Union
One all-too-familiar crappy back pass is all it takes. Here's a look at what is being said about
the Union's honorable and gritty 1–0 loss to Manchester United on Wednesday night from MLSSoocer,
ComcastSportsNet, FoxNews, USA Today, the Trentonian, the AP, the Guardian,
The Inquirer takes a closer look and learns that Ferguson was impressed with our Andrew
Jacobson, who he described as "a bit of a bugger there in the second half.
In a full weekend slate in MLS -- a welcome relief -- one game stands out above the rest. A
Mid-Atlantic rivalry will be born, when the new Philadelphia Union host their first-ever game
against nearby D.C. United.
A crowd of more than 30,000+ is expected at Lincoln Financial Field, the temporary home of the
Union as they await the completion of PPL Park.
BY ADAM SERRANO
The 2010 season may be only be a few days dead, but the 2011 season has already kicked off with
the Expansion Draft.
The Vancouver Whitecaps and the Portland Timbers added ten players to their initial MLS rosters
on Wednesday as their clubs began to take shape for the 2011 season.
Someday, this might be the moment we all look back on and say this was the moment it all started
to come together.
Philadelphia Union vs. Seattle Sounders, 60th minute at PPL Park, Sunday, June 27, 2010. The
first match in the new stadium. Seattle forward Pat Noonan lines up to take a penalty kick after a
clear dive by Fredy Montero draws a penalty call.
Amobi Okugo could be a big time player for the Union. (Kevin Kinkead for WVHooligan)
In this expansion era in Major League Soccer we've seen the good and the bad on how to bring a
new club into the league. The bad is obviously just about everyone but Seattle. Most clubs stumbled
in their first year due to either poor management from the start or bad player choices.
Speculation about whether Chris Seitz will start in goal on Saturday continues.
Fred, Moreno and Orozco talk about what it means to play at home.
Union president Tom Viet and midfielder Andrew Jacobson were on WMGK's John DeBella show
yesterday. "They talked about already being hated for being Philly, their new stadium which is set
to open soon and their game this Saturday against the dreaded FC Dallas.
Game time: Saturday, 4 p.m. ET
TV: Live Well Network (Comcast ch. 245 in HD, ch. 246 in SD), TeleFutura
(Comcast ch. 251)
Home sweet home.
After five straight road games and five straight losses, Philadelphia Union (1-5-0) finally get
another home game, and guess what?
You know those pseudo-intellectual, semi-respectable, journalistic (and probably pretentious!)
types of posts I often write here about the Union, their tactics and the future?
Yeah, well, this isn't one of them.
This is a look back at a night that was basically my ultimate WTF game, for so many reasons.
It's fitting that the threat of a tornado provided the only momentary sense of excitement during
a woefully listless match. But even the tornado didn't pan out. Rather than leave D.C. with the
expected 3 points, the Union can only head back up I-95 with a deep sense of embarrassment,
particularly given how they did their best to spot United on both goals.
The winless streak is over.
Union midfielder Justin Mapp scored the winner in stoppage time and assisted on a Jack McInerney
goal to lead Philadelphia Union to a 2-1 road victory over a 10-man New England Revolution
team.
The Union went up a man when New England defender Cory Gibbs was red carded in the 4oth minute
for a high and late tackle on Union midfielder Eduardo Coudet.
Union
MLSsoccer.com has a preview of tonight's match against the LA Galaxy.
The Union are feeling loose and excited ahead of tonight's match. With Moreno away on
international duty, does that free up Le Toux to go up front? And if he's up front, what will the
midfield look like? You got to play Torres after his last game, don't you?
Editor's note: Over the next few weeks, PSP contributors will be posting what we're calling
"Raves" about our favorite Philadelphia players. They need not be the team's best players, but
they're guys we like. You hear plenty of rants when the Union losing. Here are the raves,
continuing with Mike's rave about Union midfielder Shea Salinas.
This picture is awesome! Get your hands off of Coach's Heine!
So the MLS Draft combine and Superdraft are coming up and I am in no way an expert on college
players or their potential ability at the professional level. I have viewed the many mock drafts
and kind of assessed in my mind who I would like for our team, but who does everyone else hope we
end up with?
Philadelphia Union lost 3-1 to Los Angelex Galaxy on Saturday night, but it could have been
much, much worse.
Instead, it was only a little ugly. Three goals surrendered and a Stefani Miglioranzi red card by
halftime. Then a good response from the Union in the second half, capped by Jack McInerney's first
professional goal.
