Major League Soccer returned to action this week for its 22nd season and it did not disappoint. It came fully equipped with new teams, new stadiums, and new excitement.
Two more United’s joined the league, Atlanta and Minnesota, although both debut’s resulted in a loss. Orlando City SC unveiled a beautiful new stadium complete with the Purple Wall and it was loud. Striker Cyle Larin summarized it with a smile after the match:
It was loud. It was loud. I’ve never seen anything like that before. They were there from the first to the last minute.
The weekend was full of entertainment. Even the scoreless draws provided plenty of excitement and awe (see DC United vs Sporting KC). All but one match was decided by one goal or less and although it’s still early to make many predictions, week one still provided some potential talking points.
Lets look at five things we learned from MLS week one.
1: MUFC's underwhelming off-season created a team that's just that.
Minnesota United traveled to Providence Park to take on the Portland Timbers in their inaugural MLS match. The joy lasted only briefly, however, as the 5-1 loss was the worst in the history of MLS expansion teams first match.
The club took the opposite approach to fellow expansion club Atlanta United, opting to not sign any designated players and be conservative in the transfer market. It showed, as the team looked like an NASL team facing off against an MLS opponent.
2. The new look San Jose Earthquakes are a team to contend with
Although the final scoreline read 1-0, the San Jose Earthquakes took it to the Montreal Impact, who made the Eastern Conference Finals last year.
The Earthquakes controlled the match all night and led in every major statistical category on offense. The team didn’t bring in any designated players in the off-season (though that could change in summer), however, they still managed to bring in talented players and another homegrown. Both Florian Jungwirth and Nick Lima had solid debuts and Marco Urena was unlucky not to find the back of the net. In total five players made their debut.
The only negative? Poor finishing. This match should’ve been three or four nil at the final whistle. That will have to be fixed quickly.
3. The LA Galaxy have work to do
The loss of Robbie Keane was certainly felt on opening day as the LA Galaxy severely under-performed in the match. The Galaxy easily fell short of their expected goals which can tell you the objective quality of the goalscoring opportunities your team creates.
It was clear that the teams finishing was poor if it wasn’t already obvious from Jermaine Jones’ missed header in the 6-yard box. The club appears to have some work to do if they want to regain the reign they once had over MLS.
4. Bill Hamid and Tim Melia are pretty good.
What a keeper battle this match was. Both Bill Hamid and Tim Melia played an outstanding match to earn their teams a draw in week one. Hamid started off with two saves including a near upper 90 free kick from Benny Feilhaber. Melia countered that with back-to-back saves on a penalty kick and the rebound. The two keepers each had five saves on the night.
5. Deuce is back.
The obvious one. Clint Dempsey returned to action after an extended period away from the game due to a heart condition. He immediately made is presence known scoring Seattle’s only goal of the match. It is yet to see how quickly he will return to the USMNT but it’s nice to see him back on the field in good health.