town too, leaving the squad in jeopardy as 2010 approaches.
Top Players: Zach Thornton had the best season of his entire career, and it has been a very, very long one. The old man mounted an amazing comeback campaign and secured GK of the Year honors with a league-leading 0.87 GAA and 12 shutouts. There was no “real” offensive leader, but Eduardo Lillingston was electric (8 goals) in his mere 15 games. Silky smooth Special K, Sacha Kljestan, also had his moments and Jon Bornstein also deserves a mention.
Symbolic Stats: Well, their 34 goals (4th fewest in MLS) certainly tells me that their defense was fantastic. The fact they drew about 15K fans a game tells me alot too. It tells me Becks is worth 5K butts since the Gals drew about 20K on average @ the HDC. Lastly, they gave up just 2 goals in the first 15 minutes all year. This stat means the most. It means they started games very strong, but faded in the match’s waning minutes, which is symbolic of their entire season.
2009 MLS Season Review:
