MLS Weekend Review: 10 Things We Learned

Week 3 of the 2012 MLS season proved nothing (it's only Week 3), while simultaneously reestablishing what we already knew (but might have forgotten).

Parity isn't going anywhere; the best MLS teams can still be beaten by the worst. Thierry Henry is really good at putting the ball in the back of the net. Toronto desperately needs their star defensive mid. Cross-country travel is still a pain in the...well, you know.

But wait, there's more. Things in Philadelphia are getting to the desperation stage awfully early, while Chicago is showing signs of life. 

Sporting Kansas City will run at you really, really fast and dare you to keep up with them.

Clubs missing players due to injury or Olympic qualifying call-ups typically aren't deep enough to fill those holes and get by. 

For a further review of all of those things we learned (but will probably forget by next weekend), let's dive in to the 10 most striking things we learned from MLS Week 3.  

New York Isn't Dead Yet

Thierry Henry bagged a pair of goals, Kenny Cooper got two of his own, the defense held Colorado scoreless, and—at least for a day—all was right in Red Bullville. 

Sure, Colorado gifted New York two of their four goals and was missing two midfield starters (Pablo Mastroeni and Jeff Larentowicz), but the way New York was going, it still wasn't a foregone conclusion that they'd get their first points of the year. Now that the weight is lifted, maybe the Red Bulls are primed for a strong run.

Rafa Marquez's return to the New York lineup seemed to go well, though it's hard to know for how long Rafa can keep his more destructive tendencies in check. 

Backe has a win, and New York's season is (finally) underway. How long can they go without more drama?

Philadelphia Is Already Desperate

This is what happens when you hand the keys to the club over to one man; if things go wrong after controversial moves, the fan base can't help but get a little antsy. Philly went to Chicago, got blanked, and showed no offensive life at Toyota Park.

Nowak, if you'll remember, is head coach and executive VP of soccer operations. If the buck stops with anyone, it stops with him.

Peter Nowak spent the off-season revamping his team into a younger outfit. In the process, he dumped the Union's best and most popular player, Sebastien Le Toux. He let the club's only experienced goalkeeper, Faryd Mondragon, walk.

With just two goals scored in three games, new starting goalkeeper Zac MacMath shaky between the sticks, and a grand total of zero points on the season, Nowak's moves are still the talk of the town. 

As long as the Union struggle to score, and a return to the playoffs becomes more and more difficult to imagine, the pressure will build on Nowak. The ultimate question for Philly fans is whether that pressure will result in any changes. 

Toronto Really, Really, Really Misses Torsten Frings

When midfield linchpin Torsten Frings went out with a injury during Toronto's loss in Seattle, it looked like TFC might be in a world of hurt. During Toronto's CONCACAF Championship win over LA, Frings had been a man possessed, cleaning up messes all over the field and frustrating the defending MLS champs. 

Without Frings on Saturday, TFC fell hard to the San Jose Earthquake, 3-0. Perhaps it's wrong to assume the German DP could slow down Chris Wondolowski, the man who has turned scoring into a regular habit, but there's every reason to believe the Quakes would have found their jobs harder. 

Frings impact on Toronto's overall defensive strength looks to be huge. If Aron Winter wants to save his season, or have a modicum of a chance against Santos tomorrow in the Champions League, he'll need to find a way to cover for the missing Frings.

MLS Is Still a League of Parity

An overarching lesson—because sometimes we need a reminder that MLS parity will inevitably throw a monkey wrench into the most obvious assumptions. RSL beat LA and handled New York. Surely a visit from Chivas USA would be no sweat, right?

Nope. 

Is RSL better than Chivas USA? Yes, they certainly are. But that doesn't mean Chivas, on their best day, isn't capable of beating RSL straight-up at RSL's place. RSL had their chances and didn't finish, keeping Chivas USA in the game. 

When Nick Rimando couldn't hold on to a fairly routine ball in the box, Chivas USA rookie Casey Townsend capitalized. One goal was all it took. 

Parity, with a dash of luck for good measure, means the perceived worst team in the conference is more than capable of besting the perceived top team in the conference.

Dominic Oduro Might Just Be a Real Goalscorer Now

Dominic Oduro scored with his head on Saturday. From a cross. This, quite frankly, strains believability, and might be the strongest sign yet that Oduro is making a transition from "really fast but comically inept finisher" into "really fast and decent finisher." 

Even a small improvement in the finishing department for a guy with Oduro's natural gifts is going to mean a serious uptick in goal totals. 

