THE OPENING WEEKEND of Major League Soccer’s 20th season is now behind us and while it’s too early for any trends to emerge, one thing it showed us is that not much has changed from last year in terms of the top teams.

The reigning champion Los Angeles Galaxy are still really good even without Landon Donovan, D.C. United still grinds out wins with stout defense and timely goals, and the Seattle Sounders are still capable of brilliant soccer. We also learned—the hard way, if you’re one of its supporters—that the New England Revolution, the preseason pick of many to win the Eastern Conference, aren’t nearly as good without Jermaine Jones, Lee Nguyen, and Charlie Davies on the field. (Though that was probably pretty obvious even before they got thrashed last night by the Sounders.)

That said, the mood is already different in Ontario. Could this be the year—finally!—that Toronto puts it together and rewards its diehard and long-suffering fans with a playoff appearance? It’s obviously just one game and Toronto has teased us before but Saturday TFC certainly looked like a team poised to make a step to the next rung of MLS teams.

Meanwhile, Colorado, Chicago, and San Jose—teams that all missed the playoffs a year ago, showed that there’s still a lot of work to be done if 2015 is going to produce better results than 2014.

And finally, it’s tough to gauge how good the expansion twins, Orlando City and New York City FC, are going to be this year because they played each other. Both appear like they are going to be fun to watch and that as a soccer-market MLS appears to have already struck gold in central Florida.

Tweet of the week

Dom Dwyer failed to finish a pair of chances against the Red Bulls that last year, when he scored 22 goals, would have found the back of the net. And yet, he comes off smelling like a rose because of his candor.

And I know......... My wife could have finished that ???? will be better it's coming! I promise

— Dom Dwyer (@Ddwyer14) March 9, 2015

Highlights

While it ended in a simple tap-in for Clint Dempsey, the buildup to Seattle’s third goal was as skillful and artful to watch as any crafted in any league in the world. Dempsey, Obafemi Martins, and Marco Papa worked a string of quick passes that shredded the Revolution defense and reminded of why the sport is called the beautiful game.

Sporting Kansas City’s Benny Feilhaber, Houston’s Kofi Sarkodie, and Seattle’s Tyrone Mears whipped in some perfect crosses that led to goals for their teams. Sarkodie’s cross came after a nice run in which he completely posterized Columbus’ Costa Rican international Waylon Francis with a move worthy of an And1 mixtape.

Defensively, Ike Opara had a strong game, getting on the end of Feilhaber’s cross and anchoring Kansas City’s defense, which went down a man in the second half against the New York Red Bulls after usually reliable Matt Besler got a silly second yellow card.

Nicely done, Sam Lloyd. Several goalkeepers made some amazing saves including Nick Rimando of Real Salt Lake, the Red Bulls’ Luis Robles, and Bill Hamid, whose denial against the Impact sparked a counter attack that led to United’s game-winning goal.

Finally, Orlando City’s Kaka appeared to be the type of designated player that flourishes in MLS by embracing the league for what it is and adapting his game. The former world player of the year was active and dangerous all game long and while his tying goal required a fortunate deflection, his overall effort showed no reason to doubt he will be an impact player in MLS.

lowlights

It is often said in soccer that a defender can have a strong game for 89 minutes and have it ruined by one mistake while a forward can be awful for 89 minutes but make one great play and call it a good game. But what if that forward doesn’t take advantage of that moment or two? Then it’s just a bad game.

Such was the case for New York City’s Adam Nemec. The Slovakian big man was invisible for most of 90 minutes but had two golden scoring chances—one in each half—in which he was wide open and proceeded to push both shots wide of the goal.

But at least Nemec had those misses. His more heralded strike partner, former Spanish World Cup star David Villa, was rarely a threat and just appeared out of synch with both his teammates and the pace of the game. Villa has earned the right to take his time adapting to a new league but if NYCFC is going to make an impact in 2015 it needs far more from Villa than he showed in Week One.

And while Nemec’s misses were bad, they weren’t even the worst miss of the weekend. That honor belongs to Vancouver’s Octavio Rivero, who was gifted a wide open shot from yards out in the 10th minute against Toronto but scuffed it so badly that the shot never even made it to the goal line.

