Philadelphia Union fans traveled to Orlando last weekend to see the team play Orlando City
SC and to participate in the club's first preseason Fan Weekend. In addition to the game, the
weekend's events included meet & greet sessions with the players, a chalk talk and open practice,
all capped off by a barbecue attended by the fans and players.
Gabriel Gomez makes Goal.com's list of 10 MLS newcomers to watch. Goal says Gomez's biggest
weakness is his inability to stick with one club for an extended period of time. So yeah, he's
pretty good on the field.
Alecko Eskandarian says he looks forward to seeing Cristhian Hernandez's "cultured left foot"
making an impact at PPL Park for a long time.
Gabriel Gomez makes Goal.com's list of 10 MLS newcomers to watch. Goal says Gomez's biggest
weakness is his inability to stick with one club for an extended period of time. So yeah, he's
pretty good on the field.
Alecko Eskandarian says he looks forward to seeing Cristhian Hernandez's "cultured left foot"
making an impact at PPL Park for a long time.
Photo: Paul Rudderow
Philadelphia Union
In case you missed it, Peter Nowak was fined and suspended for two games for leaving the
technical area and initiating contact with an opposition player during last Saturday's win against
Chivas USA. The next time he'll be on the sidelines will be against Schalke.
No. 1 selection Andrew WengerU.S. Soccer Communications
U.S. Under-23 defender and U.S. Soccer Development Academy alum Andrew Wenger out of Duke was the
top selection by the Montreal Impact during Thursday's MLS SuperDraft held at the NSCAA Convention
in Kansas City. Three of the first five selections in the draft had Development Academy ties.
Peter Nowak was the last coach to lead the United States U-23 National Team to qualify for the
Olympics. Rob Vartughian helped train his stable of goalkeepers (including Chris Seitz, who went to
Beijing but never left the bench).
Freddy Adu was the top scorer on Nowak's team during that qualifying tournament, notching the
game winning and 2008 Olympic Games-clinching brace in the semifinals.
The United States' loss to El Salvador... wait... draw with El Salvador will lead to lots of
fallout. Some will clamor that this was Caleb Porter's fault; others will question the talent pool;
still others will say this reflects poorly on the U.S. youth system and the types of players who
are being produced.
Photo: Nicolae Stoian
It took Danny Mwanga eight minutes to do what Lionard Pajoy hasn't done in 367: Create a
goal.
If that one play isn't a good enough reason of why Mwanga needs to replace Pajoy in Philadelphia
Union's starting lineup, here are a few more.
- Only one team in Major League Soccer has a worse goals-per-game rate than the Union's 0.
