It's another full slate of Major League Soccer matches this weekend. 

Even though it's very early in the season, some players are starting to make waves around the league with their play.

Six players have peaked my curiosity coming into this weekend, either by their performances with their teams last week or by the expectations that have been building since preseason.

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After beating MLS champions LA Galaxy in an exciting two game series, Toronto FC has advanced to the CONCACAF Champions League semifinals, riding a high felt for undoubtedly the first time in the clubs' short history.  

In the first game, Toronto tied the Galaxy at a packed Rogers Centre in Toronto. In the second game in Los Angeles, Toronto won to advance to the semifinals. With these two matches under their belt, Toronto looks confident going forward as MLS play starts. 

This article will discuss 10 things we learned from Toronto FC's play in the CONCACAF Champions League. 

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If this was Europe, and this was a European competition, Los Angeles Galaxy manager Bruce Arena would be sacked after a horrendous 2-1 defeat to Toronto FC.

But, this is CONCACAF, so the bar is a little lower, and it's only the CONCACAF Champions League. However, results like this against teams that are not expected to contend for hardware in Major League Soccer raises a red flag.

Ladies and gentlemen, there is a possibility that it could be 2007 all over again, when winning was as foreign as Esperanto to the Galaxy. (Of course, they had Ruud Gullit at the time, but that's a different story.)

Here are six things we learned after this appalling/shocking/epic result at the Home Depot Center on Wednesday.

1. It is official, these Canadians can play!

I never thought I would live to see the day that a Canadian club would progress this far in the CONCACAF Champions League. Forget Isidro Metapan (assuming they hold off Pumas UNAM), Aron Winter's Toronto FC may come into the semifinals as a team of destiny.

Not only do they fly the flag for Canada—a nation whose only relevance to world football lies in its women—but they also fly the flag for MLS. As hinted earlier this week, Toronto needed to use speed and pace to take advantage of a Galaxy side that was not ready to show up on Wednesday, and they got the job done.

Watch your back, Sporting and Houston. Toronto FC have their eyes set on you.

2. Ryan Johnson, the revelation of the tournament for TFC

If there was ever one player who Toronto can rely on to deliver in the clutch, it's Ryan Johnson.

With two goals in as many CCL matches, no one should be surprised if Johnson is Jamaican Santos Laguna crazy in the midfield in the semifinals.

That is, unless you happen to support Santos...in which it's a different story altogether. For all the wrong reasons, at that.

3. The nightmare continues for Los Angeles

Have the Galaxy lost their identity in the same way the independent television networks in Britain lost theirs in the last decade or so?

Simply put, Arena's men have forgotten who they are. This isn't the team from 2011 that showed up in the first two matches of the year. What fans saw on Wednesday were shades of the team from '07.

Now, it is often said that great teams have to take steps backwards in order to go forwards. But one can only wonder, how many more steps backward are the Galaxy going to take before they bother to record their first W of the year?

4. Juninho continues to struggle this year

To be honest, Juninho is not the only one struggling to return to form; I'm just using him as an example. But it is the most glaring example. This was not the Juninho who threw Morelia into disarray at Victoria Street last year.

Juninho's ball-handling was subpar, his passing was horrid, his touch was just flat out unbearable. I'm going to go on record and say that if Juninho doesn't have a good game, the Galaxy will not have a good game in return.

Just an awful performance from the Brazilian, and the Galaxy's exit was justified by this.

5. Toronto is facing Santos next

If you were paying attention to the earlier match on Wednesday, you will have noticed that Santos Laguna punched the Seattle Sounders out of the tournament with godly authority, 6-1, and 7-3 on aggregate. While it may be a daunting task for Toronto, based on this win, you can never count the Reds out of anything.

As I said before in this piece...these Canadians can play. Now, if only the men's national team can follow this example and pick up their weight come the next round of 2014 FIFA World Cup Qualifying...

6. If form follows, it will be a Santos-Monterrey final

I am placing this bold prediction right here. This dons two hats: a bold prediction and a thing we learned. Here it goes.

If form follows in this edition of the tournament, it will be a Santos Laguna-CF Monterrey final.

