Charlie Davies had a special debut in D.C. against Columbus. (Getty Images)

The first full week is in the books for Major League Soccer and already the new guys in the league are taking over. Not one, nor two but three newcomers all scored two goals a piece in their MLS debuts this weekend. Vancouver’s Eric Hassli got the club’s first MLS goal followed by another on a breakaway. Sporting Kansas City’s Omar Bravo netted a brace of his own against Chivas USA. And then there was Charlie Davies completing his comeback in D.C. with two goals against the Columbus Crew.

I’m no stat major here but this could be a first for the league where three big offseason additions each scored two goals in their debut. I’m sure the league will have something on this at some point but I wanted to point it out to start the new week because it was something else to see.

Eric Hassli – I was extremely impressed with the French striker for Vancouver on Saturday. Sure Toronto’s defense could make anyone look like a star but this DP showed why the club is putting so much faith in him to score and produce this season. The atmosphere was electric in Vancouver for this one and Hassli put the club on the board for the year in a big way.

His presence around the 18-yard box was very solid too. He’s a big striker that won’t be hard to miss on the pitch. Should Vancouver be in the thick of things this season it will solely be due to this guy.

Omar Bravo – First off why didn’t Chivas USA go for this Mexican legend? Seriously, he played for Chivas in Mexico so when he knew he was coming to MLS why didn’t his old club do the smart thing and send him to Chivas USA? This is a steal for Sporting Kansas City as he looked so comfortable on the pitch for them in the opener. Both goals were very entertaining plays and ones that truly showed how brillent he can be when he is on form.

I think a big thing going forward for him is the fact that the pressure for him to produce will be off. Getting that vital first goal out of the way with a new club is always tough to get. Bravo will still be called to produce but he can do so without the pressures that come with getting that first goal.

Charlie Davies – How special of a night was it in D.C.? Extremely special. I’m no D.C. fan but I can tell you I got nothing but goosebumps watching Davies’ second goal from the run of play. It was vintage Davies too. He used his speed around Chad Marshall and made a smart play to beat Will Hesmer. It was nice to see the stanky leg in MLS too.

But man was he emotional after the game. Kudos to the D.C. faithful for getting so behind him when he came into the game and even more kudos to his teammates for putting so much faith in him when they let him take the PK to get his first goal.

D.C. still has a ways to go but as long as Davies is doing what he did against Columbus, you can bet United will be a player in the Eastern Conference this season.

Now these three weren’t the only newcomers with solid debuts. There was one player from Chicago that really stood out to me against FC Dallas this weekend. He scored their only goal of the game and nearly bagged one more.

Diego Chaves – Now Chaves didn’t net two goals for Chicago against Dallas but he certainly came close to having that kind of perfect opener that Hassli, Davies and Bravo did in their games. I was really impressed with the young Uruguayan against Dallas’ big back four. His speed and shot selection were tough to get a handle on and he put loads of pressure on Kevin Hartman in goal for Dallas. Had Chicago won in Frisco to open the new season it would have easily been because of this guy. Folks, he is one to watch out for this season in the Windy City.

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

While rookies have been doing well this year so far, so have the list of newcomers to the league that aren’t rookies. It seems like last year we talked at length about the lack of positive newcomers until the summer months when guys like Darren Huckerby came into town for the San Jose Earthquakes.

This season is far in a way different as plenty of newbies are making a positive impact on the league. Most of the list below does contain a lot of Seattle Sounder players, but there are a few others that have made similar headlines this year that aren’t in Sounder green.

The list below is really no particular order here. After a while though I will still track the newcomers to the league this season as we gear towards the end of season awards. If you see a newcomer that I failed to remember, be sure to post his name below. Again, no rookies please, they have their own watch list that will probably be updated again next week.

Freddie Ljungberg (Seattle) – As some of you know, I am part Swedish so I am a little biased on this one when I see a Swede in the league and one doing well. So far Ljungberg is playing just the way Seattle needs him to be, a strong part of the midfield and one that hits the back of the net when called to do so. Osvaldo Alonso (Seattle) – He may not light up the scoreboard this year but he could actually be the best new addition to the league. How all the clubs failed to see this guy a year ago while he was in the USL-1 with Charleston is beyond me. Funny part is several clubs passed on this Cuban after he defected to the US. He already has three assists on the year and I wouldn’t be shocked to see him tally plenty more.

Fredy Montero (Seattle) – There really isn’t much to say other than what we’ve already said about this kid. He is more than a handful and as clubs are already seeing, they need to continue to find good young talent like this kid to help grow the league.

Eduardo Lillingston (Chivas USA) – For a while now Chivas has been looking for a go-to Mexican striker and maybe they have finally found it with Lillingston. He isn’t a big name draw for those Mexican soccer fans but that may just be what this club really needed.

