HE SAID WHAT?
“It’s funny. I had a buddy call and ask me about that this week, and I said, ‘I promise we won’t go 30-0.’”
– Chivas USA midfielder Jesse Marsch, on his team’s prospects for a perfect season. Chivas’ 3-0 start is their best in franchise history.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Steve Ralston, New England Revolution
One could be forgiven for thinking that Ralston’s last match before this past weekend was destined to be the final one of his career, after he was carried off the field with a broken right leg in October. But the ageless 34-year-old, 13-year veteran — an MLS original — is back for more. He came on at halftime to help the Revolution rally from a 1-0 deficit to eke out a 2-1 victory in their home opener. Ralston anchored the midfield in the second half, allowing the team to switch to a 3-5-2 formation, and scored a game-winning penalty kick in the 80th minute.
STORY LINES
Sound-ing off on an amazing start » MLS’ newest team not only has the best support in the league, it has done everything right to build an immediate contender on the field: international signings (U.S. goalkeeper Kasey Keller, Swedish midfielder Freddie Ljungberg), college draft (No. 1 pick Steve Zakuani), USL pickups (Osvaldo Alonso, Sebastien Le Toux), the best expansion draft in league history (Brad Evans), and last year’s MLS Cup-winning coach, Sigi Schmid. The only thing left was to play the matches. Well, with a 2-0 victory last weekend at Toronto, the Sounders are the first MLS expansion team to ever start its inaugural season 3-0. Chicago, which won its first two in 1998, went on to beat D.C. United in the MLS Cup.
Montero’s little mess » The Sounders, of course, are also the first team to experience juicy off-field controversy, as 21-year-old Colombian striker Fredy Montero (3 goals in two matches) is reportedly under preliminary investigation by Bellevue, Wash., police after a woman claimed Montero sexually assaulted her and was stalking her. No charges have been filed, and Sounders general manager Adrian Hanauer offered this statement of support: “While we know firsthand of the stress and frustration this situation has caused, we have counseled Fredy, his family and associates to have faith in our system of law and to allow due process.”
A Galaxy of embarrassment » With a healthy amount of skepticism surrounding any expectations that David Beckham will return to MLS this summer, Los Angeles is struggling again, another chapter of misery to head coach Bruce Arena’s formerly untarnished coaching record. In a 3-2 loss to Colorado last weekend, the Galaxy gave up the game’s first goal 17 seconds after taking the opening kickoff. “I’m embarrassed for our fans and our organization — that’s what I told our team,” said Arena. “There’s no excuses for some of the goals we gave up tonight. Let’s not shy away from it — that was a poor performance.”
