#PlayYourKids hits new heights, Quakes get their star & more from Matchday 2
Set pieces proliferate and Concacaf Champions Cup takes its toll
Usually this is the toughest time of the year. The intensity drops a little bit from First Kick, the best teams (which, these days, are also the most aesthetically pleasing teams) are all a little leggy because of Concacaf Champions Cup duty, and the... let's call them "more pragmatic" teams are in their glory because they can feast on early-season slop.
Felt like that was what we got on Saturday. Then Sunday gave us two playoff-caliber matches, and a time-capsule goal to close the night.
Let's dive in:
Model Village
If the renewed power of homefield advantage (more on that coming Wednesday) is the biggest story of the first two weeks of the season, running it a close second is the sudden and frankly unprecedented emphasis on playing young, domestic, academy products. It's not quite a league-wide phenomenon – Nimfasha Berchimas, for example, is as talented an 18-year-old as you'll find in MLS right now, and he can't even make the bench for a Charlotte team that's scored once in two games – but it is noticeable and growing.
RBNY are the example par excellence at the moment. They were the only team to win on the road in Week 1, remember, and I kind of wrote it off (or at least tried not to over-index on it) because Orlando were so awful on the day. I didn't want to get out over my skis.
In retrospect I probably underplayed it, because at home against the Revs on Saturday not only did RBNY keep up the beautiful play from First Kick, but once again their trio of high schoolers – Matt Dos Santos, Adri Mehmeti and Julian Hall – all started. And for the only goal in their 1-0 win, they did this:
