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In a season that has jokingly been called an expansion year after a near-total teardown of the roster, the Caps are almost right back to where they started in 2011.

Last week’s 6-1 annihilation at the hands of LAFC could be explained away simply as the result of playing on the road, against a team considered the class of the league, and one that was unbeaten at home. The 1-0 loss to Seattle the week before, an unlucky if heartbreaking last-second decision.

But Saturday’s 3-0 home defeat to Sporting was inexplicable, considering the stakes and the opposition. The Caps were facing a team that lost 5-1 at home to LAFC last week, was just two points above them coming into the game, and one that had scored just eight goals in nine away games — second-fewest in MLS.

“What we need to do is continue to stay the course,” team president Bob Lenarduzzi said post-game on Saturday.

“The results, obviously, haven’t been good, and I think in particular the last three games, have heightened that concern. I think that really shines a spotlight on it. But I don’t think that we really need to start panicking at this stage. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy. (Coach Marc Dos Santos) and his staff have done a good job, (we just have to) stay the course.”

This season’s course has meandered from the listless sails of the opening five games, to the copper-bottomed stretch that followed with three wins — including one over LAFC — and two draws in six games, to the current wreck on the rocks caused by the three-game skid.