With another round of Major League Soccer in the books, here's who fired and who failed this weekend:
Heroes
The frustration with Portland Timbers midfielder Darlington Nagbe that is so routinely expressed by Portland fans and Nagbe admirers alike is about one thing: His maddening unwillingness to use his ample gifts to take over games. Sure, the Timbers have Diego Valeri to do the bulk of the creative work, but Nagbe's combination of speed and technique screams for him to shine more in the final third of the field.
And here's the thing: Nagbe's stunning goal to open the scoring against the Whitecaps on Saturday will only reinforce the belief that he should do more of that, thank you. Nagbe's shimmy to create space and thunderous right-footed shot past David Ousted is the type of thing everyone knows Nagbe is capable of, but something he has been hesitant to show over the course of the last few seasons.
Maybe Nagbe settling into a defined role with the Timbers in 2017, and his full integration into the USMNT under Bruce Arena, is paying dividends with his confidence. What Nagbe seemed to lack was a ruthlessness a player of his talent needs to tip over from good to great.
It should be a weekend of mourning for everyone in the Eastern Conference who is not Toronto FC. Sebastian Giovinco has slipped into gear, and that means bad things for TFC's opponents.
It took seven games for the Italian attacker to finally look like the player that assumed the mantle of "league's best" over the last two seasons. It was always coming -- Giovinco leads the league in shots, as per usual -- but with the ball not going into the net as expected, there was reason for some concern. A two-goal performance against the Fire on Friday night will allay all of that and encourage TFC that they can climb to their rightful place among the East's best teams.
Meanwhile, the team currently holding the top spot in that group is doing their work without their biggest star -- although the way Cyle Larin is progressing as a striker, he might have a claim to that title even when Kaka gets back on the field. The Canadian scored both goals in a massive road win for Orlando City over NYCFC on Sunday. The three points the Lions earned for the win pushed them past Columbus and into first place in the East.
Larin showed some of his range of talent on the two goals. First, an intelligent run to the near post to get on the end of a Carlos Rivas cross, then out-muscling Rodney Wallace to win a header.
Villains
The Philadelphia Union remain the only team in MLS without a win in the 2017 season thanks to a fantastic collapse against the Impact on Saturday afternoon. Once again, the Union conspired to waste a golden chance to get their campaign truly underway at home in front of (mostly) friendly crowd.
Again, the Union faithful left Talen Energy Stadium in Chester wondering if things are ever going to get better -- but not before expressing their disgust with few Philly sports-appropriate boos.
It all started so well, too, with the Union going up 3-0 through 40 minutes. Roland Alberg's goal was expertly taken, and the sight of C.J. Sapong putting the ball in the net has to be encouraging for the previously goal-shy Union. The penalty won by youngster Jack Elliot and converted by Alberg felt almost like a bonus. It certainly filled everyone in the stadium with confidence that the winless run -- which is now at 14, dating back to last season -- would come to an end.
Instead, there are the same questions draped in even more frustration. It's still early enough that a turnaround is possible, but good teams don't drop two points at home after holding a three-goal lead.
The way things are going for the LA Galaxy, singling out Ashley Cole and his own goal in a 3-0 loss to Seattle seems unfair. Cole's mistake gave the Sounders a 2-0 lead and effectively put the game out of reach, but the problems facing Curt Onalfo's team are myriad. The Galaxy, at home and close to full strength, were beaten decisively by an injury-ravaged Sounders team missing several key players in the backline.
A dreadful first-half performance put LA in such a deep hole that they couldn't climb out. In just their fourth home match of the year, the Galaxy now have as many home defeats in 2017 as they did in 2015 and 2016 combined.
Real Salt Lake would rather have Nick Rimando than not, making the injury that forced the veteran keeper out of the game in the 58th minute a big concern. But Rimando was complicit in allowing Atlanta United to jump out to a lead at Rio Tinto Stadium, creating a deficit that RSL was unable to claw back from.
Rimando's ball skills and distribution have always made him unique among goalkeepers. But whether it's age, a new recklessness, or something else, the choices and balls he has played in 2017 haven't been quite as good as expected. It might be better to say that more than a few times Rimando has put his team in bad spots with questionable passes out of the back.
Now that reality has set back in after a loss -- Mike Petke's first as head coach -- Rimando's distribution in a league now noted for the number of high-pressing teams will be something to keep an eye on.