There are few more nauseating clichés in American sportswriting than baseball’s spring re-awakening. Writers go overboard describing the smell of leather gloves and the crack of a wooden bat, but it is hard to deny that there is something about the start of a fresh season that awakens optimism and excitement. Potential will unfold and a new champion will be crowned.

Fortunately, this column is not about baseball, but its younger, less glamorous cousin, Major League Soccer. At roughly the same time of year as opening day, MLS plays its opening round of matches, complete with a strange promo name, undoubtedly created in a marketing meeting: First Kick.

I gorged myself on soccer this weekend, watching at least some of four separate MLS matches. Forget the baseless conjecture of season previews. Here is what happened in matches that actually count.

The Good

At this early stage of the season I saw three very good teams: Sporting Kansas City, Real Salt Lake, and Los Angeles Galaxy and one solid MLS team: FC Dallas. All of these teams were able to play with ideas and class, which is a good sign for the league.

Kansas City went on the road to the nation’s capital, and their slim 1-0 victory over DC United belied their dominance in the match. Kansas City has a beast of a defender in French center back Aurelian Collin, a tenacious and energetic defensive midfielder in Roger Espinoza, and a wealth of athletic attacking options. One of their young, gifted forwards, CJ Sapong, came on as a substitute and scored a late winner off a corner.

Most impressive about Kansas City is that in Graham Zusi they have a young, technical American player capable of running his team’s offense. Zusi was all over the field at RFK Stadium Saturday night, spraying balls to forward Kei Kamara and Teal Bunbury, blasting shots from outside the area, and pressing DC players high up the field when Kansas City lost the ball. In a relatively weak Eastern conference, Kansas City look like the team to beat.

Meanwhile, Real Salt Lake had the unenviable task of opening their season at the Home Depot Center, home of defending champions the Los Angeles Galaxy. As you might expect in a game between the league’s two best teams, this was a well-played, technical match.

LA had the advantage in the first half, as they bossed an RSL midfield that included two promising but young players in teenage standout Louis Gil and Sebastien Velasquez, a rookie drafted out of junior college. Los Angeles signaled their intent when US international Landon Donovan smashed a volley against RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando’s crossbar. Impressive newcomer Marcel Sarvas rattled Rimando’s frame moments later with another long-range effort.

When Edson Buddle opened the scoring for the Galaxy in the 71st minute off a David Beckham cross, it seemed as if LA would continue their unbeaten home run that stretches back to late 2010. Salt Lake had other ideas.

Rookie Sebastien Velasquez was behind the equalizer, sending in a wicked cross that LA defender Sean Franklin turned into his own goal. Salt Lake, sensing a victory, sent on their two best attacking players: the Costa Rican forward Alvaro Saborio and the Argentinian playmaker Javier Morales, who gave RSL the lead following some poor LA defending. Fellow Argentine Fabian Espindola sealed the victory with a late goal for Salt Lake.

Despite the loss, LA played well before fatigue set in during the second half. If they can shore up their back line to compensate for the loss reigning MLS Defender of the Year Omar Gonzalez, they remain one of the favorites to lift MLS Cup at the end of the season. Gonzalez, who tore his ACL during a winter loan spell, may miss the entire 2012 season.

The Bad

As good as the top three teams were, others showed that they would have to improve to remain competitive in MLS. Vancouver were able to shrug aside league newcomers Montreal easily in their home opener. Expansion teams have historically suffered during their first season, so it is hard to tell if Vancouver’s victory was a result of their improved squad featuring ex-Philadelphia forward Sebastien Le Toux, or the weakness of the Montreal team that was assembled this winter by coach Jesse Marsch. Italian center back Matteo Ferrari was made to look very bad by Vancouver’s Camilo, who scored the Whitecaps’ second goal.

With Montreal being a new MLS team, their performance can be excused. But the most worrying performance I saw was by an MLS original, DC United. The franchise was plagued with stadium speculation this offseason, and second-year coach Ben Olsen did little to reassure soccer fans in the nation’s capital. Olsen stalked up and down the sideline last night, nervously ordering his players around, to no avail.

DC failed to create any scoring chances in the match, despite a talented attacking trident of Chris Pontius, Andy Najar, and league MVP Dewayne De Rosario. In order for this team to have any chance at success, these three will need to find ways of linking with Montenegran midfielder Branko Boskovic, a designated player who was invisible for large portions of the match. Albanian forward Hamdi Salihi, the team’s newest DP and a teammate of Boskovic at Rapid Vienna in the Austrian league, will need to finish off the chances that DC’s talented attacking midfielders create.

The bright spot in DC’s performance was the goalkeeping of 21-year-old international goalkeeper Bill Hamid, who, along with veteran Robbie Russell, did his best to organize a largely dysfunctional back line featuring Dejan Jakovic (slow), Brandon Macdonald (tactically questionable), and Daniel Woolard (a fighter, but not good enough for MLS). Hamid should easily play his way into a backup position for Tim Howard on the U.S. National Team.

The Ugly

You want ugly? The Red Bulls will show you ugly. Although the 2-1 scoreline was close, New York was easily outclassed by FC Dallas on Sunday in Frisco Texas. Playing with a strange, unearned swagger, the Red Bulls were careless at the back and predictable going forward. The entire team was at fault in this poor effort, but a number of individuals distinguished themselves in this negative result.

The normally solid Norwegian right back Jan Gunnar Solli had an awful game, misplacing passes and failing to put winger Dane Richards in dangerous positions. Swedish defender Marcus Holgersson, a new signing, looked fragile and gangly (not a good combination) in the center of the New York defense. In the midfield Dax McCarty had too much energy and not enough quality, and “superstar” Thierry Henry seemed to sulk around as usual, slowing down the game and patronizingly bossing his teammates.

Dallas, on the other hand, showed why they will probably challenge for a playoff spot in the tough Western Conference. They looked competent in defense, lead by savvy veteran Daniel Hernandez and excellent center back Ugo Ihemelu.

Coach Schellas Hyndman had a clear tactical plan. Dallas waited for New York’s meandering attacks to break down and broke forward with pace and purpose. They could have had another goal was it not for some nice saves from Red Bull rookie goalie Ryan Meara.

2012 should be another year of growth, as MLS inches closer to assuming a position as a league to be reckoned with at the international level. Yes there are problems with the league’s centralized management. Yes, there are still some below average defenders floating around. But it seems like every year MLS is becoming tougher and tougher, and as fans here in the United States, we should show the good sense to appreciate our growing domestic game.

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Follow Alex Campolo on Twitter: @AlexCampolo

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