It is finally here, Major League Soccer’s first kick of 2011. The long wait (or short wait if you think the offseason has been rather quick like I do) is over and the games will pick up in a hurry starting tonight. It seems to be a new tradition for MLS, the first kick of the new season begins at Qwest Field for the third straight season as the Seattle Sounders play host to the LA Galaxy.

The Sounders look for revenge against the Galaxy, who knocked them out of the MLS Playoffs a season ago. On the flip side, the Galaxy are hoping to keep their hot streak alive against the Sounders.

The bar has been set high for both clubs going into this season. LA has title hopes and fans in Seattle expect even bigger things for the two-time US Open Cup champions. The Galaxy have beefed up their lineup a bit with guys veterans like Juan Pablo Angel and Frankie Hejduk. Seattle on the other hand made a few moves while keeping most of their 2010 bunch intact.

Tonight will be all about controlling the tempo of the game for these two. LA will want to silence the Qwest Field crowd yet again (last year they dominated Seattle here) by keeping possession and pressuring the Sounder backline that let in their fair share of goals last year. If LA gets off to a quick start it could be a long night for the hosts. The Sounders have to use their speed on the wings (if Steve Zakuani is able to play tonight of course) and find ways in space to get Fredy Montero and Blaise Nkufo involved in the attack.

With JPA, Donovan Ricketts and Omar Gonzalez all likely to miss tonight’s game for LA, it gives Seattle a solid shot of being in this one. Bruce Arena’s club has had Sigi Schmid’s number these last two years but tonight feels like a draw to me. LA will get on the boards in the first half in this one with LA mounting a comeback late.

Player to watch out for: Landon Donovan, the dude just loves the spotlight in games like this.

WVH Prediction: Seattle 1, LA 1

Montero was thought to be headed off to Europe before long but seeing the Sounders make him a permenant piece to their club shows promise that he’ll stay in MLS longer. He’s a vital player to their offense as he’s lead the team in scoring in their first two seasons with 22 goals and 17 assists in 56 league appearances.

It will be interesting to see how this deal affects the rest of the Sounders this offseason. Sounders at Heart posted a great look at what this deal really means for the Sounders.

To me this deal looks good. It keeps a young player in the league and allows the team to move forward, possibly in a more creative sense to do things this winter. I’d imagine the Sounders will be looking heavily to build their depth through the SuperDraft and with some Home Grown Talent as soon as they can this winter.

Javier Morales is one of a few players in the running for MLS MVP. (Getty Images)

I said earlier in the week I wanted to touch on this year’s MVP race. Well today looked like a good one to do it seeing as how I don’t care about Liverpool’s sale to John Henry and company and I feel a bit lazy to talk about the USOC Final from last night. What can I say its also a busy day around these parts for me.

This year’s MVP race is a hot one. I don’t think that can be said enough really as there are easily six to eight players in the running for the award. I’ll go ahead and say this list below is no ranking because right now today I honestly have no clue who I’d vote for. I know who I am leaning towards but if I had a ballot in my hand today I know it would take me hours to complete it. The race is just that damn close this year.

We have a two groups of players though in the running this time around, your playoff bound guys and your non-playoff bound guys. I’ll go with the playoff group first since it is a bit larger.

Playoff Bound

Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy) – Based on stats you have to include Donovan who clearly makes his team better. He leads the league in assists with 15 and also has offered up a cool seven goals on the year. Not shabby but I do wonder if it will be enough to win the award for the second straight year. Probably to get there he’ll have to help lead the Galaxy to an unbeaten run to finish the season by notching a few more assists and dropping in a goal or two.

Edson Buddle (LA Galaxy) – Some folks will disagree to include the potential Golden Boot winner on the MVP list but why not? MVPs typically score lots of goals and Buddle is no exception. He cooled off a bit in the summer which was expected after he was blazing hot to begin the year. Its no secret he’ll need to get his goal numbers up to at least 20 to really catch people’s eye for this award though.

