MLS Team of the Week: Kaka, Dempsey & Altidore Shine in Week 1
The first week of action in Major League Soccer saw some players display a bit of rust as other stars pick up where they left off in 2014.
A few of the new additions to the league also starred for their respective clubs, as Jozy Altidore and Kaka shone bright in key roles in the matches played by Toronto FC and Orlando City.
The best performance from a specific position in Week 1 came between the pipes, as four goalkeepers made legitimate claims to be named in the first best 11 of the season.
Our inaugural MLS Team of the Week of the 2015 season is shaped in a traditional 4-4-2 to accommodate a few strong showings at full-back, which is seen as the weakest position in the league.
Continue reading for a look at which 11 players feature in the first MLS Team of the Week of the new season.
GK: Tyler Deric, Houston Dynamo
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On a weekend when plenty of goalkeepers delivered quality performances, Houston Dynamo's Tyler Deric was the top man in between the pipes.
In the second half of the Dynamo's 1-0 win over Columbus Crew, Deric made four massive saves to hand his side three points in the first game of the season.
His first key denial came in the 49th minute, when he came off his line to stop Tony Tchani from firing a shot on goal.
Four minutes later, the Houston 'keeper turned away a Kei Kamara header from point-blank range. In the 64th minute, he sprawled to his left and made a terrific save on Kristinn Steindorsson.
With his club up a goal in stoppage time, Deric jumped to catch an Emanuel Pogatetz header off a corner kick.
The 26-year-old ended the match with a total of six saves in front of the home crowd at BBVA Compass Stadium.
RB: Tyrone Mears, Seattle Sounders
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Tyrone Mears made his presence felt in the Seattle Sounders lineup on the club's second goal on Sunday night.
The former Bolton Wanderers player sprinted down the right wing to link up with a Clint Dempsey pass before he sent a laser of a cross onto the head of Obafemi Martins.
"We said that Tyrone was a good crosser of the ball. Obviously he demonstrated that tonight," Seattle boss Sigi Schmid said following the victory, per the team's official Twitter account.
Not only did he provide the Sounders with a strong assist, Mears was a defensive rock on the right flank against the young guns in the New England Revolution attack.
Mears' top contribution to the Seattle back four in the 3-0 win over the Revolution was his ability to shut down Diego Fagundez. The 20-year-old Uruguayan failed to make any lasting impact on the match during his 76 minutes on the pitch.
If he continues to display his strong skills on defense, he could eventually be seen as an upgrade on current Tottenham Hotspur player DeAndre Yedlin.
CB: Ike Opara, Sporting Kansas City
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Ike Opara solidified his spot in the Sporting Kansas City back four with an impressive showing in the club's 1-1 draw with the New York Red Bulls.
Opara's shining moment came in the 50th minute, when he headed home a Benny Feilhaber cross to open the scoring at Sporting Park.
On the defensive side of the pitch, Opara was forced to hold down the fort by himself after Matt Besler was sent off for a second yellow in the 70th minute.
Opara, who played in three games in 2014, also limited reigning Golden Boot champion Bradley Wright-Phillips to 24 touches and zero shots on target in the draw.
"We fought like heck to keep the tie. I'm happy that we saw the game out. They tried to up the tempo. We did a pretty good job of weathering that storm," Opara said after the match, per the club's YouTube account.
CB: Chris Schuler, Real Salt Lake
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Next to a new center-back partner, Chris Schuler had a terrific 90 minutes in front of the Real Salt Lake goal.
The 27-year-old, who is expected to replace the departed Nat Borchers, made 11 clearances and three interceptions in the 0-0 draw with Portland Timbers on Saturday night.
He also blocked a game-high four shots to go along with his two aerial duels won for the Claret and Cobalt.
Although he had a strong game at the back, Schuler will have to clean up the number of fouls he committed, as he committed four during his 90 minutes on the pitch.
LB: Moises Hernandez, FC Dallas
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Moises Hernandez could ultimately not have placed his 92nd-minute attempt on goal in a better position during FC Dallas' match with the San Jose Earthquakes.
The left-back hit a ball with his right foot onto the head of Blas Perez, who directed the attempt into the back of the net.
The 23-year-old also had a solid night defensively on the left flank, as he made three interceptions, three tackles and two clearances.
