The first week of MLS matches for season 2011 have been completed with a mixed bag of results for all teams involved. The season kicked off on Tuesday evening with Seattle Sounders hosting LA Galaxy at Qwest Field. Over 36,000 fans showed up to see their Sounders in action but they went home disappointed after Galaxy midfielder Juninho produced a brilliant goal just before the hour-mark to hand his side 1 -0 victory.
On Saturday, expansion franchise Vancouver Whitecaps opened up their account with a superb 4-2 win over Canadian rivals Toronto FC.
French striker Eric Hassli led the way for the 'Caps with a goal either side of half-time as Teitur Thordarson led his side to an historic win for the club.
DC United enjoyed a 3-1 win over Columbus Crew to turn the misery of last season's last-place finish around temporarily. Charlie Davies, on loan from French club Sochaux, returned to competitive football after recovering from serious injuries sustained in a horror car accident over a year ago with two goals to led DC to a much-needed victory in terms of their morale after a disappointing 2010.
New York Red Bulls made it a poor start for the Sounders when Juan Agudelo netted the only goal at Red Bull Arena, FC Dallas and Chicago Fire played out a 1-1 draw, Philadelphia Union beat Houston Dynamo 1-0 at Robertson Stadium whilst Real Salt Lake beat San Jose Earthquakes by the same scoreline.
Reigning MLS Cup champions Colorado Rapids did it easy over the other expansion club, Portland Timbers, with a 3-1 triumph at home as Omar Bravo grabbed a brace on debut to help Sporting Kansas City to a 3-2 win over Chivas USA before the Galaxy rounded out the opening week with a 1-1 draw against New England Revolution at The Home Depot Center.
MLS Scores for Week 1 of the 2011 season
Seattle Sounders: 0 LA Galaxy: 1 (Juninho 58') Qwest Field, Seattle - 36,443
Vancouver Whitecaps: 4 (Eric Hassli 15'/73', Terry Dunfield 26', Atiba Harris 62') Toronto FC: 2 (Dwayne De Rosario 20', Maicon Santos 75') Empire Field, Vancouver - 22,592
New York Red Bulls: 1 (Juan Agudelo 70') Seattle Sounders: 0 Red Bull Arena, New Jersey - 20,982
DC United: 3 (Josh Wolff 51', Charlie Davies 63'/77') Columbus Crew: 1 (Robbie Rogers 79') RFK Stadium, Washington - 18,132
FC Dallas: 1 (Milton Rodriguez 18') Chicago Fire: 1 (Diego Chaves 17') Pizza Hut Park, Frisco - 20,145
Houston Dynamo: 0 Philadelphia Union: 1 (Danny Califf 5') Robertson Stadium, Houston - 19,385
Colorado Rapids: 3 (Jeff Larentowicz 8', Omar Cummins 29', Jamie Smith 30') Portland Timbers: 1 (Kenny Cooper 80') Dick's Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City - 17,139
San Jose Earthquakes: 0 Real Salt Lake: 1 (Kyle Beckerman 64') Buck Shaw Stadium, California - 10,525
Chivas USA: 2 (Jimmy Conrad 56', Ben Zemanski 84') Sporting Kansas City: 3 (CJ Sapong 2', Omar Bravo 48'/74') Home Depot Center, Carson - 18,122
LA Galaxy: 1 (Juninho 39') New England Revolution: 1 (Shalrie Joseph 3') Home Depot Center, Carson - 27,000