Javier Morales (Real Salt Lake) - I’ve seen plenty of rants and moans from the RSL folks about how Morales isn’t being discussed as a MVP candidate this year on other sites. Well RSL folks those sites are crazy to dismiss Morales in this award because as you know RSL is a lot different without him on the field. His stats are solid but his play and leadership are what makes this guy a MVP in my eyes. I have a feeling however he’ll be the Shalrie Joseph of this year, you know the guy who deserves it the most but will come up short in the running.

David Ferriera (FC Dallas) – He’s probably the guy I’m leaning towards if I had to vote right now for this award. Still the competition is stiff this year and Ferriera will likely need to help keep this amazing unbeaten run in tact if he has a shot at winning this award this season. Tough to say that but its likely true that some voters will overlook him if Dallas stumbles once down the stretch.

Fredy Montero (Seattle Sounders FC) – You saw last night exactly how good Seattle can be when they want to. Montero is a big reason because of that. He cooled off a bit in September so he’ll need a big October to get some votes here but believe me there is good reason to count Montero in on the voting this year. Not only has he put in his share of goals again this season but his assist numbers are up and he’s helping make guys like Steve Zakuani and Sanny Nyassi better.

Omar Cummings (Colorado Rapids) – Based on stats alone you have to include him in the race. Boy lately he and the Rapids have been on fire (except for that D.C. game). Cummings’ 12 goals has helped push the Rapids back into the playoff picture for the first time since 2006.

Non-Playoff Players

Dwayne De Rosario (Toronto FC) – Hard to deny what DeRo means to Toronto. Take him off the team and you can imagine exactly how bad of a year this club would have had. It was already pretty bad towards the end but I’m sure it would be worse without him. His 13 goals have lead the team but he’s clearly the heart and sole of the club. Something you can’t replace which kind of sounds like “most valuable” to me.

Sebastien Le Toux (Philadelphia Union) – If I’m the Union faithful and the Union front office I would be doing a full on media blitz to get Le Toux up for the MVP. Nothing like trying to get some extra media votes by hyping up your best player. Le Toux has carried this expansion club like no other. There’s no getting around the fact that his 13 goals and 10 assists are impressive. No other player can say that right now this season that they have at least 10 goals and 10 assists.

Others of note: Chris Wondolowski (San Jose); Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Columbus); and Juan Pablo Angel (New York).

David Beckham is back to his old tricks. (Getty Images)

Smell that? Its the smell of October which means playoff soccer is right around the corner. Only three weeks left in the season and already we know of five clubs going to the post season dance. Three spots remain with really four clubs going for them. Sorry Toronto and Chicago you know your chances are longshots at best at this point in the season.

Hard to believe we are down to this, the final couple weeks of the season. Some things still remain the same way they’ve been all season long though, LA is still on top with RSL and Dallas closely behind and New York and Columbus continue to battle it out in the east. Week 27 is in the books for now and boy was it a great weekend of action even with a couple ho-hum draws on the table.

Becks is Back

Add me to the list of folks playing the hype here for the Galaxy now that David Beckham is scoring on free kicks again. Lets just say that LA looked very good in their win last night against Chivas USA. Edson Buddle returned to his scoring form adding to his league-leading tally. But how about that kick from Becks? Classic David Beckham if you will but the important thing here is that Beckham is starting to look good for the Galaxy at the perfect time for his club.

I do think this goal will serve as a bit of notice that Becks is back but then again so should be the Galaxy. With three games remaining the Supporter’s Shield remains theirs to lose here. Sure Dallas could catch them but that’s far off I think even with their amazing unbeaten run they have going on. RSL could catch them as well, which remains the most likely but I’ve said before their schedule isn’t nearly as favorable as LA’s.

Tying Marks

Boy it was a big night in the Big D. I know FC Dallas pulled out their usual 10k crowd at Pizza Hut Park but on a OU-Texas weekend in Dallas that number is actually fairly impressive. But the story in Frisco is the tying of two records, the league’s unbeaten streak number (18) and for Jeff Cunningham the league’s all-time scoring mark.

I always said this season would be special for Cunningham in that regard. After last year it just seemed like Cunningham was destined to at least tie Jamie Moreno for the all-time mark in goals but it looks more and more like this will be the year he breaks the record. With three games remaining and the way he’s been scoring lately you have to figure he’s good for at least one more this season.

