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MLS Week Three Review

Three Scoreless Draws Crash Garber's Parity Party

It happens in the Bundesliga. It happens in the English Premier League. And last weekend it happened in Major League Soccer. Drab draws notwithstanding, here's what you need to know about Week Three.
BY Brooke Tunstall Posted
March 25, 2015
11:42 AM
EVEN BY MLS STANDARDS, this was probably a little more parity than the league had in mind.

Week Three of the MLS season saw four of eight games finish in ties—three of them of the dreaded scoreless variety—and another game decided late in injury time to reaffirm that in MLS the gap between the haves and have-nots is never that great.

That said, if a team has separated itself from the pack, it may just be the squad from North Texas. After going to Philadelphia and dispatching the Union by a 2-0 score, FC Dallas is now a perfect 3-0-0 and has outscored its opponents 6-1. There is still a long way to go in the season but Oscar Pareja’s men seem like a formidable contender in the early stages.

Making the win more impressive, Dallas did so without a goal from Panamanian international Blas Perez. Tesho Akindele got his first goal of the season and Fabian Castillo an assist as he continues to show MVP form early on in 2015.

The league's other parity party pooper? The Chicago Fire, which is now winless in three tries after falling to San Jose 2-1. The Fire’s struggles, of course, were merely the sidebar to that game, as the Earthquakes opened Avaya Stadium, becoming the 15th MLS team to have its own soccer-specific stadium.

The Fire got a nice goal from Harrison Shipp, the team's first goal of the season, but there is much work to be done to turn things around in the Windy City.

WHO ELSE IS HOT?

Vancouver’s Octavio Rivero is the early frontrunner for MLS Newcomer of the Year. The Uruguayan scored the game winner for the Whitecaps late in injury time to give the Caps a 1-0 win over Orlando City. The 23-year-old Rivero now has three goals in as many games.

After winning the Golden Boot last season, the New York Red Bulls made Bradley Wright-Phillips a designated player and he came through in his second game of the season. He registered a goal and an assist against D.C. United’s usually stingy defense to spark a 2-0 win in this I-95 rivalry.

Lloyd Sam had New York’s other goal, a lovely near-post blast and his second in as many games, serving notice that the Red Bulls will still be able to score without Thierry Henry. And a few more wins like Sunday’s and the Red Bull faithful may even forgive general manager Ali Curtis for firing Mike Petke and replacing him with Jesse Marsch.

WHO’S NOT HOT?

There are eight MLS teams still winless, five of which have played three games (though only the Fire have yet to manage a single point). The other winless teams through three games are Portland (three ties), Kansas City and Philadelphia, (one loss each) and New England, (one tie).

Colorado has two ties but has yet to score while Montreal has a loss and a tie and has also not found the net in league play—although the Quebecers get a bit of a pass right now thanks to their improbable success in the CONCACAF Champions’ League.

We hate to keep picking on the Fire, but Sean Johnson’s struggles are a concern for fans in Chicago and for the U.S. national team. Johnson was once considered a contender for the No. 2 spot with the U.S. behind Brad Guzan but he’s off to a shaky start this year and should have done better on both San Jose goals.

NATIONAL TEAM WATCH

On a weekend that saw Jurgen Klinsmann summon just six MLS players, we were again reminded of the value of one of Klinsmann’s favorites who didn’t play. The New England Revolution’s Jermaine Jones continues to rehab from surgery in early February and the Revs, a preseason pick here to again represent the Eastern Conference in MLS Cup, continue to struggle without him.

Simply put, New England just isn’t the same team without Jones. Last summer the talented-but-young Revolution were hovering on the edge of playoff contention when the defensive midfielder joined the Revs last August after a standout World Cup. After Jones came onboard New England lost only one regular season game, tore through the playoffs, and gave the Los Angeles Galaxy all it could handle before falling in overtime in MLS Cup.

Now with Jones sidelined, the Revs have reverted to its pre-Jones form. The team has yet to score in three games and are winless—Saturday’s draw with lowly Montreal was actually a step in the right direction.

With the likes of Lee Nguyen, Kelyn Rowe, Juan Agudelo, Charlie Davies, Teal Bunbury and Diego Fagundez, New England has an abundance of young attacking talent. But without Jones anchoring the midfield, all that talent seems lost at sea.

U.S. PROSPECT WATCH

Hard to imagine anyone in MLS having a better weekend than San Jose rookie midfielder Fatai Alashe. On Sunday, Alashe received a call-up from Andi Herzog to the U.S. U-23 national team, then started for the Quakes as it opened its new stadium before a sell-out crowd. He capped it off by scoring the game-winning goal against Chicago, his first pro tally.

Despite a stellar start to the season, the Galaxy’s Jose Villaeal was not called up by Herzog but that’s most likely because he’s emerged as a starter for the reigning champions at wide midfield. Villareal had an assist in L.A.’s 1-1 tie with Houston, the third straight game he’s scored a goal or registered an assist.

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

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