Last week

Friday
Minnesota @ Charleston - The Battery had plenty of opportunities to score in this one, but their lack of finishing doomed this one to a scoreless draw.  Byron Alvarez did what he does best, irritate everyone and fall down in key positions, but to no avail.  I'd like to point out that my original pick was a 1-1 draw, but a bout of opening day optimism made me change my mind.
Final: 0-0
My Prediction: 2-1 'Sota

Saturday
Minnesota @ Carolina - Again, the Thunder gave far more opportunities than they took, but that was to be expected given if it was their second game of the season and in 24 hours.  It'll be interesting to see how the Railhawks do throughout the season.  Their midfield looked better than I expected and could cause a lot of trouble.  It was weird watching Chad Dombrowski on the wrong side of things, but he showed he still had a little sympathy for the Thunder, gifting Ansu Toure a penalty for the draw.

Final: 1-1
My Prediction: 1-2 Carolina

Montreal @ Atlanta - Dan Antoniuk came storming out of the gates in his first game against his old team.  He scored 15 minutes in and again just after the hour mark to give the Silverbacks a 2-0 cushion.  They couldn't hold on though as the Impact got goals in the final 15 from new signing Matthew Palleschi and old hand Leonardo Di Lorenzo. I haven't had a chance to watch the match, but it seems as though it was hotly contested with nine yellows handed out during the precedings.

Final: 2-2
My Prediction: 2-2

Puerto Rico @ Portland -  I guess Puerto Rico's troubles on the mainland haven't been abated by their off season additions, quite yet.  Portland jumped out early with a goal from Andrew Gregor in the second minute.  Luke Kreamalmeyer put the Timbers up two shortly after the half.  Alejandro Zapata gave the Islanders a glimmer of hope in the 83rd, scoring his first USL goal.  Gregor had other ideas though and answered back to finish the scoring in the 86th.  Maybe Portland won't need to have forwards that can score with the way Gregor and Kreamalmeyer picked up from last year.

Final: 1-3 Portland
My Prediction: 3-1 Puerto Rico

Seattle @ Vancouver - Chris Eylander was called upon to make six saves for the Sounders in this one, but he could only make five.  Tony Caig, on the other hand, made the only one he was presented with.  Total shots were actually pretty close in this game, but the 'Caps were just far more accurate.  Eduardo Sebrango-Rodriquez scored the winner in the 55th.

Final: 0-1 Vancouver
My Prediction: 1-2 Vancouver

So, for the week, I got two correct results to three incorrect.  I got one score exactly right and the other the correct margin.  For the season that means I am 3-4, with 2 correct margins and 1 exact score.

Rankings
1(0) Vancouver (1-0-0) - Home victory over a rival
2(0) Rochester (1-0-1) - Idle
3(0) Montreal (0-1-0) - Draw in Atlanta
4(+1) Atlanta (0-1-0) - Draw at home to Montreal
5(+2) Minnesota (0-2-0) - Two road draws to Charleston and Carolina
6(-2) Puerto Rico (1-0-1) - Bad showing in Seattle
7(-1) Carolina (0-1-0) - Draw at home to Minnesota
8(+3) Portland (1-0-0) - Big win over Puerto Rico
9(-1) Seattle (0-0-1) - Road loss in Vancouver
10(-1) Charleston (0-1-0) - Draw at home to Minnesota
11(-1) Miami (0-0-1) - Idle
12(0) California (0-0-0) - Idle

Predictions

Friday
Minnesota @ Atlanta - Atlanta proved again that they are tough to beat at home.  They probably should have been able to hold on for a win last week though after going up 2-0.  Minnesota will have another of the new players available on this trip and no other game on the schedule.  Maybe we'll get to see Keisuke Ota make his debut for the Thunder.

My Prediction: 1-2 Atlanta, I learned last week to go with my gut on Thunder games last week, not my heart.  I learned a long time ago my head belongs nowhere near this column.

Seattle @ Miami - This is a really tough one to pick.  Seattle seemed to have a lot of problems last year when they were a long ways from home, but we also haven't seen a lot from Miami on how they'll handle life after Romario.  Miami's defense looked well out of sorts against Rochester on opening weekend, but they could still have a dangerous attack.  Meanwhile, Seattle mustered a reasonable number of shots, even if they were mostly off target against a good 'Caps defense.  They bent, but didn't really break in defense, either.

My Prediction: 2-1 Seattle, the Sounders appear to have played the 'Caps well in Vancouver last weekend, so I'm going to have to give them the nod.