Kudos for Jeff too. Earlier this year he wasn’t having the best of times again but after sticking with things he slowly turned his dud of a season into one that he’ll never forget. Kind of hard to believe he’s at 11 goals on the season too at this point. Back in June we wouldn’t have guessed he would even hit seven or eight on the year.

Now as for that club record for FC Dallas. The 18-game unbeaten run is pretty darn special. One more win or draw and they’ll at least have the chance to go down as one in league history for fewest losses in a season. I believe San Jose a few years back may have lost only four or five but in a slightly different era in MLS only losing a handfull of games in a season is pretty impressive.

Dallas still has to close the year out at home to Colorado and then on the road to RSL and LA. It won’t be easy getting to 21 games here but if any club can do it I do think it would be this one.

Mile High Shocker

The biggest result of the weekend was also the biggest shock of the weekend in Denver. I don’t think anyone, even die-hard D.C. United fans would have predicted their club winning in Dick Sporting Good’s Park this weekend but some how, some way they did shocking the Rapids 1-0.

Yea, let me say that again D.C. United beat Colorado in Colorado 1-0 this weekend. Writing it once just didn’t do it justice enough considering D.C. hadn’t won there since 2000.

Furthermore Ben Olsen has now tied his predecessor Curt Onalfo in wins for the year with three. Onalfo was 3-12-3 with United before he was let go. Olsen has done a decent enough job since taking over and grabbing three more wins, two in places I’d never dream of them winning at this season in Colorado and Toronto.

MVP Update

I may do this as a separate post later on today or this week but the MVP race for this season continues to remain one of the toughest in recent memories. But for now I believe its down to four guys; David Ferreira (Dallas), Sebastien Le Toux (Philadelphia), Landon Donovan (LA), and Fredy Montero (Seattle).

You could make an argument for someone like Omar Cummings in Colorado or Guillermo Barros Schelotto in Columbus. But those four continue to remain my top picks here and at this point in the season its hard to really decide who deserves the nod.

If you go on goals and assists in the year it has to go to Le Toux who leads the combo with 13 goals and 10 assists on the year. But then again Ferreira also has seven goals and 13 assists. Montero has 10 goals and nine assists while Donovan leads the league in assists with 14 and has also bagged seven goals.

Its anyone’s guess at this stage really. Le Toux will be pressed hard by the Philly faithful and deservingly so. Some folks unfortunately will have problems with voting in a guy who didn’t at least get his team into the playoffs. I say that’s BS. Without Le Toux Philly would possibly be the worst expansion club of all-time as he’s been apart of 23 of their 32 goals this year.

I hate going homer on you but Ferreira may be my selection if I had to vote today. But again I’ll go more into that later on.

Hanging By A Thread

Kansas City has only themselves to blame at this point. They gave New York all they could handle last weekend and yet nothing was able to go in for them. Peter Vermes’ side continues to still look like the biggest threat to Colorado, Seattle and San Jose for that final playoff spot as their schedule remains the nicest of the four.

But the thing is I wonder if its already too late for the Wizards. At this point they’ll need to at least go 3-0-1 in their final four games. A tall task considering they still have Seattle at home coming up and then a Tuesday-Saturday swing as they travel to Chicago and to New England before closing out the year at home to San Jose.

Again it won’t be easy. Their hope stating out is to catch a tired Seattle squad at home. The Sounders have the USOC final this week. You have to figure they’ll have some tired legs in this game.

Steve Zakuani and Seattle host RSL tonight. (Getty Images)

A lot could change tonight in Seattle after tonight’s clash between the Seattle Sounders FC and the defending MLS Cup champions Real Salt Lake. For one its a chance for RSL to leap over Columbus and LA for the top spot in the league’s overall standings and take possession of the Supporter’s Shield race. But for the hosts, the Sounders could use another win to put further distance between them and the three clubs from the east (Toronto, KC, and Chicago) that are knocking on the playoff door.

Seattle stumbled last week in New England after a terrible 10-minute stretch that saw them go from potentially winning a game to losing 3-1. Blame it on their busy schedule or jetlag but the Sounders lost their edge for a few after going 5-0-2 in their previous seven matches.

