The familiar image of ºüÀêÊÓƵ City SC striker Klauss from the 2023 season was him with a wide smile and his arms outstretched as he celebrated a goal. He had 10 goals in a season that was interrupted by an injury that kept him from competing for Major League Soccer’s Golden Boot award.
The most common image of him this season has been different: it’s been him with his hands pressed against his head, looking in wonder at how the shot he just took somehow managed not to go in the goal.
Through the first seven games of the MLS season, plus two games in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, Klauss has just one goal, and that came on a penalty kick, which he took only because Eduard Lowen was injured and not in the game. He has yet to score in the run of play this season.
While that number may be disappointing — he had five goals in his first five games last season on his way to a team-high 10 — the underlying numbers are solid: he’s taken 20 shots, tied for 13th in the league; he has 1.6 expected goals on non-penalty kicks, which is 35th in the league, per Opta Stats. His 1.6 goals below expected on non-penalty kicks is the sixth biggest difference in the league.
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Also solid: Klauss’ confidence that the goals will come.
“I mean, it’s not my first time, it’s not the last time,†he said Wednesday. “A striker is always like that. I don’t think I’m playing bad games. So this would be a different situation when you’re just playing bad, you’re not helping the team, you’re not defending, you’re not creating chances. This will be different, of course. But yeah, I think about the chances. I think when I watch them back that I made good decisions in the moment, so yeah, it’s just small details that the ball didn’t go inside or the keeper made the great save. I’m sure that the things will start to go my way soon.â€
City SC can use that. Through seven games, the team has one win and five ties, so an extra goal here or there could be the difference between a tie and a win. City SC’s next chance comes Sunday afternoon, when it faces Austin at CityPark.
While City SC coach Bradley Carnell had the team focusing on finishing this week in practice, the route out of a run like this is simple for Klauss. He said he has gotten out of them by doing exactly what he’s doing now: Thinking good thoughts.
“You have to stay positive and always believe that each chance that you miss or the keeper saves, you are closer to scoring the goal in the next one,†he said. “You have to stay positive. I think like, especially in this game (against Dallas) that we didn’t score but we had 27 shots, I can’t imagine if we play 10 more games that we have 27 shots that we will score less than two goals at least. So this happens once in a while.
“I try to always stay positive. I’m feeling much better physically right now. I’m feeling stronger. I’m feeling that I’m getting better game by game. So I’m still confident. Of course, goals always help, especially as a striker, but I try to stay confident and thinking in other ways that I can help the team. I don’t think I’m playing bad games. I’m just not scoring.â€
“Oftentimes, you get that one moment and that one moment changes everything,†Carnell said. “Usually when that happens, they become a very dangerous specimen on the field of play when it’s going for them right. So when it’s not, what are you doing? You’re showing extra video, you’re getting extra sessions on the field after training, you’re sending them clips of encouragement, so I think we’ve invested everything. It’s just a matter of time because I’d be more worried if Klauss was not getting chances.â€
It’s not just Klauss, Carnell noted. In its past three games, City SC has just one goal from an attacking player in open play (Indiana Vassilev).
“We’re just waiting for that moment for the penny to drop,†Carnell said.
It looked like the penny was going to drop Saturday for Klauss against Dallas but instead it was more frustration. In the 67th minute, he overpowered a Dallas defender on the end line to win a ball in the box, turned, took one touch to position the ball and with his left foot (his first shot with that foot this season) from a tight angle hit the center of the crossbar and the ball bounced away. Seven minutes later, he took a pass from Adeniran and from 12 yards went for the top left corner, only to have goalkeeper Maarten Paes dive and deflect the shot. Paes, who made seven saves in the game, was named goalkeeper on the MLS team of the match day for the weekend.
“I think it’s more mental,†Klauss said, “because if you start to go down, and you start to say, ‘Oh, why are my balls not going in? Why am I not scoring goals?’, then you stopped to help the team in other ways as well. You have to stay positive. You have to see if you’re making bad decisions, or actually, you made good decisions but didn’t score. Especially in this game against Dallas, I think the chance that I had with my left, I made a good decision that the only way to score was over his shoulder. I made the shot, was off the crossbar and then after he made the great save as well so yeah, I think the goal will come soon. I hope.â€