Also in the inept offense department, we present the Colorado Rapids, who managed just two shots, neither of them on frame, against a Philadelphia Union side whose defense last year didn’t exactly remind anyone of the the 1985 Chicago Bears. There is much work to be done in the Mile High City.

Finally, more needs to be gotten from Besler, who had a strong showing in last year’s World Cup but hasn’t brought the same form since returning from Brazil. Besler is as cerebral a player on and off the field as there is in MLS but his second yellow card was just plain dumb and Kansas City won’t return to MLS’ elite until Besler’s form returns to what it was through the World Cup.

STAT OF THE WEEK

When he started for the Rapids this week, James Riley took the field for his seventh different MLS team, a league record. The 32-year-old defender previously played three seasons for New England, one for San Jose, three for Seattle, and one each for Chivas USA, D.C. United, and the Los Angeles Galaxy. Along the way he has won five U.S. Open Cups and an MLS Cup.

AMERICANS WHO SHINED

U.S. national team boss Jurgen Klinsmann had to be heartened by the performances of several of his key regulars this week in MLS. Here's a quick rundown.

Jozy Altidore scored two goals for Toronto but was also active and involved all game long. His budding partnership with new Italian playmaker Sebastian Giovinco looked promising, which should provide him plenty of chances and keep his confidence high.

Teammate Michael Bradley had a strong game running the midfield for TFC and looks to have continued the strong form he flashed for the U.S. earlier this year.

Slight knock notwithstanding, Omar Gonzalez was a quiet omission to the national team’s January camp. But if he continues to play like he did in the opener he’ll be summoned back to the national team in short order. Gonzalez was solid on defense and won everything in the air and was a threat going forward, with his timely flick-on header leading directly to the Galaxy’s second goal.

Mix Diskerud didn’t create a lot of chances for NYCFC’s forwards Sunday but when a chance was presented to him he took it very well, calmly curling a shot into the far post for the first goal in club history and reminding us he has a knack for coming up big.

Nick Rimando appears to be going through some weird reverse-aging thing, like Benjamin Button. Even though he’s pushing 36, he’s playing the best soccer of his career and made some brilliant saves against Portland that showed why he’s still getting starts for the U.S.

It’s still too early to suggest call-ups for those outside Klinsmann’s pool of regulars but Kofi Sarkoide’s showing at right back raised some eyebrows and Seb Hines, the English-American center back making his MLS debut for Orlando this week, was dominant in the air and never beaten on the ground. He definitely looked like a player who could help the national team.

FUTURE NATIONAL TEAMERS...?

Most of the rookies from this year’s MLS draft were born in 1993, which makes them age-eligible for the U.S. U-23 national team that will seek to qualify for the 2016 Olympics. A strong start to their professional careers could help any of them land a coveted trip to Rio next summer.

All told, 19 Olympics-eligible athletes played in MLS in week one, seven of whom were rookies.

The Galaxy’s Jose Villareal was rewarded for a strong preseason by getting the start at left mid and he turned in a strong 70 minutes, highlighted by scoring the game-winning goal.

Amadou Dia, a rookie from Clemson picked 20th overall by Kansas City, gave a solid 90 minutes at right back for Sporting.

Midfielders Wil Trapp and Dillon Serna went 90 in a losing effort for Columbus and Colorado, respectively, while Luis Gil played 88 minutes for Real Salt Lake.

Khiry Shelton, the second overall pick out of Oregon State, made an impact for New York City in 28 minutes off the bench, using his pace to stretch the field and create more space for his skilled teammates. Shelton has the size to play forward but sufficient wheels to play on the flank. He looked undaunted by his pro debut or the sold out crowd at the Citrus Bowl.

Five of the young Americans who played this weekend are young enough for this year’s U-20 World Cup, including a pair who missed this year’s CONCACAF qualifying tournament because of injuries. Sporting center back Erik Palmer-Brown came on after Besler’s ejection to help secure a tie while Jordan Allen played the final nine minutes for Salt Lake.

A pacy flank player who turned pro a year ago after one season at Virginia, Allen missed of last season because of microsurgery on his knee but U-20 boss Tab Ramos liked him at left back and if he stays healthy he could force his way onto the team that goes to New Zealand in two months for the U-20 World Cup.

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Brooke Tunstall is an American Soccer Now contributing editor and ASN 100 panelist. Follow him on Twitter.