"It was very important for us to come back like that," midfielder Jeremy Hall said. "It was a game we should've gotten three points out of….We're at home in front of our fans and we wanted a good showing."

A 2-1 triumph over the Red Bulls was more than just three points for Vancouver; it was a statement to the fans back in British Columbia that this team wasn’t going to roll over.

That’s because these sort of speculative articles keep the new franchise in the hearts and minds of New Yorkers — and that’s important, because the new team will start play in 2015 in a temporary venue, while it searches for a home.

Two of the three goals came in added time — one in the first half and another in the second — with Thierry Henry notching both the home side’s tallies while Marco Di Vaio got one (and very nearly two) back for the visitors.

"It's not a jinx, not a hoax or anything like that. We need personalities to go and clear the ball or win the ball," Nelsen said. "Strong personalities in the back. Every successful team in the world has had one or two defenders that the ball seems to go like a magnet to their head since they want to win it so much."

For the second time in a row, someone named “Johnson” from the Portland Timbers has won the MLS Player of the Week award. Last week, it was Canadian Will Johnson, who scored twice. This week, it’s former Toronto FC forward Ryan Johnson, who scored two second-half goals to give the Timbers a 2-0 win over the Houston Dynamo. Johnson got …

This week, Bernier got five votes and finished second in POTW voting. Last week, he got seven votes and finished second. Three weeks ago, Bernier finished third in POTW voting. Every week, Bernier is getting votes, and they are coming from all across North America.

“He played very, very well. He didn’t make any mistakes. He was solid and he concentrated,” said Head Coach Marco Schallibaum when asked for his assessment of the youngster’s performance. "He also played a simple game, like I asked of him. He did very well for a first game."

It’s not often when a player from a 0-0 draw gets Player of the Week consideration, but D.C. United had no business getting out of New Jersey with a point.

Judging from the readership numbers — which spike every time we put up a story about new kits, redesigned kits, anything to do with kits — we've surmised that, to be a Canadian soccer fan, you have to be a bit of a fashionista.