Game time: Saturday, 4 p.m., EST
TV: 6abc
Philadelphia Union (1-4-0) travel to Utah to take on defending champion Real Salt Lake (2-3-1)
in a match-up of teams that most think have played below their potential this season. The Union
have been hurt by three red cards in six games as well as a series of killer mistakes, while RSL
has not gotten the kind of play they expect from two of their most well-known players, forward
Robbie Findley and goalkeeper Nick Rimando.
Peter Nowak returns to Chicago at the helm of the expansion Philadelphia Union. Philadelphia has
struggled, as most expansion teams do, but they have started to play better of late. The Union has
played six of their first eight matches on the road while their new stadium is completed and have
compiled a 2-5-1 record while producing an unimpressive 1-5-0 record on the road.
Game time: Thursday, 8 p.m.
TV: ABC 6.2 (Live Well/HD)
The end of the road trip is at hand.
When Philadelphia Union (2-6-1) play the Kansas City Wizards (2-5-3) on Thursday night, it will
mark the end of an opening stretch of games that has seen them play nine of their first 11 regular
season and U.
The Union dropped their first home game on Sautrday with a disappointing 2-1 loss to the San
Jose Earthquakes. After dominating most of the match and certainly all of the second half, one
San Jose counterattack stole the points in the 90th minute. Fred scored the lone goal for the
Union after a flick from Danny Mwanga put him through on goal in the 14th minute.
The Union dropped their first home game on Sautrday with a disappointing 2-1 loss to the San
Jose Earthquakes. After dominating most of the match and certainly all of the second half, one
San Jose counterattack stole the points in the 90th minute. Fred scored the lone goal for the
Union after a flick from Danny Mwanga put him through on goal in the 14th minute.
Game time: Saturday, 3:30 p.m.
TV: 6abc, MyNetwork TV
A much-improved Toronto FC pays a visit to PPL Park this Saturday to face Philadelphia Union,
marking the second time the Union have played a team twice this year. The two played in Toronto on
April 15, when the Union lost 2-1 in a game they easily could have won.
Game time: Saturday, 3:30 p.m.
TV: 6abc, MyNetwork TV
A much-improved Toronto FC pays a visit to PPL Park this Saturday to face Philadelphia Union,
marking the second time the Union have played a team twice this year. The two played in Toronto on
April 15, when the Union lost 2-1 in a game they easily could have won.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Toronto FC came in to Chester on an eight-game unbeaten streak. They can go home without it.
Philadelphia Union knocked off Toronto 2-1 on Saturday thanks to a stoppage time penalty kick
scored by Sebastien Le Toux.
Cristian Arrieta and Jack McInerney set up the climactic play, with Arrieta sending in a curling
cross from the right side.
Philadelphia Union held Manchester United even for 75 minutes before Gabriel Obertan scored in
the 76th minute to give the Red Devils a 1-0 victory Wednesday night.
Tonight's friendly at Lincoln Financial Field saw the hometown Union surprise Man U by playing
an aggressive match throughout, and the first half was a back-and-forth endeavor that saw both
teams miss good chances.
Let's start with the positives.
About 2,000 fans came out tonight to watch the Harrisburg City Islanders take on the
Philadelphia Union in the first-ever installment of their annual friendly match. Of those 2,000,
many were clad in Union gear, many sported scarves and jerseys, and everyone got an up-close look
at their chosen team.
Let's start with the positives.
About 2,000 fans came out tonight to watch the Harrisburg City Islanders take on the
Philadelphia Union in the first-ever installment of their annual friendly match. Of those 2,000,
many were clad in Union gear, many sported scarves and jerseys, and everyone got an up-close look
at their chosen team.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Sebastien Le Toux is great, and referee Jason Anno is not.
Philadelphia Union walked away Saturday afternoon with a 1-1 draw against the New England
Revolution in a match decided by one of the most bizarre sequences seen at PPL Park. Up 1-0, thanks
to a Sebastien Le Toux, the Union saw the game decided by two questionable calls and a strange
bounce.
Major League Soccer's all-star game was last week, but Philadelphia Union only just passed the
15-game mark. That makes it time for a midseason review that may come a bit late to some but
hopefully just in time for the rest of you. The team is 4-8-3 and in 6th place in Major League
Soccer's Eastern Conference, but the record is less relevant for an expansion team.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Columbus Crew forward Stephen Lenhart headed in two brilliant goals to sink Philadelphia Union
2-1 on Thursday night at PPL Park.
Lenhart scored off perfect passes from Guillermo Barros Schelotto and Emilio Renteria in the
43rd and 50th minutes, respectively, to lead Columbus to the win in front of 18,001 fans in
Chester.
