Here are the top 15 stories everyone's talking about this morning:
1. A NEW BEGINNING IN SAN JOSE
Sunday brought an historic night for the San Jose Earthquakes, as they finally moved into their very own soccer-specific stadium. The fans played their part in the celebrations and they got the result they wanted too, as the Quakes beat the Chicago Fire 2-1 (HIGHLIGHTS) with rookie Fatai Alashe and veteran Ty Harden both scoring their first MLS goals. For the Fire, that’s three consecutive losses, but head coach Frank Yallop remains adamant the club is building something special.
2. PFEFFER'S BIG CHANCE FALLS FLAT
Union youngster Zach Pfeffer was finally given a start on Saturday, but the Philadelphia midfielder saw red in more ways than one. Yet while the 20-year-old claims he didn’t mean to elbow Mauro Diaz in the head, his sending-off, combined with a tactical tweak from FC Dallas head coach Oscar Pareja, consigned the Union to a 2-0 loss (HIGHLIGHTS).
- IT AIN’T OVER TILL IT’S OVER
Orlando City SC probably thought they were heading for their second straight draw at home, right up until Octavio Rivero handed the Vancouver Whitecaps a 1-0 win in stoppage time (HIGHLIGHTS). While Kaka feels his side will learn from the defeat, the Whitecaps' celebrations were somewhat overshadowed by an injury to hot prospect Sam Adekugbe.
4. HOUSTON HOLD THE GALAXY
The LA Galaxy may have met their match on Saturday, as Houston Dynamo head coach Owen Coyle found a way to go toe-to-toe with the MLS Cup champions in a 1-1 draw (HIGHLIGHTS). Having given the Galaxy the lead, Robbie Keane was not impressed with his teammates on the night.
5. RED BULLS RULE THE DAY
As the Atlantic Cup began anew for another season, D.C. United head coach Ben Olsen was furious with his side’s performance in the first half, as Bradley Wright-Phillips and the New York Red Bulls ran rampant in a 2-0 win over their heated rivals (HIGHLIGHTS).
6. NO GOALS IN NEW ENGLAND
It’s three games and zero goals for the New England Revolution now following a 0-0 draw with the Montreal Impact (HIGHLIGHTS). It’s becoming increasingly frustrating for the Revs, yet the Impact were left with a much bigger concern following an injury to rookie phenom Cameron Porter.
7. WINLESS BUT IMPROVING
Both the Portland Timbers and Sporting Kansas City are still yet to win a game this season following a 0-0 draw between the two (HIGHLIGHTS). Despite this, Sporting’s Benny Feilhaber believes his side is showing improvement, something Timbers head coach Caleb Porter seems to agree with as he praised his own team’s performance against a “very good” SKC squad.
8. SAUNDERS STANDS OUT
The Colorado Rapids and New York City FC battled to a 0-0 stalemate in Denver on Saturday (HIGHLIGHTS), though Dillon Powers, restored once again to the starting lineup, felt his side should have come away with more. NYCFC goalkeeper Josh Saunders once again put in a commanding performance to deny the Rapids.
- RAPIDS RELOADING
If there’s one area in which the Colorado Rapids do appear to be struggling, it’s up front, yet help is on the way. The club announced on Friday that Irish international Kevin Doyle will be joining them as just the third Designated Player in the club's history this summer.
10. AGE MEANS NOTHING TO MORALES
Javier Morales may be 35 years old now, but the Real Salt Lake veteran isn’t thinking about retirement just yet. Instead, he’ll be pivotal in helping his side transition to their new 4-3-3 system, a formation that, luckily enough, two of their strikers already have some experience with.
11. CANADA CALLING
Toronto FC didn’t have a game this weekend, but their USL side did, losing 3-2 to the Charleston Battery. Ahead of that game, they unveiled several final additions to their new side. Staying in Canada, the senior national team has called up a pair of replacements into Benito Floro’s camp.
12. USL GETS STARTED
Beyond TFC 2's loss, the LA Galaxy II drew 0-0 with the Real Monarchs and fellow newcomers Seattle Sounders 2 got life in the third division off to a great start with a 4-2 victory over defending champions Sacramento Republic FC as USL opened its 2015 season over the weekend.
13. US CALL-UPS
If you’re looking for a US national team camp, then you’ve come to the right place, as the rosters for three different camps were all named on Sunday. Starting with the senior squad, there are six MLS players included in the team for the upcoming friendlies against Denmark and Sweden, along with first time call-ups for goalkeeper William Yarbrough and defender Ventura Alvarado.
14. MORE US CALL-UPS
As for the other US camps: Seven rising stars from MLS were included in the U-23 squad for the first Olympic training camp of 2015 taking place in Bosnia & Herzegovina, while five more MLS players were included in Tab Ramos’ US U-20 squad as they prepare for the World Cup in New Zealand this summer.
- MONTERO ON THE MARKET?
While the Seattle Sounders parted ways with striker Kevin Parsemain on Friday, it seems one of their former strikers is back on the market. Could Fredy Montero be on his way back to his former club?
MLSsoccer.com Musts
Armchair Analyst: Earthquakes make a statement and other week 3 thoughts
Registration for Sueno MLS 2015 - presented by Allstate Insurance is now open
Running list of MLS international call-ups for March FIFA dates
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