Saturday
Montreal @ Charleston - Charleston is no Atlanta.  While Charleston is better defensively than the Impact's inaugural opponents of '07, they certainly lack the attacking quality.  Montreal's midfield should do a much better job of containing the Battery than the Thunder did a week ago as well.  That all adds up to...

My Prediction: 1-0 Montreal, Charleston is going to have to wait at least one more week to get their first goal of the season and Montreal is going to get their first win.

Atlanta @ Carolina - Both teams started with a draw at home.  The difference is that Atlanta was up against the team that finished atop the table during the regular season while Carolina played the team that ended at the bottom.  These two should be relatively even come the end of the season, but I think Carolina is still putting it all together.  Meanwhile, Atlanta had a rough time on the road last season and this is their first chance to see if they have gotten past that particular issue.

My Prediction: 2-2, Carolina continues to progress and Atlanta working out the road kinks.

California @ Vancouver - The Victory finally have put together a roster, just in time to head to Vancouver.  Sadly I don't see California living up to their moniker in their first match on the road to the defending champs.

My Prediction: 0-3 Vancouver, the 'Caps didn't change much in the off season from a team that won it all, while California just got everyone signed.  Seems a recipe for a lopsided result.

Sunday
Seattle @ Puerto Rico - Seattle, for whatever reason, did particularly poorly in the southeast last year.  Perhaps it was just a poor run of form and the games were clustered pretty close to one another, maybe not.  Puerto Rico makes use of the home field advantage as well as anyone in the league.  In terms of form however, the Sounders played relatively well in Vancouver while the Islanders got drubbed out of Portland last week.  We can't forget that Puerto Rico beat a Rochester team that's much better than Seattle to open the season, however.

My Prediction: 0-2 Puerto Rico, I think we know at this point that the Islanders aren't going to drop many points at home, the only question about them is how well can they do on the mainland.  Seattle is still a bit of an unknown.

Finally, a look at California's roster as it stands.

At keeper, they've brought in the Califonia Cougars back stop, Dominik Jakubek, and Eric Reed, lately of UCLA and the PDL's Southern California Seahorses.  I would hope that Reed is the projected starter for them since the Cougars gave up 122 goals more than anyone else in the league this season.  Yes, MISL is a high scoring league, but the difference in goals allowed for the best and worst of the rest of the league is 38 goals.

Defenders could also be a shortcoming for the Victory.  Chris Schwarze may be the most recognizable player here for USL fans having been a regular for Virginia Beach in 2006.  Daniel Smith apparently was contracted to Charleston last season, but didn't play as far as I can tell.  Hugo Casillas joins from the MFL's Tecos system where he was primarily a reservist.  Finally, another from the atrocious Cougars, Luis Aguilar.  The rest come from the college ranks.  Kiel McClung is the most promising, being a part of the UCLA team that reached the NCAA final last year.  He also has played for the US U20s.  Cameron Dunn comes from UC Irvine and also played in the PDL for the Orange County Blue Stars.  Matt Fitzgerald played for St Mary's College of California and the San Fransisco Seals.  Ricky Herron comes from Andrew College and played for the U15 Jamaican team before coming to the US.

Contrasted with the rest of the team, midfield provides a great deal of experience and strength.  There's lots of MLS experience here with Chuck Kim from the Galaxy, Mike Munoz from Chivas USA and Jose Retiz from the Columbus Crew.  Josh Barton is back in D1 after spending a season with the Cinncinati Kings and earning D2 second team honors.  Previously he played with the Silverbacks.  The MFL is represented here as well with Omar Aguayo and Ricardo Sanchez coming over from the Chivas reserves.  Sanchez also was the Mexican U17 captain earlier in his career.  Raul Palomares is the final piece of the midfield puzzle, having been a US U17 and U20 player, being part of the FC Kaiserslautern program and playing professionally in Croatia.  Schwarze and Fitzgerald are both listed as defenders/midfielders.

Currently, the forward ranks are a bit thin, with only three listed.  Juan Epitie comes from the mother club in Alaves.  Josh Hansen comes back to the USL afterbeing on the Galaxy reserves last season.  Finally, Yuri Morales comes over from the Timbers bench.  Morales has also played for Puerto Rico in the 2006 CONCACAF Champions Cup, Viborg FF and Olstykke FC in Denmark.

So, the Victory are probably going to give up a lot of goals, especially early on.  The forwards might be alright depending on how Epitie makes the transition to the US and whether Hansen was really worth a reserve contract in the MLS.  They'll probably need to sign a couple more forwards.  The midfield should be dynamic, but that probably won't save them from missing the playoffs.

Prediction: Still twelfth, but they might be in the hunt for a playoff spot by the end of the season.