Gerson Mayen (Chivas USA) – When I first saw him a couple weeks ago in Dallas I was like “who the hell is this guy?” But after seeing him play in person I realized the kid has some talent behind him. He’s been a handful for other clubs on the wings and could be a big part of this Chivas club this season if they continue to play well. Hard to believe he signed with the club a year ago and we are just now seeing him play.

Kasey Keller (Seattle) – Okay red card against KC aside, Keller has been far in away one of the best pickups by any club this year. He’s proving to everyone that he still has it at his present age and that his experience is still good enough to lead a young expansion club like Seattle.

David Ferreira (Dallas) – Schellas Hyndman is slowly starting to get what he needs and wants out of his number 10. While he hasn’t done anything wonderful yet for the club you are starting to see him get use to the MLS style of play here. I would be willing to bet by the middle of the summer he will have racked up his fair share of assists to Kenny Cooper and company.

Sebastian Le Toux (Seattle) – Another USL to MLS guy that is probably making some general managers wonder why they didn’t sign before this last year. Le Toux is quickly becoming one of my favorite Sounders.

Jhon Kennedy Hurtado (Seattle) – Another Sounder on the list, this one is a defender that is showing his worth so far in the league. He hasn’t done anything too flashy but for the most part he has done enough to help his club only give up one goal on the year after four games.

Santiago Hirsig (Kansas City) – Still waiting to truly see if this guy helps this club out or not this season. I am holding out belief that he will keep their offense in tact and maybe even help relieve some pressure of their defense. If that is the case we could see a playoff club in the midwest.

Pablo Vitti (Toronto) – For the most part I think Toronto would be better off if they’d get this guy more playing time. While he may not be the full answer to the Reds offensive issues, I do believe he is better than some of the forwards John Carver currently employs on the field.

Cam Weaver (San Jose) – Another player I am pretty high on here but am still waiting to really shine this season. Weaver has a goal to his name this year and I really still believe he will be a huge part of this club’s offense in 2009. Once Darren Huckerby and Arturo Alvarez figure out how tall he is Weaver should be able to get more headers in the box, and more looks in the box overall. That can only make things better for the Quakes.

Bojan Stepanovic (Chivas USA) – Not a bad debut a couple weeks ago against Dallas. First touch lead to his first shot on goal, which ended up being his first MLS goal. Yeah, not a bad start.

I know there are plenty more on the way here this season. Off the top of my head I know of a few with New England that have yet to debut (their new African players for those who wonder), Gregory Richardson in Colorado has played a little bit for Colorado, Ade Akinbiyi in Houston, the few in New York that have been talked about for months now, and probably a few others that I am failing to remember.

First of all we know what Seattle’s Fredy Montero did in week one. His two-goal effort against the New York Red Bulls was pretty much what we expected out of him. And as we all know if he keeps it up he will either become the Newcomer of the Year or he will be bought by some European club by mid-summer.

Montero wasn’t the only Seattle newcomer that turned some heads. Both Jhon Kennedy Hurtado and Osvaldo Alonso stood out and former USL MVP Sebastien Le Toux wasn’t too shabby either.

Seattle’s newbies really started the year off with a bang. Other around the league didn’t do too bad either though it could take a few games to see real impact (rookies not included, that’s another post for another day):

Santiago Hirsig, KC: He didn’t go the full 90 last weekend against Toronto but we all know the offense will pretty much flow through his feet this year. I saw a couple times on Saturday where he really helped control things in the middle for KC, something that has been missing for years.

Gregory Richardson, Colorado: A guy that we may know of more in a couple months. He briefly saw action against Chivas but he did find a way to incert himself in the action as soon as he could when the Rapids were trying to tie things up late.

Eduardo Lillingston, Chivas USA: A Mexican forward for Chivas? Seriously though there were a couple times that I thought Lillingston looked good for Chivas in the first half against the Rapids. Once he gets use to his teammates (and when everyone is healthy) he should be a good pair with either Maykel Galindo or Ante Razov.

Mariano Trujillo, Chivas USA: I have to say I did like what I saw out of Trujillo against guys like Conor Casey and Omar Cummings. Trujillo isn’t a name that many will see on the stat sheet this year but I think he will be a good part of an underrated defense this year.

Cam Weaver, San Jose Earthquakes: Looked dangerous here and there for the Quakes but just like everyone else wearing black on Saturday night he couldn’t hit anything inside the box. The goals will come and I think Weaver will be a big part of the Quakes’ offense this season.

Dejan Jakovic, DC United: Looked alright for DC in the opener against LA. Thing was the defense as a whole are to blame for the poor showing late.

Any other newcomers show somep promise to you in week one? Let me know if I missed them.