MLS First Kick & Hammerheads Preseason Game

It was an amazing week of action for Major League Soccer. The LA Galaxy started off week 1 with a 1-0 win over Sounders FC on Tuesday, then followed it up with a 1-1 draw against the NE Revolution on Sunday. Both Galaxy goals were scored by Juninho. Saturday brought action from so many different places in the U.S. and Canada, numerous story lines and lots of heart-pumping action. The Vancouver Whitecaps drew a sold-out crowd of nearly 23,000 cheering fans in their opening match and they rewarded them with a 4-2 victory over TFC. Charlie Davies put up 2 goals for D.C. United in a win over the Columbus Crew. Omar Bravo notched Player Of The Week honors with 2 goals vs. Chivas USA, proving that he could be a significant addition to Sporting KC this year. The Colorado Rapids, last years MLS Cup Champions, looked really sharp in their first match with a 3-1 win over the up-and-coming Portland Timbers. Goals were scored by Jeff Larentowicz, Omar Cummings and Jamie Smith. Oh, and Dwayne De Rosario scored the 8,000th goal in MLS history.

My main focus on Saturday was the Chicago Fire vs. FC Dallas game at 830pm and Real Salt Lake vs. San Jose Earthquakes at 1030pm. In the opening game, I thought the Chicago Fire really came out looking sharp with their questionable 3-5-2 formation. Ristic and Segares played the outside mid positions, both showing the ability to get forward with the attack and help on defense when needed. The Fire defense looked relatively good, although Jalil Anibaba and Bratislav Ristic both got beat by Zach Loyd leading to FC Dallas's only goal. Milton Rodriguez was on the receiving end with a beautiful left-footed flick-on that beat Sean Johnson with ease. Chicago's goal was scored by Diego Chaves, his first MLS goal in his first ever MLS match. One part of the match Chicago couldn't capitalize on was Brek Shea's red card in the 55th minute, which he received for his "last man" take-down of Gaston Puerari. Next week Chicago(4pm) will take on Sporting KC at home and FC Dallas(9pm) also plays at home against the San Jose Earthquakes.

Chicago Fire vs. FC Dallas - Preview, Recap & Match Highlights (1-1)

OPTA ANALYSIS...

All throughout the season Opta will take weekly statistics to a whole new level. We analyze all 50/50 challenges, aerials won/lost, tackles, launches, crosses, passes, clearances, headers...basically every single touch on the field. One of my favorite stats is the "Take On". With this stat we will be able to see how many times a player "take's on" another player and determine a success rate depending on the outcome. Zach Loyd came up big vs. the Fire with a huge assist to Milton Rodriguez, but what I really liked about his effort and what will be noted as the season goes on, was his ability to get past both Jalil Anibaba and Bratislav Ristic. Loyd deserves just as much credit for that goal as Rodriguez, and with Opta keeping track of that now, everyone will be able to see who has the ability, tenacity and success to take his team to the next level. To understand the way Opta analysts interpret the game(and take-ons), view the FC Dallas match highlight above and you will see why Zach Loyd was given so much credit for the goal.

* Take On/Challenge Lost - Zach Loyd +2, Jalil Anibaba -1, Bratislav Ristic -1 *

My next match was with one of my favorite teams to watch in the entire league and my early favorite to win it all, Real Salt Lake. They took on a persistent San Jose team in monsoon like conditions. Kyle Beckerman scored RSL's only goal on a well placed strike from the top of the box, hitting off the left post before beating GK Jon Busch. The pressure San Jose put forth after that was relentless, but RSL GK Nick Rimando certainly earned his paycheck, securing a 1-0 victory for his squad. The ball was all over the place with swirling winds and pounding rain, making almost every shot on goal a major problem. After it was all said and done, the Earthquakes out shot RSL 16-11 with and 8-2 advantage in shots on target. Next week RSL(9pm) and New England(430pm) both play at home against the LA Galaxy and D.C. United respectively.

San Jose vs. Real Salt Lake - Preview, Recap & Match Highlights (0-1)

Hammerheads win 3rd straight preseason game
The Hammerheads traveled to Coastal Carolina on Sunday and grabbed a 1-0 victory, bringing their preseason goals scored total to 8. Alex Grendi was responsible for the goal this time, his second of the preseason. Wilmington's GK's and defense must be doing something right because they have yet to let in a goal. The team will travel to UNC-Pembroke on Tuesday with kickoff set for 7pm. This will be their 4th preseason game in the last 10 days. I'm sure the team is still trying out different players at various positions, so it's unlikely that David Irving is playing the starting team yet. However, look for the lineup to become more secure as opening day draws near.