Philadelphians Abroad
RJ Allen's Skive relegated to Danish second division. Jeremy Vuolo earns first start for San Antonio. Darius Madision, Steve Neumann, and Frank Tweneboa score in Open Cup play. More news on locals here and abroad.
Photo: Earl Gardner Regular readers of this column will recall that it was not long ago that Philadelphia area players were in a bit of a scoring drought. Well apparently the rain dance has worked, because this week we saw a storm of scoring. Here's the round up: In Saturday's [...]
Anthony Allison puts in a Man of the Match performance in Sweden. Greg Cochrane shines in his first MLS start. Ryan Richter gets first MLS appearance. Christhian Hernandez assists Harrisburg's season opening game winner.
Corey Hertzog becomes the first local player to score in MLS in 2013 and more news of area pro players.
Southampton, PA's Ryan Richter, formerly with the Philadelphia Union, has signed with Toronto FC.
The Downington West High School and FC DELCO product, with NYRB in 2012, leaves soccer. Hoppenot with game-winning assist. More.
Former Villanova Wildcat Mike Seamon sees his first minutes of the season.
Homegrown player Zach Pfeffer scores for Union Reserves, Academy player Zackary Steffen gets first US U-20 call-up.
Humelstown's Bill Gaudette continues to impress in goal for New York, and Zach Pfeffer has strong performances for US U-18s in Europe. PSP rounds up performances by locals playing in the pros in this week's edition of Philadelphians Abroad.
Three area players faced off in the USL PRO championship final between Charleston Battery and Wilmington Hammerheads. Two emerged champions.
Strikes from Corey Hertzog and Tony Donatelli help propel their teams to the USL Championship
final.
Local players are on five of the six teams in the USL PRO playoffs.
Glenside native and former Temple Owl Tony Donatelli scored two goals and an assist in a
playoff-clinching win for USL PRO side Charleston Battery.
Bryn Mawr's (and the Union's) Jimmy McLaughlin scores for Harrisburg, Reading's (and New York's)
Corey Hertzog scores for Wilmington, and Lancaster's (and Montreal's) Andrew Wenger scores on the
Union.
Former Union and Swarthmore midfielder Morgan Langley comes through big for Harrisburg City
Islanders.
This week a local lad returns home for the annual MLS All Star Game against Chelsea.
Hummelstown native Bill Gaudette made his first start in a New York Red Bulls jersey on Sunday.
Philly players found the back of the net in the MLS and USL PRO over the past week with Zarek
Valentin scoring his first goal.
Those looking forward to seeing Reading-native Corey Hertzog re-take the field for New York will
have to wait a little longer. Last week, New York agreed to extend Hertzog's loan to Wilmington
until the end of the USL Pro season. Originally loaned for a one-month stint, Hertzog will now
appear in the Hammerhead kit at least until August 18 when Wilmington plays its last regular season
game.
Photo: Courtesy of StarNews Online
After pulling together the stats for this week's column and reviewing the Philadelphia area
players that had an impact, I started to put together a headline in my mind: Hertzog impresses
again in Wilmington.
If you've read Philly Abroad the last two week's you probably think that this feature is
starting to sound like a broken record, but this got me thinking.
A pair of Philadelphian traded goals at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, while another linked up to
give Harrisburg a win in the USL.
This weekend's matchup between the Colorado Rapids and Montreal Impact provided excitement for
anyone following the Pennsylvania players. Â Rookie Andrew Wenger slotted in at forward for his
first start in his MLS career.
Photo: Paul Rudderow
Chicago Fire defender Dan Gargan has made news on the field as an automatic starter at for his
club, but he keeps drawing notice off the field for his artwork too.
Gargan drew notice earlier this season with the terrific video he put together looking at
Chicago's preseason preparation for the MLS season.
Photo courtesy of Seattle Sounders
Jeff Parke wasn't too thrilled about getting unexpectedly benched in April. So when the Seattle
Sounders center back earned his way back into Seattle's starting lineup, he didn't waste the
opportunity.
Parke manned the center this week for Seattle as the Western Conference club posted consecutive
shutouts this week against Los Angeles and Philadelphia, with the two clubs posting just two
combined shots on goal against Seattle.
Photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Galaxy
It had been six years since Bill Gaudette had started a game in Major League Soccer. His start
Saturday proved an eventful one.
Gaudette filled in for starter Josh Saunders and held Dallas to one goal in a 1-1 draw with
Dallas. He faced his first shots in the game's first minute and stopped four shots on the day.
Photo: Paul Rudderow
Temple alum J.T. Noone resigned with his hometown Harrisburg City Islanders and celebrated
Friday with a game-winning goal.
Noone buried a penalty kick in the 51st minute to lead Harrisburg to a 2-1 win Friday over the
Charleston Battery. Noone, who spent half a season with Philadelphia Union, recorded four assists
last season in 21 games for Harrisburg.
Photo: Paul Rudderow
This past weekend's match between the top team in each conference featured a Philadelphian
playing yet another new position.
Now in his first season with Kansas City, Bobby Convey is being deployed at left wing in a
4-3-3, the only new starter for the league's best and only undefeated team.
Photo courtesy of Montreal Impact
Philadelphia-area players turned the tides in Saturday's two biggest games in Major League
Soccer, as Andrew Wenger scored a game-winner and Bobby Convey created one with a beautiful
assist.
Wenger's goal came in a nationally televised (in Canada) match between Toronto and Montreal,
giving the Impact their first-ever MLS win by a 2-1 score.
Photo:
It might seem odd for two Philly guys to be happy about playing for a soccer team in Charleston,
S.C., but if there's anything Ryan Richter and Tony Donatelli should keep in mind, it's recent
history.
Richter, a LaSalle alum who played for Philadelphia Union last season, and Donatelli, a Temple
grad who moves from minor league Rochester, both signed with the Charleston Battery of the USL last
week.
Photo:
Two right backs from the Philadelphia area faced off on Saturday, but only one came out a
winner.
Chicago right back Dan Gargan started and went the full 90 for Chicago in the club's 1-0 over
Philadelphia, being a key part of the Chicago attack that consistently came down the right
flank.
Zach Pfeffer scores in final Bundesliga Süd/Südwest U-19 game of the season and more.
Plenty of locals featured in the Union's recent Reserve League games.
Your weekly look at how local players are doing in the pros here and abroad.
Local players make moves to Scandinavia and the NASL's San Antonio Scorpions.
Glenside's Tony Donatelli and Harrisburg native and former Philadelphia Union player J.T. Noone have landed with USL PRO expansion side VSI Tampa Bay. More movement and locals in the weekend's MLS games.
Tony Donatelli's gamewinner knocked Harrisburg City Islanders out of the USL PRO playoffs.
Photo: Courtesy of USL
MLS action took a backseat in the world of soccer this week as the Euros got underway across the
pond, the U.S. Men's National Team kicked off World Cup Qualifying in Tampa, and U.S. Open Cup
action captivated fans across the country. While none of our locals saw MLS action, there were a
few high points to come out of this week from US Open Cup and USL matches.
With only one game taking place in the MLS over the past week, it seemed only right to turn our
attention to the performance of Philadelphia-area players in this year's edition of the Lamar Hunt
U.S. Open Cup. The third round of the U.S. Open Cup provided plenty of drama across the country,
not the least of it involving local players.
Photo: Paul Rudderow
Bobby Convey scored his first goal in a Kansas City uniform Saturday, but his team still fell
short in the end.
Convey made a nice run into the box in the first half against Chicago, picked up a pass from
Roger Espinosa, and right-footed a slow ball into the net for his 31st goal in MLS.
FC Delco product Ben Olsen never fulfilled the lofty expectations some had for the former NCAA
player of the year and MLS rookie of the year. But now he has another chance, as a coach. Can the
Pennsylvania native reclaim a role as a face of U.S. soccer? A new PSP contributor -- and longtime
D.C. United fan -- takes a look.
While Jack Mac may have garnered all the headlines for his two goals in the Union's 4-0 beating
of Sporting Kansas City on Saturday, the club's third round supplemental draft pick and Princeton
lad Antoine Hoppenot proved why he deserved the nickname "Spark Plug."
Coming on in the 59th minute in place of an off Adu, Hoppenot lit up PPL Park with his
unbelievable vision and pace.