How big of a hill do FC Dallas and the New York Red Bulls have to climb? Find out here

We know that going down two goals in a two-leg series is not a good thing, but what odds, exactly, do teams face in coming back from that deficit?

After falling behind two goals in their Conference Championship matchups, both FC Dallas and the New York Red Bulls seem to have their backs against their wall heading home. They each have less than a 25 percent shot of reaching the MLS Cup according to Soccer Power Index projections, which are provided by ESPN.

Going back in MLS history, there have been seven instances in which a team has gone down two goals in the first leg and headed home for the second. In just two of those cases has the team down two goals won the series.

One came back in 2003 when the San Jose Earthquakes were down 2-0 to the LA Galaxy. They proceeded to concede two more goals to the Galaxy before scoring five of their own to knock the Galaxy out in one of the most memorable MLS playoff games of all time. The other instance came in 2004 when the then-Kansas City Wizards beat the Earthquakes 3-0 after going down 2-0 in the first leg.

Below you'll find all the times a team has gone down by two goals and headed home for the second leg in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs.

The difference between these two matchups and six of the seven matchups below is that in this year's playoffs the tiebreaker is away goals. This is different in years previous to 2014, when teams would go to extra time no matter what if they were tied through two legs. This, of course, affects the strategy in which teams played and will play on Sunday.

2003: San Jose Earthquakes vs. LA Galaxy

Leg 1: LA Galaxy 2, San Jose Earthquakes 0 at StubHub Center
Leg 2: San Jose Earthquakes 5, LA Galaxy 2 (AET) at Spartan Stadium

2004: Kansas City Wizards vs. San Jose Earthquakes

Leg 1: San Jose Earthquakes 2, Kansas City Wizards 0 at Spartan Stadium
Leg 2: Kansas City Wizards 3, San Jose Earthquakes at Arrowhead Stadium

2005: San Jose Earthquakes vs. LA Galaxy

Leg 1: LA Galaxy 3, San Jose Earthquakes 1 at StubHub Center
Leg 2: San Jose Earthquakes 1, LA Galaxy 1 at Spartan Stadium

2012: Sporting Kansas City vs. Houston Dynamo

Leg 1: Houston Dynamo 2, Sporting Kansas City 0 at BBVA Compass Stadium
Leg 2: Sporting Kansas City 1, Houston Dynamo 0 at Sporting Park

2012: D.C. United vs. Houston Dynamo

Leg 1: Houston Dynamo 3, D.C. United 1 at BBVA Compass Stadium
Leg 2: D.C. United 1, Houston Dynamo 1 at RFK Stadium

2013: Portland Timbers vs. Real Salt Lake

Leg 1: Real Salt Lake 4, Portland Timbers 2 at Rio Tinto Stadium
Leg 2: Real Salt Lake 1, Portland Timbers 0 at Providence Park

2014: D.C. United vs. New York Red Bulls

Leg 1: New York Red Bulls 2, D.C. United 0 at Red Bull Arena
Leg 2: D.C. United 2, New York Red Bulls 1 at RFK Stadium

Orlando City, New England Revolution, Sporting KC announce roster moves; Tally Hall, Corey Ashe, Jalil Anibaba contract options declined

Early moves of the MLS offseason hit the wire on Wednesday, with the New England Revolution, Orlando City and Sporting Kansas City announcing a slew of roster decisions.

Orlando declined contract options for eight players from their 2015 expansion roster. The biggest names among the players whose options were not picked up are goalkeeper Tally Hall, who underwent surgery on his right knee in October, and defender Corey Ashe. The Lions also declined options on goalkeeper Josh Ford, midfielders Eric Avila and Lewis Neal and forwardsDanny Mwanga, Adam Bedell and Sidney Rivera. The club also announced that midfielder Tony Cascio’s contract has expired.

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Under the terms of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, both Ashe and Avila will be eligible for free agency as players at least 28 years old and with at least eight years of service in MLS. Cascio, Ford, Hall, Mwanga and Neal will be eligible to participate in Major League Soccer’s Re-Entry process.

Orlando announced that they exercised their options on goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr., defendersLuke Boden and Sebastian Hines, midfielders Servando Carrasco, Darwin Cerén, Kevin Molinoand Harrison Heath and forward Pedro Ribeiro. The rest of the Lions roster was already under contract for 2016.

New England declined options on six players: goalkeeper Trever Spangenberg, defenders Kevin Alston and Jeremy Hall and midfielders Timi Mulgrew, Steve Neumann and Tyler Rudy. Midfielders Andy Dorman and Jermaine Jones are both out of contract for the 2016 season.

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The Revolution also announced that they signed midfielder Daigo Kobayashi to a new deal and that goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth, midfielder Zachary Herivaux and forward Juan Agudelo were already under contract for 2016. The remaining 14 players on the New England roster had their 2016 options picked up.

Sporting declined their option on just one player: 27-year-old defender Jalil Anibaba, who will be eligible for the MLS Re-Entry Draft. The team also announced that goalkeeper Jon Kempin, defender Seth Sinovic, and midfielders Mikey Lopez, Soni Mustivar and Paulo Nagamura will all be out of contract on Dec. 31, 2015. The club will extend offers to each of those players and contract negotiations are ongoing.

The remaining 20 players on the Sporting KC roster either had their options picked up or are already under contract for 2016.

Per MLS rules, both Orlando, New England and SKC have until Thursday, Dec. 10, to re-sign any Re-Entry Draft-eligible players, including players whose options were not exercised.