Of course, the people who follow Toronto, Pumas or Metapan may have something to say about that, but both Santoa and Monterrey have been dominant in their ties. It should not be a surprise that both sides will potentially meet for all the marbles and a ticket to the FIFA 2012 Club World Cup.

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Seattle got the night's first chance, but Santos would prove far more lethal in the second match of their CONCACAF Champions League tie.

The Sounders traveled to Mexico with a 2-1 advantage from the first leg. They looked likely to widen the margin in the eighth minute when a corner kick led to two headed chances in front of goal. First, Alvaro Fernandez saw his point blank header saved, then Brad Evans' follow-up found the gloves of Santos keeper Oswaldo Sanchez.

At that promising early moment, Seattle fans couldn't have known what they were in for.

Santos Grab the Game by Its Throat

Christian Suarez was superb for Santos all evening. He began the night on the left and just after Seattle's big moment in the eighth minute, the ball ended up at Suarez' feet outside the Seattle area.

Suarez created space between three Seattle defenders and fired his shot in at the near post to open the night's scoring.

Santos won the ball from the ensuing kick off, and a beautiful ball in behind Seattle's central defense found forward Oribe Peralta Morones.

Despite having Seattle defender Jhon Kennedy Hurtado draped all over him, Peralta managed to turn with the ball and slip it past goalkeeper Michael Gspurning to extend Santos' lead.

Santos Take a Break, Seattle Take Advantage

For the rest of the first half, Santos' midfielders had trouble getting on the ball and their attack fizzled.

Seattle, by contrast, saw Mauro Rosales get involved in the proceedings. Things looked considerably brighter with the Argentinian creating danger as he pulled more centrally from his starting position out right.

In the 37th minute, Seattle pulled one back with what would turn out to be forward Fredy Montero's only significant contribution to the match.

Montero received the ball on the left and looped a nice cross to the back post. Fernandez drifted into a completely unmarked position and met the ball cleanly. Goal Seattle. And the game looked promising.

Then The Second Half Changed Things

Right from the beginning, Santos owned the second half. A minute in and midfielder Daniel Ludueña slipped a ball through the Seattle back-line that found Herculez Gomez waltzing free on goal. Gomez shot on the turn, sent it high and put the golden opportunity to waste.

But the American international (and former Sounder) Gomez would have plenty to say before the match was over.

Just a few minutes later, Seattle created a half-chance when Rosales got in free on goal. Santos' keeper got to the ball first and snuffed out the opportunity.

The Mexicans immediately countered down the left side. The break found Suarez who pulled his cross back to the middle and a trailing Gomez. The forward calmly side-footed his first goal of the night (and second of the tie) into the Sounders net.

The Rout Was On

Thanks to their razor sharp movement, the Santos forwards seemingly found it easy to get in behind the Seattle back four throughout the match. Seattle's left side was especially vulnerable, as center-back Hurtado and left-back Leonardo Arce Gonzalez were torched repeatedly.

Once Santos moved Suarez over to the right side, things got even uglier for Sounders fans.

In the 67th minute, Peralta received with Hurtado on his back just inside the Sounders half of the field. Peralta dropped the ball to his support and spun off the inexplicably stagnant defender into miles of space in behind.

The return ball sent the Santos forward flying toward goal with Seattle's right side defenders struggling to recover. As he neared goal, Peralta played a square ball into the path of Gomez who raked it into the net to tally his second of the evening.

Ten minutes later, Santos defender Jorge Estrada Manjarrez pushed forward down the right. Upon receiving the ball, he veered toward the inside as forward Suarez pulled out wide.

The defender addressed Estrada, he played Suarez in and Suarez smashed the ball past a helpless Gspurning and into the far corner of Seattle's goal.

The Sounders appeared to have well and truly given up by this point in the match. But Santos weren't finished just yet.

Five minutes later, a long diagonal ball from Ludueña split Seattle's defense open for a final time. Hurtado should have cut it out, but his slip set substitute Santos forward Carlos Ochoa free. Ochoa slotted home and the tie was put firmly to bed.

6-1 Santos. 7-3 on aggregate.

The Best

1. Santos' attacking trio

Suarez, Gomez and Peralta were outstanding all match long. Seattle had no answer for their movement, their pace or their creativity. Once they truly began rolling in the second half, the game's outcome was sealed.

2. Switching Suarez to the right

Santos manager Benjamín Galindo moved Suarez to the right side during the second half. The move paid off handsomely, as the tricky forward took full advantage of the weakness in the left side of Seattle's defense.

3. Mauro Rosales' first half

The Argentinian played the key role in bringing the Sounders into the game in the first half. The team's inability to involve him in the second half was a contributing factor in their demise.

The Worst

1. The left side of Seattle's defense

Hurtado and Gonzalez were miserable for Seattle. Gonzalez couldn't deal with the trickery both on and off the ball of the Santos forwards. And Hurtado was directly at fault for three of Santos' goals.

2. Fredy Montero

While Santos' forwards were shining at one end, Fredy Montero was shrinking from the spotlight at the other. Sluggish all game long, by the end of the match Montero might as well have been watching from the stands.

What's Next

Santos' 7-3 aggregate victory sends them through to the semi-finals where they'll face Toronto FC. The first leg will kick-off on March 26th.

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With the CONCACAF quarterfinals officially a rap, here are my initial reactions and comments on the LA Galaxy/Toronto FC game.

It was a nerve-wracking CONCACAF quarterfinal second leg, and The LA  Galaxy targeted the weak Toronto defense play after play. However, this was a very sloppy match overall for both sides. 

Toronto started with the same formation they used last Wednesday in Toronto for the first leg of the CONCACAF Quarter finals. With LA clinching a late 2-2 tie in Toronto, the pressure was on for a win. 

Unfortunately, this game wasn't a big draw in Los Angeles, and the stadium wasn't anywhere near its capacity of 47,000 fans. This ambivalence set the tone for the match.

The game had a sluggish feel to it in the early minutes of the game. Toronto struck first, off the head of Ryan Johnson.  LA quickly responded to the goal, challenging Toronto's very high defensive line play after play. Although a  few questionable officiating calls went Toronto's way, the score remained 1-0 heading into the half.  

Despite being narrowly beaten on every long ball the Galaxy chipped over the slow and outnumbered Toronto defense, this same pattern continued into the second half. Landon Donovan beat his man to the box and sent in a low cross across the 6 yard box toward Keane. Ty Harden was there to intercept the pass but directed it toward the goal. LA would tie the game with Harden's own goal.  

A quick Toronto counter caught the laboring Galaxy napping midway through the second half.  Another great play and ball from Ryan Johnson met a streaking Nick Soolsma who buried home the eventual game winner.  

LA continued to press throughout the remainder of the game, but this time Toronto held on for the win, securing their spot in the CCL semifinals against Mexican team Santos Laguna, who demolished the Seattle Sounders today by a score of 6-1.  

Man of the Match goes without a doubt to Milos Kocic who was outstanding in net for Toronto FC.  He single-handedly kept the game alive with breakaway saves on both Buddle and Keane. His performance was breathtaking.

Congratulations go out to Toronto FC who have made history with this win. They become the first ever Canadian team to reach the semifinal round of this continental tournament.  

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Despite having a rather young history, there have been a number of world-class goals achieved at Toronto Football Club. 

Whether from set piece, penalty or in open action, all of these goals share something in common— greatness.  

Take a moment to view some of the best goals that have been achieved in the five-year history of Toronto FC.

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There is no doubt about it. March is pretty special in a sports fan's mind. Not only do we begin the NCAA tournament, we also see MLB begin its hunt to the opening day. However, in Portland, the city begins its hunt for a MLS Cup championship. 

This is the second year that the Portland Timbers will look to make the playoffs as they missed out by a mere few points last season. Even with the excitement that brings the city to its feet and the Timbers Army singing for over 90-plus minutes, let's take a look at who graced the pitch for the first night of the 2012 season against the Philadelphia Union. 

Now by all means, this is my personal grade of each player through my own eyes—they are also squarely based on the game at hand, which was played in miserable rain-soaked conditions all night.

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After an interesting and exciting MLS First Kick, our tongues have just begun to taste the potential of what this season has to offer. Last week, we saw last minute winners, west coast dominance, and the official debut of MLS' new TV partner NBC Sports.

