Revs' midfield duo continues to power on

Sweeping up after the MLS weekend party, here are a few things I found lying around:

1. Big in the middle: Rosters have already gone a little threadbare around MLS owing to injuries and international call-ups. But Round 2 provided this handy reminder: Any team that's good through the center of the park always has a chance.

Witness the weapons-grade effort that Jeff Larentowicz and Shalrie Joseph poured out for New England on Saturday at Giants Stadium. The Revs are managing at the moment without difference-makers Taylor Twellman and Steve Ralston. Plus, they are adjusting to life without Michael Parkhurst, having done so by adding two rookies along the back line.

But it's all good in Revs land, where coach Steve Nicol's team has collected four points from two road matches. That's not bad at all, and it's largely down to Joseph and Larentowicz. They were large and in charge against a pair of completely overmatched Red Bull center mids, Luke Sassano and Sinisa Ubiparipovic.

Red Bull improved significantly over that first-week fiasco and was clearly better than the visitors Saturday in some areas of the field. But Joseph and Larentowicz were such men among boys in their sector that it balanced things in a 1-1 draw.

Perhaps new Red Bull signee Alberto Celades, who should have his visa issues sorted out by now, can get the center midfield compass pointed in the right direction at Giants Stadium.

2. Command performances: Crew defender Chad Marshall had yet another man-of-the-match afternoon as TFC rarely bothered Columbus goalie William Hesmer.

MLS Fantasy 2009
Sign up now for the free MLS fantasy game

Revolution rookie Kevin Alston looked beyond his years once again Saturday. A week after standing up to San Jose's Darren Huckerby, he was in a similar groove against the Red Bull attackers.

If someone can go grab that league's Newcomer of the Year plaque from MLS headquarters and FedEx it to Seattle, it'll save us the trouble later. But before we hand it off to Fredy Montero (who spanked a long-range doozy past RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando), everybody had better check out the job teammate Osvaldo Alonso is doing. Seattle's feisty holding midfielder was impressive once again Saturday, tackling his little Cuban feet off and playing a mighty role in both Sounders' goals.

Ben Olsen had another nice night for D.C. United. Like last week, he wasn't overly mobile. But disciplined positioning and movement go a long way.

Macoumba Kandji, one of Red Bull's precious few bright spots last week, followed with another respectable night against New England. He's not just some young fast guy, either. He's strong, bouncing off of hardy challenges Saturday by Jay Heaps, Larentowicz, Joseph and others.

Greg Sutton (remember him?) was huge in second-half relief for starting TFC goalkeeper Stefan Frei. And finally, everybody who thought Kasey Keller was done, go ahead and get it over with and admit right now that you were wrong.

3. But you can call him "Freddie": Adding to the implausibility of Seattle's early flourish, it's all happening with little designated player razzle-dazzle. The Sounders' well-compensated and previously injured attacker, Fredrik Ljungberg, made his belated introduction Saturday. How'd that go?

Good, not great. But there was plenty to be encouraged about, all things considered.

He entered in the 61st minute with the game under control, though not yet cinched up. Ljungberg did nothing special, but he demonstrated that he wouldn't just stand around and cherry-pick for spots to make pretty passes. He diligently worked the center of the park, positioned just ahead of Alonso, chasing hard and digging out a few tackles. And afterward he expressed appreciation for the fans' warm reception, which was a nice touch.

4. Nobody likes a buzz kill, but...: One final word about Seattle's amazing start (which included a crowd of 28,548 for the second round of the Sound): Life will soon get much tougher.

There's no doubt that Sigi Schmid's men are a cut above past expansion teams. A pair of shutouts at home speaks volumes.

But the Sounders are about to discover life on the road, facing Toronto on Saturday. The last four expansion teams averaged one (one!) road win in their debut campaigns. Offense, in particular, comes at a premium. San Jose managed just 10 goals away from Buck Shaw last year. Toronto struck even fewer in its first season, with just eight in 2007.

4. Wither the goalkeeping?: We're always hearing how the United States is the land of the free and the home of preternaturally great goalkeeping. And generally, I don't disagree.

So why can't a couple of MLS teams come up with better talent between the pipes?

Josh Wicks' ridiculous effort for D.C. United on Chicago's only goal is enough to have Lev Yashin turning over in his grave. And somehow, big Zach Thornton has a starting assignment for Chivas USA. His clean sheet Sunday had more to do with Dallas' jayvee finishing than with any particular heroics, although the big fellow did look better than a week earlier.

6. If it's MLS, there must be some weak refereeing about: San Jose was the sight for the MLS referees' mad moment of the week, as an assistant blew it big time on the Earthquakes' game-winner. Darren Huckerby was a full step offside as he played a ball on to goal scorer Cam Weaver.

Of course, it was nothing like what happened last week in L.A., where Jair Marrufo incorrectly pointed to the penalty spot after United defender Rodney Wallace clearly blocked a ball with his thigh. Marrufo also declined to stop play as two United defenders lay on the ground with busted heads. The U.S. Soccer federation even issued a memo to underscore the importance of stopping play under those serious circumstances.

7. Back-line issues in Texas: FC Dallas has zero points and just one goal to show for two home matches, and the trouble is hammering the club at both ends. Jeff Cunningham missed from close range for the second consecutive match. This week Kenny Cooper caught the contagion as a significantly understrength Chivas USA side punished Dallas' sloppy finishing, stealing a 2-0 win at Pizza Hut Park.

Dallas' pair of new center backs, Steve Purdy and Daniel Torres, seemed slow to react and generally appear to be fighting out of their weight class. Balls are dropping that should never hit the ground, they are losing possession too easily, and there's a general lack of intensity.

For Houston, Geoff Cameron's learning curve at center back is compromising the back line. He got caught out of position on San Jose's first goal Saturday, for instance. Along with growing concerns over Wade Barrett's continued effectiveness, Houston may have some rearranging to do along that back four.

8. Slow-grow stadium growth: While the games play on, politics rage forth in two markets where stadium development remains a hot-button topic. The bad news just seems to keep seeping in like so much foul water for D.C. United, and Houston's bid for a venue is a frustrating study in stops and starts. It should all serve to remind us: When it comes to MLS stadium headlines, you really shouldn't believe anything until they actually put a shovel in the ground.

Steve Davis is a Dallas-based freelance writer who covers MLS for ESPNsoccernet. He can be reached at BigTexSoccer@yahoo.com.