RSL on the other hand gained a big win at home once again over the New York Red Bulls. It was a statement win in some folks eyes even if it wasn’t all that pretty at times. Jason Kreis’ bunch continue to impress here as they find ways to get results. RSL is 11-1-6 since April, not a bad record to have at all.

The champs are a still a bit vulnerable on the road this season. Their 3-4-4 mark away from Rio Tinto isn’t anything stellar. I’d imagine RSL will lean heavily on Alvaro Sabario for offense tonight in this one. He scored a goal the last time these two met earlier this year in a 2-2 draw.

The Sounders will obviously continue to lean on the hot foot of Fredy Montero. Seattle showed earlier this year that spreading RSL out on the wings with the play of Steve Zakuani will do wonders for their attack. Doing that tonight will be a key in winning this game for the Sounders.

I’d expect RSL to go physical against Montero in this one too. That may be a key to getting a result in this one. I like RSL even away from home but my heart leans a bit towards Seattle. So for the second straight day I end up with a draw. Seattle will push for three points that they really need right now but RSL will find a way to get something behind Kasey Keller.

Player to watch out for: Alvaro Fernandez – The only DP on the field tonight (Blaise Nkufo is out) will need to put his stamp on this one. Going through him on the wings along with Zakuani will create more chances for Montero and Nate Jaqua up top.

WVH Prediction: Seattle 1, RSL1

LA continues their slump with a recent loss to Kansas City. (Getty Images)

A few clubs took a step forward this past weekend while others were taking two steps back. For the first time nearly all season the standings appear pretty tight in various spots. Up top is becoming increasingly closer as LA drops points yet again while RSL, Dallas, Columbus, and New York all sneak up on the Galaxy.

The final three spots for the playoffs still remain pretty open too. Seattle did their part getting three points this weekend, as did Colorado. The gap between 6, 7, and 8 is there but that last playoff spot is slowly starting to be anyone’s game between San Jose, Chicago, Toronto, and Kansas City.

Week 22 is in the books folks but its weird to think that we can actually say a handfull of clubs are nearly out of the running this year. Yes done. Before September. That’s how things go as the league expands.

Below are some other nuggets of thoughts I had on this past week in MLS.

1. LA continues to sink.

Speed kills and LA has little of it to show for. With Edson Buddle and Landon Donovan now producing on the same level as earlier in the season the Galaxy have gone from unbeatable to very beatable in a matter of two months. Since the World Cup ended the Galaxy have lost their way. In all competitions since July they are 3-6-1. See that middle number? Yeah its growing against teams they should beat, like Kansas City at home. No way on earth the Wizards are better than the Galaxy right now (no disrespect Wizards fans your club is getting much better) but the fight and hunger isn’t there from Bruce Arena’s team.

But back to my main point on the Galaxy. Their lack of speed continues to be an issue as it was a year ago and a couple years before that. Yes they’ll get David Beckham back in the lineup soon enough and I do believe that will be a nice spark to their lineup but speed wise they have none to burn while other clubs are burning all over them. You want to beat LA, just pull a quick counter on them and see what happens.

Its the age in the back and in the midfield that is hurting this side. Its the weakness that has been there all season long that we just ignored because they couldn’t stop winning early on in the season. It also doesn’t help that the quality young players like rookie Michael Stephens that they have are hitting that late summer wall.

2. Montero is the talk of the town.

Right now the MVP race is a two horse thing between Seattle’s Fredy Montero and Dallas’ David Ferriera. Why those two Colombians? Simple really, they both just get results for their clubs. Montero definitely had the upper hand this weekend as Ferriera and Dallas just looked a bit lost in Columbus in the 0-0 draw to the Crew. Montero and the Sounders hosted their old mate Freddie Ljungberg and the Fire this weekend and came away with a big time win, mostly due to Montero.

Seattle should get into the playoffs with the way Montero is playing right now. He, like his club, are peaking (in league play, not CCL play for the moment) at the right time here. Yes they had a bad slump in the early-to-middle part of the year but that appears to be over for now. Montero’s ten goals and nine assists are simply staggering to see.

Another name to consider in the MVP race is still Philadelphia’s Sebastien Le Toux. I just worry that folks won’t give him votes considering how he plays for one of the worst sides in the league right now.

3. New York and Dallas closing the gap?

Both clubs stand a good chance still at winning either their conferences or even the Supporter’s Shield this season. At 37 points they both sit six points back of LA and their overall league lead. Dallas has a game in hand against the Galaxy too.

New York has really started to grow on me lately, something that some of you thought would never happen. Basically it comes down to their recent additions paying off in a big way. Are they a title contender this year? You have to think so. No one wants to play them at Red Bull Arena right now and they have enough talent to get results on the road for a change.

But let’s look at Dallas for a moment too. They now have the league record for unbeaten games on the road at 10 and a club record for unbeaten games overall at 12. Its hard to think that their only losses this year are at home to LA back in May (their most recent loss) and all the way back in the beginning of the year in New York (a game that really should have been a draw).

Could Dallas and New York be headed for a trip to Toronto this November? Right now I wouldn’t bet against it.

4. End of an era

Lets go ahead and put New England and Houston with the bottom tier clubs for this season. As I see Philadelphia, D.C., Chivas all not making the playoffs I see the same out of New England and Houston now too.

Hard to believe the staple of consistency over the last six or eight years is coming to an end with these two. This year just wasn’t in the cards for either of them really as they continue to stumble in games that they probably could get results in.

I know both had red card issues in their games this weekend that definitely changed the outcomes a bit but looking at how the two played in those games they were never going to win them anyways.

New England needs around 20 points in their last nine games to have a shot at the post season while Houston needs about 17 in their final eight games. Doesn’t sound likely now does it folks?

FC Dallas battles Seattle tonight on ESPN2. (Getty Images)

A Thursday night game in Frisco, TX, boy let’s hope the locals come out for this one since it is on national television. The Seattle Sounders FC come into town tonight to face one of two remaining clubs in Major League Soccer without a win on the year in FC Dallas. Both teams coming off late goals with different outcomes in their last games, Dallas could have seen road points in New York while Seattle gobbled up three points on a very late goal at home against Kansas City.

Dallas is hoping to get their first win and not go April winless, something they haven’t done since 2003 when the Burn went 0-1-1.

Tonight’s contest will be all about who’s offense finally gets going here. Dallas has yet to really see Jeff Cunningham be the Golden Boot winner of last year just yet. Then again this time last year it was a similar effect for him as he really didn’t come alive last year until the summer. Seattle on the other hand is hoping to find more offense than Fredy Montero and to find some sort of consistency on offense.

It won’t be easy though as both club’s defenses are solid. Some may not think Dallas’ defense is any better than before but I’m seeing a tougher group out there and one that is getting loads more possession. If Dallas continues to control the possession in the game like they have in each game so far this year they will eventually work out the kinks in their offense in the process.

Seattle must find ways to spread out FCD with Steve Zakuani and get Freddie Ljungberg involved as early as possible. Dallas usually does a decent enough job clogging the middle of the field so Seattle must rely on their wing play in this one.

Dallas must also find a way to keep a lead, they’ve gotten leads in their last two games but failed to get more than a single point out of them. Its not just the play in the back that has given up those goals but the play in the midfield.

Part of me wants to pick Dallas in this one to get their first home win of the year but I see a draw. Seattle will go up early and hold back as much as possible as they have another road game this weekend in Toronto on Sunday.

Player to watch out for: George John – He’s a Seattle local but he’s also hoping to go the full 90 for the first time against his hometown team. He’ll be called on to handle Montero and the other Sounders coming down the middle of the field.

WVH Prediction: Dallas 1, Seattle 1

Week four in Major League Soccer got off to a slight bang last night. Philadelphia and Toronto clashed up on the new grass at BMO Field. Dwayne De Rosario nailed two goals for the Reds in the 2-1 win. Take away the red card to Danny Califf and really Philadelphia should have at least gotten a point out of last night’s game. But they didn’t and its time to move on.

