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1. Some tap ins are worth more because of your jersey
Every week MLS nominate 5 goals for fans to vote on for their "Goal of the Week". Every week (when they play) the New York Red Bulls seem to get left behind in one way or another. This week is no different. David Villa of New York City FC was nominated for this tap in.
Meanwhile, Lloyd Sam, who also had a tap in, wasn't nominated.
Now, personally, tap ins shouldn't go in Goal of the Week voting for me. They're usually the result of team effort and one man gets the credit for just being in the right place at the right time. However, as MLS has showed us, what matters more is the jersey you wear, not the effort.
For the record, Sam's is better because he had to run in on a free kick. Villa just stood there waiting for the ball after making 1 pass.
2. The start of midweek matches
The midweek match is an annoyance for many MLS fans. Most of us don't live THAT close to our home team's stadium, and having to get there on a Wednesday night is not always easy. This week marked the first week in the MLS season where a MLS match (CCL has been going on midweek) was played on Wednesday. Fans of MLS will be seeing more of them soon enough. The Red Bulls, for example, have their first midweek match on April 29th, right in the middle of a 3 match/8 day stretch.
3. The undefeated remain undefeated
Going into this past week, both the New York Red Bulls (2-0-1) and Real Salt Lake (2-0-2) were the only undefeated teams in MLS. Both of their causes were helped with a bye week or two, but surely one of them had to lose, everyone loses a match eventually. Neither team gave up that extra goal and both walked away with a point. The Red Bulls came back in literally the last minute of regulation to draw even against D.C. United to finish 2-2 and move to a record of 2-0-2. Real Salt Lake also managed a draw, but by the tune of 0-0. Salt Lake managed to hold off Western Conference transplants Sporting Kansas City despite being out shot 12-4 in the match, and giving up 100% of the possession for the 16th-20th minutes.
4. Getting that first goal out of the way
This weekend was a time for first goals as MLS saw two players notch their first MLS goals, both beauties and nominated for Goal of the Week. First up is Rob Lovejoy of the Houston Dynamo. Rob did this one all by himself, collecting a Montreal Impact goal kick, running almost to the 18 yard box and chipping Evan Bush who was caught out of the net.
Next is Cyle Larin. Larin for those who like a fun fact was the top pick of the 2015 MLS Super Draft. He's also a guy who scored his first professional goal using his chest. That's not something you see everyday.
5. Two sides of a coin flip
Starting the season, FC Dallas was hot (3-1-1) and the Colorado Rapids were not (0-1-3). You wouldn't know that from the match on Friday night though. Colorado put a beat down on Dallas putting 4 in the back of the net. The 4 match the total goals allowed by Dallas in their first 5 games, and was exactly 4 more than Colorado had scored all year (0). I know it's early, but generally when a team can't score in it's first 4 games, you should be able to beat them. While this is a 1 match sample size, it perfectly illustrates the parity found in MLS.
You can write into the Once a Metro Mailbag (oamsoccer@gmail.com) and share your thoughts and questions about this or anything New York Red Bulls, New York Red Bulls II, or Sky Blue FC.