MLS' First Month: Who's Hot? Who's Not?

The European season may be winding down, but the 15th MLS campaign is off to a roaring start with a few surprises and disappointments thus far.



HOT: Edson Buddle and the Los Angeles Galaxy
No Beckham? No Problem. L.A. is the only MLS side with a perfect slate in this young season. A large part of that is due to the reemergence of the longtime MLS stalwart Edson Buddle. With the exception of that short Argentinian dude for Barcelona, no one in the world has been scoring at the pace of the Galaxy, who in just 4 games has put 7 goals in the back of the net for defending Western Conference Champs. In a rematch with titleholders Real Salt Lake on Saturday, Buddle put two more in the net to end a six game losing streak to the Utahans. Although it may be a little late for the once-capped American to be called up for USMNT's World Cup squad, there's o question that Buddle has gained the attention on Bob Bradley. The game also ended the three game clean sheet streak of Galaxy GK Donovan Ricketts, who otherwise has been the standout keeper of the season so far. But that's not exactly saying much...

NOT: League Goalkeepers
It's hard to find the proper words to describe the play of MLS keepers so far this season. For this post, I think I'll go with "putrid". Especially egregious has been the play of Chris Seitz for the expansion Philadelphia Union. Once hailed as one of the next great American keepers, Seitz has struggled mightily since leaving the University of Maryland. He certainly showed his youth a week ago with careless ball handing that allowed D.C. United veteran Jaime Moreno to extend his lead on the MLS All-Time leading scorer list. Seitz allowed two more cheap goals to Toronto on MLS Primetime Thursday, causing head man Piotr Nowak to openly consider other options. Even more embarrassing was New York Red Bulls GK Bouna Coundoul's U-8-like clearance effort against Chivas USA last weekend. To his credit, the Senegalese international rebounded on Saturday with a strong effort, helping NYRB to nab 3 points at home against Dallas. But other weak performances from Chicago's Andrew Dykstra, Houston's Pat Onstad, and D.C.'s Troy Perkins have MLS supporters longing for Howard, Guzan and Hahneman to return from abroad.

HOT: Ryan Smith
The 23 year-old Brit has been a revelation for Kansas City this season, providing the speedy striker that the Wizards have been lacking since Preki retired. A player once coveted by Arsene Wenger, Smith struggled in the Coca-Cola Championship for several seasons, bus has seemed to have found his groove in the MLS. Despite a heartbreaking 90th minute loss away to Seattle on Saturday, Kansas City has been one of the pleasant surprises of the young MLS season, taking advantage of slow starts by Chicago and D.C. to put themselves towards the top of the Eastern Conference standings.

NOT: D.C. United
Can it get any worse for the Screamin' Eagles? D.C. has yet to adjust to new head coach Curt Onalfo and it shows on the pitch. With an 0-4-0 record, United are the only side in the league without a point. An embarrassing loss to expansion Philadelphia and three shutouts at the hands of KC, New England and Chicago have D.C. struggling for answers. With Commissioner Don Garber pressuring the team for a new stadium deal and rumors of a relocation to Baltimore, a team that was once the league's model franchise is fraught with turmoil.

Dave's Fab Five - Week 4
1. Los Angeles Galaxy - 4-0-0 - Unquestionably the top side so far this season.
2. New York Red Bulls - 3-1-0 - New digs (in which they remain unbeaten) and a new manager (Hans Backe) have made NYRB the feel good story of the season, despite the poor play of Juan Pablo Angel. But how much longer can the optimism last for the league's most stagnant franchise?
3. Seattle Sounders - 2-1-1 - There are still questions that remain about where the goals will be coming from this season, but Seattle has so far continued their winning ways from last season.
4. Kansas City Wizards - 2-1-0 - If not for Michael Fucito's 90th minute goal at Qwest Field on Saturday, KC would be alone atop the Eastern Conference standings.
5. Houston Dynamo - 2-1-1 - Despite the loss of Ricardo Clark and Stuart Holden (along with Brian Ching to injury), the Dynamo seem to be humming along.

Dave's Terrible Two - Week 4
15 - Toronto FC - 1-3-0 - It seems as if Dwayne DeRosario's best days are behind him.
16 - D.C. United - 0-4-0 - The talent is there for D.C. to compete in the muddled East, it's just a matter of shaking off the rough, rough start to this campaign.

Game of the Week - Week 5

Real Salt Lake @ Columbus, Saturday 4:30 PST

The Crew look to avenge their surprising first round playoff loss from last season. Due to a quirk in the schedule, Columbus has had the last two weeks off while RLS looks to rebound from a 2-1 loss to league leaders LA.