The 2016 MLS season is officially in full swing, and the first day of action certainly saw a lot of thrills. Entering the year, the Portland Timbers and Columbus Crew were predicted to make runs at the MLS Cup once again, but the first day of the season proved that potential contenders might not be ready to live up to the hype.
There were plenty of upsets in the first day of action, but non bigger than the New York Red Bulls losing to Toronto FC. The Red Bulls have been a favorite to contend for a title this season. Toronto FC is coming off a season where it made the playoffs for the first time since the club was formed, but it's in no way predicted to do the same this season. However, Sebastian Giovinco had other plans as he scored on a penalty kick and assisted on a goal for Marco Delgado.
"I can't say I'm surprised with the results," said Toronto FC coach Greg Vanney. "I think we had a plan and a mission when we came in. I think the big part of being able to go to a city like New York or club like New York and winning is belief and confidence in what you're doing. I think we dug deep."
"Not everything was perfect nor is it on day one, but the guys competed. They competed for 90 minutes. They covered each other. They scrapped things out and made plays when they needed to make plays defensively," he added.
Th excitement continued across the league with multiple upsets. NYCFC got an upset win on the road as it defeated the Chicago Fire in a 4-3, high-scoring match. FC Dallas picked up where it left off with a nice 2-0 win over Philadelphia, while Kansas City upset the Seattle Sounders. Orlando City kicked off its second season in the league in style against Real Salt Lake. Playing a man down for most of the match, Real Salt Lake scored twice in what looked to be a shutout win. However, Cyle Larin and Adrian Winter both scored in stoppage time to get the 2-2 draw.
"That's what you see in video games," Larin said. "You don't see that in actual soccer, but we brought it to real life."
The match of the day certainly lived up to the hype. The Portland Timbers and Columbus Crew met for a rematch of the 2015 MLS Cup. Portland started things off by debuting its championship banner before taking the pitch. The team showed it has confidence, getting the 2-1 win. After coming together late last season before their title run, the Timbers have what it takes to remain the favorites all season.
"I think this game was crucial for a lot of reasons," coach Caleb Porter said. "Obviously we wanted to get three points; we talked about getting off to a good start. But it's crucial also to put a marker down a little bit. This talk about being complacent and this talk about all these teams wanting to beat us even more, it's just talk. And we showed today how hungry we are."