The win was definitely bigger for Toronto, even if it wasn’t pretty. Fans held up banners that said YOU MUST WIN last night. They may have won but they are far from being a team that is on the up and coming here. Preki knows lots still need to change, don’t be at all shocked if they continue to re-work this roster.

One thing we did learn from Philadelphia last night is that Roger Torres and Cristian Arrieta are solid players. Torres’ pass to Jordan Harvey on the lone Union goal was a thing of beauty. I know I’ve raved over New York’s Joel Lindpere as one of the best newcomers this year but keep watching Torres, he’s young and loaded with talent.

Now for the weekend, we have seven games with six coming up tomorrow. Some how Columbus managed to be left off the weekend slate. Can anyone figure out why a club that will have such a heavy schedule late in the year has two weekends off within the first month of the year? Shouldn’t the league have loaded their schedule up a little more early on? I don’t know, just a weird thing to see.

Feel free as always to leave you score predictions and thoughts on this weekend’s games below in the comments section.

Saturday

Kansas City Wizards – at – Seattle Sounders FC

One of the better games this weekend, the Wizards travel to Seattle to face the Sounders. Qwest Field is a place the Wizards managed to grab a win at last year so don’t be shocked if they find a way to do the same this year. With Ryan Smith charging down the sideline it could happen. This will be a great test for the Wizards though, most of us really wonder exactly how good this team really is here this season. We’ve only seen them at home and on a smaller field.

Seattle will need to use their speed and skill on the wings to spread the Wizards out. I’d expect another solid game out of Steve Zakuani in this one as I love him going against either Roger Espinoza or Michael Harrington. I think his speed may be too much to handle for either one. Also can KC handle Fredy Montero up top? They did well to shut down Omar Cummings and Conor Casey a week ago but Montero can be an entirely different kind of handfull to deal with. I like the Sounders at home but in a close one.

Player to watch out for: Jimmy Nielsen – I’m not usually one to point out a keeper in this area but so far he’s kept a clean sheet this season. I’m mainly curious to see how he handles the turf at Qwest, sometimes its a tricky monster to deal with.

WVH Prediction: Seattle 2, Kansas City 1

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Chivas USA – at – Houston Dynamo

This one could be interesting, on one hand you have a club that never does well at Robertson Stadium and on the other hand you have a club that has nearly nothing to place on the field at striker. As we all know Brian Ching is out with an injury, so is Cam Weaver and Luis Angel Landin will sit with a red card suspension. So who will the Orange turn to? Dominic Oduro and newly signed Joeseph Ngwenya.

The thing is Houston finds ways to get points, and wins at home. I expect that to happen this weekend even with all the injury issues that the Dynamo have right now. Chivas hasn’t been tested on the road yet this season, unless you count the SuperClasico game against LA, which I don’t count as a road test. Brad Davis and Geoff Cameron will be too much for Chivas to deal with.

Player to watch out for: Jesus Padilla – If Chivas is going to win they will need this guy to find ways to score again this week. His goals last week against New York weren’t pretty but were enough for three points.

WVH Prediction: Houston 2, Chivas 0

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Chicago Fire – at – D.C. United

Its hard to really think that between these two clubs they combine for only one point on the season so far. And it’s not like that draw for the Fire was pretty either. Both have plenty of issues that is obvious. D.C. however may have a few more issues in the injury department than the Fire do at this point, especially defensively. Its hard to take a club serious that has that many issues in the back like D.C. does right now.

For whatever reason the Fire are a better road team still than they are at home. I think this will be one of those cases where they play the spoiler on the road and grab three points. Even with the issues I just like the Fire’s attack and midfield a little more than United’s right now.

Player to watch out for: Marco Pappa – He has to be the guy that keeps the Fire going in this one. He can be a bit too hot and cold at times but when he’s hot he’s extremely tough to stop.

WVH Prediction: Chicago 2, D.C. 1

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FC Dallas – at – New York Red Bulls

Dallas goes on the road for the first time and it won’t be easy as they get their first try at Red Bull Arena. The Red Bulls will have to do a better job possessing the ball if they want to pick up three points. Dallas has improved a lot in that department this year but only have two points to show for it.