The Union battled to a hardfought draw with a less than full strength Real Salt Lake squad in
front of a good crowd at PPL Park on Wednesday night. Danny Mwanga returned from injury to score
on a terrific pass from Sebastien Le Toux on 8 minutes.
But in what is becoming a trend for Philadelphia, the lead was gone in less than 10 minutes when
Juan Diego Gonzalez failed to deal with a ball into the box and it fell to Fabian Espindola who
slotted past Chris Seitz at the near post.
Game time: 7:30 p.m.
TV: 6abc, MyNetwork TV (likely to be moved to abc 6.2, the LiveWell
channel)
Two teams that looked good when last they played hope to get back things on track when they play
this Saturday as Philadelphia Union visit the New England Revolution.
So here's why Philadelphia Union couldn't play the young guys constantly this year:
If you play them too much, you could lose them in the expansion draft.
The Vancouver Whitecaps and Portland Timbers will each pick 10 players in the expansion draft
this November. That's 20 players from the current 16 teams, which means some teams are going to
lose two players (but likely not more).
Game time: Saturday, 3:30 p.m.
TV: 6abc
One of Major League Soccer's hottest teams visits Chester this Saturday as Philadelphia Union
host the Kansas City Wizards.
The Wizards (7-9-5) have gone 4-1-2 over their last seven games, with wins over both
conference's first place teams.
Once again, a major gaffe by Chris Seitz kept the Union from a clean sheet and a much needed
victory. After dominating the game for 70 minutes and after a great goal from Sebastien Le Toux,
Seitz failed to set up his wall properly and then allowed Danny Arnaud's free kick to swing over
his head into the goal.
Click on each photo for a full-size version.
Sebastien Le Toux goes up for a headball
Andrew Jacobson Slides to clear the ball away from Teal Bunbury
Danny Mwanga feeds the ball over to Sebastien Le Toux
Sebastien Le Toux one times the ball into the back of the net
Sebastien Le Toux and Danny Mwanga doing the we just scored dance
The team celebrates Sebastien Le Toux's goal in the first half
Justin Mapp worked the ball past midfield
Amobi Okobi passes over to Stefani Migliaranzi
Danny Califf going high after the ball
Danny Califf goes in with a heavy slide tackle
Sebastien Le Toux and Jonathan Leathers going up for the ball
Sebastien Le Toux thanking the fans after the game
Photo essay by Paul Rudderow
The Fire head into Philadelphia facing another must win situation. After consecutive draws that
felt like losses the team should realize that time is quickly running out if they are to make a run
for one of the remaining possible playoff spots. The first contest between the two sides resulted
in a 2-1 Fire victory that Union manager Peter Nowak was not happy with.
What is that number next to Chicago? Is that a zero? Why yes it is. The Union pitched their
first ever shutout on Saturday night with a deserved victory over a tired Chicago team. Sebastien
Le Toux scored his 11 th goal of the season for the only goal of the game. Playing their 3rd game
in eight days, Chicago appeared to have heavy legs in the first half as the Union dictated
play.
Game Summary:
20′ Andrew Jacobson Yellow Card
69′ Chris Wondolowski Goal
90′ Bobby Convey Yellow Card
90+4′ Arturo Alvarez Yellow Card
School and work have kept me away from my computer for the last few days.
First of all, I have to say that going to games on Wednesdays is fun because the tickets are
generally cheaper, and I was able to move closer to the middle of the field so I was able to see
both sides of the field equally well.
Game Summary:
20′ Andrew Jacobson Yellow Card
69′ Chris Wondolowski Goal
90′ Bobby Convey Yellow Card
90+4′ Arturo Alvarez Yellow Card
School and work have kept me away from my computer for the last few days.
First of all, I have to say that going to games on Wednesdays is fun because the tickets are
generally cheaper, and I was able to move closer to the middle of the field so I was able to see
both sides of the field equally well.
Philadelphia Union dominated Saturday as they defeated Chivas USA 3-0.
Alejandro Moreno, Fred and Sebastien Le Toux scored, and the Union allowed only two shots on
goal to secure their second shutout of the year. The three-goal margin of victory was the largest
ever for the Union.
Each goal for the Union came off a set piece, flipping what has been a major weakness for this
team all season.
Four days after recording their statistically biggest win ever, Philadelphia Union suffered
their worst loss ever with a 4-1 defeat Wednesday to the Colorado Rapids.
Colorado's Omar Cummings scored twice in the first 15 minutes, and two second half goals sealed
the game and the Union's playoff hopes.