Hernandez also won three aerial duels, which was only second to Perez and Victor Ulloa on the FC Dallas stat sheet.
CDM: Victor Ulloa, FC Dallas
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Plenty of pundits around the league chose FC Dallas as a team to watch this season because of the young talent they will have on the pitch.
One of the guys that few talked about being a key cog in the machine this season was Victor Ulloa.
The 23-year-old defensive midfielder had a tremendous season debut for the Hoops, who pulled out a 1-0 win over San Jose on Saturday night.
Ulloa led the team in tackles with four, and he played a fairly clean game in the middle of the park, committing just two fouls.
The young midfielder also recorded the second-most touches of any FC Dallas player at Toyota Park with 60.
RM: Stefan Ishizaki, LA Galaxy
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In the first game of the new season, LA Galaxy's Stefan Ishizaki was an absolute menace to the Chicago Fire defense.
The Swede created the first goal of the 2015 campaign in the 65th minute of the 2-0 Galaxy win, when he played a cross into the penalty area.
After two defenders misplayed the cross, Jose Villarreal stepped up to ease the tension at the StubHub Center.
Ishizaki recorded the highest number of touches by any LA attacking player on Friday night with 54. He also attempted three shots for the defending MLS Cup champion.
His performance was a welcome sight to many Galaxy fans who wondered how the team would replace the influence of the retired Landon Donovan in attack.
LM: Kekuta Manneh, Vancouver Whitecaps
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The lone player from a losing team to make the best 11 this week is Vancouver Whitecaps' Kekuta Manneh.
The 20-year-old used his pace to terrorize the Toronto FC defense for most of the 3-1 defeat at BC Place.
He was also the most active Vancouver attacker in the final third, as he put two of his three shots on target and recorded three key passes.
Although he did not score in Week 1, Manneh showed plenty of signs that he will be a key contributor for most of the season.
CAM: Kaka, Orlando City
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Brazilian superstar Kaka was easily the best player in an Orlando City shirt at the Citrus Bowl.
With his team down by a goal in stoppage time, Kaka hit a free-kick off the body of Jeb Brovsky and into the back of the net.
"I've scored a lot of goals in my career, but I have to say this is one of the most emotional ones I've ever scored," he said after the match, per Franco Panizo of Soccer By Ives.
While his first MLS goal may have been a bit disappointing, his play in the final third over 90 minutes was far from that.
His best scoring chance before the goal came in the 38th minute, when he forced New York City goalkeeper Josh Saunders to make a terrific save.
Kaka ended his first MLS match with five shots, four key passes and 70 touches, which was 40 more than David Villa recorded on his NYCFC debut.
FW: Clint Dempsey, Seattle Sounders
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The cerebral connection between Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins showed itself on the third Seattle goal at CenturyLink Field on Sunday night.
Dempsey finished off the brilliant run of play with his second goal of the night in the 67th minute.
"I think our fans are seeing something very unique and special when they see them play together," Schmid told reporters, per Matt Pentz of the Seattle Times.
The first goal of the night netted by the United States captain came from the penalty spot in the 25th minute.
Dempsey earned the opportunity to power a penalty past Revolution 'keeper Bobby Shuttleworth thanks to a cheeky move that fooled Juan Agudelo.
After one week of play, Dempsey and Altidore are tied for the lead in the race for the Golden Boot.
FW: Jozy Altidore, Toronto FC
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On his return to the league, Altidore bagged a brace for Toronto in its 3-1 win over Vancouver on Saturday night.
The United States forward scored his first goal of the 2015 campaign in the 32nd minute after Sebastian Giovinco played a pass to him on the right side of the box.
All Altidore had to do after that was dance around Vancouver 'keeper David Ousted and send the ball into the back of the net.
Altidore jumped to the top of the Golden Boot standings in the 90th minute, as he scored on a Panenka from the spot to finish off the Reds' first victory of the season.
Bench
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GK: Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
RB: Amadou Dia (Sporting Kansas City)
LB: Ray Gaddis (Philadelphia)
RM: Lloyd Sam (New York Red Bulls)
CM: Mix Diskerud (New York City FC)
FW: Blas Perez (FC Dallas)
FW: Robbie Keane (LA)
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
All statistics obtained from MLSSoccer.com and WhoScored.com.
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