First post here, here it goes...

I've been thinking about how we could possibly play so poorly on the road, in such a consistent way. Not that we play ball all that we'll at home either, but you know, we don't flat out stink.

After this latest loss, it becomes clear that our lack of goals results from a lack of possession (or strikers, or players on the field..) but that stems from poor spacing. I really feel that our small field contributes to our poor play on the road. The same explains why we are so good at home- we are able to effectively use the whole pitch (to say nothing of the Army), and visiting teams have trouble adjusting to the smallest field in the league. Our practice facilities in Beaverton are the same dimensions as Jeld Wen.

RSL has the biggest stadium in the league (130 yards by 90), and we have the smallest at 110 x 70 (the "shoebox" as players from other teams have called it.) Colorado is tied for 3rd biggest (120 x 75), the other team we've happened to lose 3-0 to in the last few weeks. That's a LOT of extra space on the field, especially in the case of RSL. I feel like practicing on a smaller field puts us at a huge disadvantage. Why not have a bigger practice field so we could properly prepare for these away games we've proven to be so bad at playing these last years.

I'm sure if I were to dig a little I could find all kinds of passing stats and such that would support this theory.

What do you guys think?