I think the trip back across the country (again) will be rougher on the Red Bulls than some will think. Remember they went from Seattle to LA to NY all within three weeks. That’s a lot of traveling, long traveling to be exact. Dallas will have to find a way to cut down Joel Lindpere’s touches on the ball and spread the field with their wing play. I think we’ll figure out how good exactly this New York side is after this game, but I just small another draw for Dallas though. New York’s offense hasn’t come alive yet this season and believe it or not but Dallas is doing better in the back.

Player to watch out for: Juan Pablo Angel – He’s gotta get going for New York if they want to win this one. He has the technical skill to beat Dallas.

WVH Prediction: New York 1, FC Dallas 1

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New England Revolution –  at – San Jose Earthquakes

The Revs momentum may be slowed down a bit with the loss of Shalrie Joseph this weekend. He’s out again with an injured hip. Still going for a third straight win will be big for Steve Nicol’s side. Frank Yallop’s side got three points of their own a week ago in Chicago thanks to a Ike Opara goal. So the confidence is there for both sides.

The matter comes down to the midfield and even without Joseph I still like how the Revs are playing through the midfield these days. Pat Phelan will likely slide back into the starting role this week. The wing play of Sainey Nyassi will be key for the Revs attack, his pace should be too much for the Quakes to figure out. One also has to wonder what the hat trick for rookie Zach Schilawski, can he keep it up? I think so.

Player to watch out for: Ramiro Corrales – He has to be the one for the Quakes to shutdown Nyassi, if he does that it may give the homeside some points.

WVH Prediction: New England 1, San Jose 0

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Real Salt Lake – at – LA Galaxy

The Big one for sure this weekend, a MLS Cup rematch out in LA. Its easy to say right now that LA is the best club in the league, both standings-wise and play-wise. RSL will have to find ways to get their attack going and pressure a defense that hasn’t given up a thing thus far this season. The big story will be if Javier Morales will be 100% or not, he picked up an adductor strain last week against Seattle. Without him at full strength others like Kyle Beckerman, Will Johnson and Fabian Espindola will have to pick up the slack.

Defensively RSL will have to figure out a way to slow down the hot feet of Edson Buddle. He currently leads the league in goals with five so far this season. Let’s not forget that RSL isn’t the best road team in the league either over the last couple of years. Just too many issues to overcome I think for Jason Kreis’ bunch.

Player to watch out for: Sean Franklin – He’s quietly putting together a very nice season so far for the Galaxy. He’ll have to find a way to slow down Espindola or Robbie Findley in this one.

WVH Prediction: LA 2, RSL 0

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Sunday

Toronto FC – at – Colorado Rapids

No time to rest for the Reds, they immediately go on the road after their first win of the year on Thursday night to face the Rapids on Sunday in Colorado. Not the easiest of road trips for a Thursday-Sunday swing. I’ll make this one short because let’s be honest after last night we know that Toronto lacks the depth and talent to go on Thursday-Sunday swing here. Colorado will be hungry for another win and to get their defense more in check. This should be a good game for them to do just that.

Player to watch out for: Claudio Lopez – He’s new to the Rapids but if he sees playing time he’ll be too much for Toronto to handle.

WVH Prediction: Colorado 3, Toronto 1

Qwest Field will be packed for tonight's opener. (Getty Images)

Well First Kick is finally here. A couple months ago some folks thought it may not happen due to a possible lockout or strike but all of those issues are behind us and we now get to focus on the beautiful game itself. A new season is here and there’s not a better place to open it up I think then at Qwest Field with the Seattle Sounders FC hosting the new kids in town Philadelphia Union.

Piotr Nowak has spent nearly a year putting together this expansion side for Philadelphia. From the expansion draft in November to the SuperDraft in January, along with several other pickups along the way Nowak faced a tough task to live up to last year’s expansion darling, the Sounders.

Seattle has grown stronger in the winter months as manager Sigi Schmid kept most of his bunch from a season ago that was just a few points off of the Supporter’s Shield mark. Schmid will once again lean on young Colombian Fredy Montero and Swedish star Freddy Ljungberg to guide their attack in 2010.