Last year, Oduro scored 12 times, far and away his best MLS season. Some of the credit for Saturday's headed goal has to go to poor goalkeeping by Zac MacMath, but it definitely shows the burgeoning confidence Oduro possesses. 

Is Dom a Golden Boot candidate? I don't think you can say "no" anymore.

Sporting Kansas City Will Not Stop Running

Sporting Kansas City's 88th minute winner against FC Dallas on Sunday perfectly sums up how the Eastern Conference leaders want to play. SKC puts their foot on the gas and goes, challenging other teams to catch up.

With Kei Kamara, C.J. Sapong, and Teal Bunbury ready and willing to run defenders ragged and the flank play of Chance Myers, Seth Sinovic, and Bobby Convey providing service, Sporting has an embarrassment of attacking riches. 

If opponents want to stop Sporting, they have to stop the blistering pace of their attack. It's possible (see Houston's performance in last year's Eastern Conference Final), but it's not easy.

The best part? Sporting will just keep coming, no matter what you do.  

Getting a Scoreless Draw on the Road Is Boring, but Acceptable

Facing down Vancouver's cadre of attacking talents without their starting goalkeeper and defensive midfielder, DC United managed to go out west and blank the Whitecaps. It wasn't a thrilling performance, and DC's own offense failed to show up, but a point is a point is a point.

The measure of success for United in 2012 is making the playoffs. Ben Olsen's second full year must see some obvious improvement over last year's poor campaign. A point on the other side of the continent against a team with Vancouver's scoring punch is nothing to sneeze at.

The East isn't good this year. Every point against the West on the road is almost a bonus. The point was United's first of the year, though, leaving them with just one in three games.

United needs to back up their okay performance in Canada with a strong home showing versus FC Dallas on Friday night. Performances that are acceptable on the road constitute disasters at home. 

David Estrada Is Not a One-Hit Wonder

Mexico-born, California-raised Estrada has taken Seattle by storm, scoring four of the Sounders' five total goals on the young campaign. Estrada backed up a hat trick against Toronto with another goal in the Sounders' 2-0 win over Houston on Friday night. 

Estrada's shot in the 23rd minute—a deflected shot that was first ruled his goal, then an own goal, then his goal again—gave the Sounders a lead over the defending Eastern Conference champs. 

Estrada's emergence not only takes pressure off of presumed primary goalscorer Fredy Montero, it relegates new addition Eddie Johnson to the sideline. How long Estrada can keep it up is unknown, but you can't help but wonder if Sigi Schmid might like to rescind the trade with Montreal that brought him Johnson.

Estrada's not only a sudden star in Seattle, he's everybody's favorite fantasy striker. 

U-23 Absences Had a Major Impact on MLS Teams

With the US U-23 team including fourteen MLS names, there was bound to be a significant impact on league action. 

Among the starters on duty with the U-23s missing from MLS sides this weekend were Brek Shea, Ike Opara, Bill Hamid, Perry Kitchen, Sheanon Williams, Freddy Adu, and Andy Najar. Not everyone missed their starters in terms of results, but all of them were impacted.

Philadelphia struggled to create offense against Chicago with Adu, and missed Sheanon Williams in defense. 

FC Dallas fell in the last few minutes to Sporting without Brek Shea, while United managed a scoreless draw with a backup goalkeeper and Stephen King in for the missing Hamid and Kitchen, but did not create chances without Najar.

Hamid was pulled out of the last US U-23 match with an injury, something that could seriously change United's season if he is lost for multiple games.

The good news for those teams with American U-23s called in by Caleb Porter is that they're already on their way back to their MLS squads, after drawing in epic fashion with El Salvador and crashing out of the tournament. 

Chris Wondolowski Is a Full-Fledged Goal-Scoring Machine

It's official, because I'm calling it: Chris Wondlowski is the best goalscorer in Major League Soccer, until proven otherwise. On the back of 18 and 16-goal seasons, Wondo is out of the gates in 2012 with three goals in three matches played.

There's just something about Wondolowski these days. While he's by no means the league's flashiest or most obviously gifted striker, the 29-year old just knows how to put the ball in the net. That simple skill eludes so many more-gifted players that it's worth singing Wondolowski's praises for having figured it out to this extent.

Wondo's rise to goal-scoring machine mirrors that of fellow American Herculez Gomez of Santos Laguna. Neither is particular fast, or good with the ball, or overly athletic. They both just have a natural ability—honed over less-productive years spent being misused, playing out of position, and coming off the bench—to pop up at exactly the right time, in the right place.