All that being said, there will be plenty of great matchups and stories to watch as the MLS enters the second week of its 17th season in action. Check out the Week Two Preview here. Enjoy!

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Speed, skill and style are all attributes of the beautiful game that are attractive to fans. Major League Soccer has been trying to find players with these attributes to improve the product on the field and grow the fanbase off it. Since the beginning of the league, teams have been looking for high-value talent with a shoe-string budget. Over the last few years, several teams have been striking gold in Colombia with the capture of young talent.

The influx of Colombian talent is nothing new to MLS. Carlos Valderrama and Juan Pablo Angel have both shown their skill in MLS, but both were well-known commodities before bringing their game to America. Valderrama may have had the most well-recognized hair in soccer history to go along with his all-world talent. Angel spent several years finding the back of the net across the Premier League before bringing his goal scoring touch to MLS. While both men brought a lot to MLS, it may be their brethren from their homeland that brings MLS closer to being a top league.

Seattle’s Fredy Montero burst onto the scene in the Sounders' first season. Since pulling on the green jersey in 2009, Montero has been an offensive force for defenses around the league to worry about. Montero has a combination of speed and foot skill that makes him a threat whenever he touches the ball. His scoring touch has netted him 34 goals in 86 appearances for the Sounders.

While not as young as Montero, David Ferreira joined FC Dallas in 2009 and led FC to the Western Conference title in 2010. He also won MVP honors for the league that same year. Injuries led to him appearing in only six games in 2011, but the difference he makes when on the pitch is evident every time he plays. The diminutive attacker is exciting on the ball and knows how to create chances for himself and teammates.

With the success of Montero and Ferreira, the last few seasons have seen several teams importing talent from Colombia to bolster their ranks. The Portland Timbers are counting on their corps of Columbian players to play John Spencer’s quick-touch scheme through the middle of the pitch. Diego Chara, Jorge Perlaz, and newcomer Hanyer Mosquera look to form a solid core for the Timbers. Exciting young attacker Jose Valencia will have to wait before making his debut due to injury suffered prior to arriving in Portland.

Like Portland, Philadelphia has brought in Roger Torres, Carlos Valdes and the exciting Lionard Pajoy in an effort to push the team over the top in the East. Colorado brought in Jaime Castrillon and Luis Zapata for this season, and as you look across the MLS landscape, Colombian players have found a home on most rosters. To start this season, Colombia has the most foreign players in MLS.

MLS is always looking for ways to improve its product, and the influx of talent from Colombia will improve the MLS game in terms of style and skill as long as the players can adjust to the physical play of the league. With more South American players on MLS rosters playing key roles, the league may finally be able to move on from the more direct style of play from its early years. A more pleasing style is definitely needed to get the league to where it wants to go.

When it eventually gets there, it may owe much of its progress to the Colombian influence. As my friend Santiago has told me, “Futbol is religion in Colombia." Here's hoping some of that rubs off on the American sports landscape.

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With Toronto's defense still very weak due to the lengthy injuries of Adrian Cann and Dicoy Williams, manager Aron Winter has completed the signing of the young American center-back, Logan Emory.

Emory has been on trial throughout the preseason, and has obviously impressed the Toronto staff. In an interview with TorontoFC.ca, Winter said of his new signing:

“Logan is a strong young defender and he has many qualities we like to see in a player. 

"We were impressed with his work ethic during his trial period in Orlando and I felt he performed well against Vancouver in our final preseason match. Logan gives us another option in defence and fits in well with our team’s style of play.”

Emory has played two seasons in USSF Division 2 with the Puerto Rico Islanders, and played a major role in his club's success in 2010.  

Puerto Rico reached the CONCACAF semi-finals, only to be beaten on penalties by Cruz Azul of Mexico. In 2011, Emory logged the most minutes of any Islander, becoming a mainstay in the center of defense.

Undoubtedly, the MLS is a major step up from the USSF. However, hopefully Winter and company have found their help in the back with this young defender from Boise.  

His success in the CONCACAF Champions League will provide a glimmer of hope to Toronto, as he can clearly play with the best in North America.

Finances of the deal have not been released. However, I expect this this should be a rather small and safe signing for the Reds.

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