For Philly to win tonight they’ll have to take the crowd at Qwest Field out of it early. Their attack will have to get going which has been a huge question mark on a lot of folks mind this winter. We know Alejandro Moreno can score and we know former Sounder Sebastian Le Toux can be a hand full but will they really be enough against Seattle’s defense? I kind of doubt it.

Look for Seattle to control things in the midfield with Ljungberg and Osvaldo Alonso. Seattle also has an advantage on the wings with Steve Zakuani and Nate Jaqua.

Matchup to watch: Stefani Miglioranzi vs. Osvaldo Alonso

With Fred suspended due to a red card from 2009 (I hate that cards carry over like that), Migloranzi will be called to do a lot of work on the wings and in the midfield for Philadelphia. Alonso was one of the better defensive midfielders in the game last season, look for him to match up well against Migloranzi.

Player to watch for: Fredy Montero – He’ll scored the goals in this one.

At the end of the night I see Seattle’s crowd and talent on the field being too much for the young Union to overcome. I like Nowak’s side but not enough on the road in a very tough first game. Schmid’s team will show exactly how good they will be this year in the opener.

WVH Prediction: Seattle 2, Philadelphia 0

Freddie Ljungberg and Osvaldo Alonso were huge additions to Seattle and to MLS this year. (Getty Images)

Everyone knew going into the 2009 season that the new kids on the block would make a splash. Just the kind of splash the league needed in some folks eyes. The Seattle Sounders FC came into the year not as a typical expansion club. No this group broke the mold for expansion clubs by being able to sign players from their old USL club and by going out of their way to sign quality veteran players to play even before the expansion draft last November.

Yes, these Sounders made a splash on and off the field as well. Minority owner Drew Carey hyped up his club in every way possible on TV or the radio or in newspapers. For once it looked like a club just got “it” for getting people’s attention in a city.

And it worked too as Seattle became one of the most successful expansion teams in Major League Soccer history. No they didn’t end up winning it all like the 1998 expansion Chicago Fire but they did definitely bring in a new era of how to do things both on and off the field.

Seattle started off strong in 2009 with big wins at home in front of massively packed crowds that the league had never seen on a consistent basis before. Guys like Newcomer of the Year Fredy Montero and Nate Jaqua proved to be solid up top while former USL guys like Osvaldo Alonso and Sebastian Le Toux proved they had what it takes to be big time MLS players.

Then there was the DP, the designated player from Sweden Freddie Ljungberg. The Swede proved to a load of folks around the league that he still had some gas left in the tank and that the wouldn’t be a Denilson-type of DP.

The club was tough to figure out for others as they went on to win their first US Open Cup in DC back in September, securing a spot in next year’s CONCACAF Champions League. Let’s just hope this year’s bunch will be one that they can build on for years to come.

What Went Right In 2009:
As mentioned above on and off the field there was plenty to smile about in Seattle this year. Montero was a beast to handle. Veterans like Ljungberg and Kasey Keller were great when needed. New faces like Jhon Kennedy Hurtado made big impacts and Sigi Schmid continues to be the Sigi Schmid we all know. Winning the Open Cup was also a big step for this club as well. They proved late in the year when it mattered most that they could get the job done away from home. Oh and lastly, the fans in Seattle were amazing this year…no getting around it they were just amazing.

What Went Wrong In 2009:
The play on the field wasn’t always so rosy. May was a dry spell that saw the club not win a single game (though they didn’t lose a game either). They struggled at home against clubs they should have beaten and the defense was clearly the weakest link on the field at times. Until late in the year they struggled on the road and looked like they may even fall out of playoff contention. But getting in the playoffs they struggled offensively to beat Houston.

What’s Next:
I think next is just the start of what could be a good run for this club. The foundation is there and we know the veterans that are coming back. I believe the transfer talks surrounding Montero will continue to be there but he will return in 2010. I think they need to get some depth right away on defense and find some extra quality in the midfield. Lastly getting Montero some support up top wouldn’t hurt at all. There is work to be done but to be honest it won’t be as hard as other clubs out there.