What’s been going wrong for the Union during a historic season-opening losing streak?

Sitting at the news conference after the Union lost their fifth straight Major League Soccer match on Saturday, Bradley Carnell was candid about his team’s struggles.

“That’s probably one of the worst five-game blocks I’ve ever been a part of,” Carnell said.

The Union (0-5-0) are the only team without a point through five weeks of the Major League Soccer season. It is a shocking turnaround for the team that finished on top of the standings last season.

Fortunately for Carnell and the Union, the team has nearly two weeks without a match because of the March FIFA window. Their next match, a trip to face Charlotte FC at Bank of America Stadium, will be on April 4 (7:30 p.m., Apple TV).

The Union will be without some key pieces over the break, but for the players who remain in Chester, there’s an opportunity to get nearly two weeks of training in.

“We’re going to use this window now to set the tone,” Carnell said. “Set the rights from the wrongs, and make sure we do our due diligence and get to the bottom of it.”

Here’s a look at some of the issues plaguing the Union through the opening stretch of their season:

The Union have a number of problems, but the most glaring is the one that’s easiest to diagnose. Carnell’s side is struggling to score goals.

The Union have scored three times in their opening five MLS matches, and just one of those goals has been scored from the run of play. Indiana Vassilev scored a late penalty in the team’s 2-1 loss to New York City FC, and Milan Iloski scored from a Frankie Westfield throw-in set piece in the Union’s 2-1 loss to Chicago on Saturday.

Only Agustín Anello, a new striker the club signed for a fee of about $2 million in February, has scored from open play. Anello finished a consolation goal from a Westfield cross in the 87th minute of the Union’s 3-1 loss to Atlanta United.

The Union’s inability to score does not stem from a lack of opportunities. The team has outshot its opponent in all five of its MLS matches and has finished three of its five games with a higher expected goals total than its opponent.

Instead, the Union’s offensive struggles stem from the quality of their scoring chances. Carnell’s high-pressing system values taking a high volume of shots quickly over producing better chances more methodically, but the Union have not had success pelting the net this season.

» READ MORE: Andre Blake must put the Union’s woes aside to play the biggest games of his life with Jamaica

In their first five league games, 26.5% of the Union’s total shots have been on target, which is the second-worst accuracy mark in the league. Three of the Union’s 18 shots on frame have resulted in goals.

Carnell’s side has been indecisive in the attacking third, especially when its press forces a turnover. The best example of the Union’s struggles to capitalize on their opportunities came in the 73rd minute of the team’s loss to Chicago.

Jovan Lukić dispossessed Chicago on the left edge of its own 18-yard box and played a pass to Vassilev. Vassilev looked to shoot before pulling back and attempting to find Westfield with a pass, but Vassilev’s pass was too strong and the ball rolled out for a goal kick.

“We can’t get shots off,” Carnell said after the loss to Chicago. “We can’t organize and arrange our feet. It’s three games in a row where we’ve won the ball on the 18, which is our bread and butter. … Sometimes you can score goals with your eyes closed and things are just working, but right now we’ve got to dig deep.”

Two weeks worth of practices without a match should help the Union’s attack gain some more confidence, or at least shake some of the early season woes.

The Union’s start was made more difficult by a pair of red cards in the team’s first two matches of the season.

Ezekiel Alladoh, who joined the Union for a club-record transfer fee of $4.5 million in December, was sent off with a straight red for obscenity in the 58th minute of his MLS debut. The Union went down to 10 men in their season opening 1-0 loss to D.C. United, and Alladoh served a one-game red card suspension during the Union’s loss to New York City FC.

Olwethu Makhanya earned the team’s second red card of the season against NYCFC. The centerback was issued a second yellow in the 92nd minute and was suspended for the team’s next game, a 1-0 loss to San Jose.

The combination of red card suspensions and the squad rotation necessary to account for midweek Concacaf Champions Cup matches has led Carnell to start a different lineup in each of the team’s MLS games this season.

Alladoh has struggled to live up to the expectations of a club-record signing. The 20-year old forward has yet to register a shot on target in MLS play and did not appear on the team sheet for the Union in Saturday’s loss.. Alladoh was present at Subaru Park but was left out of the lineup after being late to a practice.

Last season, the Union relied on the league’s stingiest defense in their Supporters’ Shield-winning campaign. The team allowed a league-low 35 goals last season, even after the Vancouver Whitecaps produced a historic 7-0 rout of the Union in September.

This season, the Union’s defense has not lived up to that standard, allowing nine goals in five games. They have also conceded first in every one of their MLS matches and in both legs of their Champions Cup series with Club América.

Against Chicago and NYCFC, the Union were able to draw themselves level before conceding a second time, but in matches against San Jose and D.C., the Union were held scoreless.

The team’s worst defensive effort of the season was against Atlanta, when it conceded three times before the game reached the 70th minute. Atlanta’s Miguel Almirón was able to pick apart the centerback pairing of Nathan Harriel and Makhanya, earning two assists.

After sending Jakob Glesnes to the Los Angeles Galaxy in December, the Union signed Japhet Sery Larsen to help fill in the absence at centerback. Larsen has featured in Carnell’s MLS lineups, logging 283 minutes across four appearances, but has been unable to help pilot the defense to a clean sheet this season.

The two-week break should provide the Union’s back line some time to work on maintaining its shape. Both goals the team allowed to Chicago started with wide runs that shifted the Union’s defensive unit in one direction, leaving unmarked attackers at the back post of Andre Blake’s net.

“There [were] one or two moments where we’re not in our compact shape, and then that hurts us,” Carnell said. “Overall, we have to do better in our individual battles. Overall, we have to do better within our philosophy and the tactics.”

Blake, who is in his 13th season with the Union, will not be with the team over the break. The goalkeeper will be with Jamaica during the international window as it travels to Guadalajara, Mexico, for FIFA’s World Cup qualifying intercontinental playoffs.

Danley Jean Jacques will also be out on international duty with Haiti, as it plays two friendlies in advance of this summer’s World Cup.