Photo: Paul Rudderow

Philadelphia Union

John Hackworth was full of praise for his team win on Saturday, “The character and strength of these guys, they are amazing and I can’t say enough. Even the guys on the bench, they were saying we’re going to win this game. We’re gonna win this. I think that is something pretty special on this team right now.”

Hackworth said of the Union’s 2-1 over Montreal, effectively a six-pointer, “I think it’s massive. When you can do that, it really changes the balance of things. You get back three points in the standings, but you take away three from your opponent, who is battling the whole time. We have a couple of games in hand over Montreal, so we’ve just got to keep plugging away and making sure we go after those points.”

Carlos Valdes said after his stoppage time winner against Montreal Impact, “I felt before the game today could be a great game for me. I had a good feeling today.”

Sheanon Williams said of his throw-in that led to the stoppage time winner from Carlos Valdes, “Last week I had a throw in up the field and I remembered I did a short one and messed it up. This time, I said I might as well (throw) it in the box and Carlos got a good bounce and he put it away like he normally does. When you throw it in and it drops, it creates havoc. That is what we tried to do and he got some good bounces and scored the goal.”

Williams also said of Antoine Hoppenot’s endline run to set up the first Union goal from Lionard Pajoy, “Antoine’s unbelievable. We were just talking about how nobody that plays soccer at a high level would have kept pushing down that line on that play. He just kept churning going back, turning, going back … that’s Antoine. He’s stubborn, but effective…He’s just so fast … he just does things you’re not supposed to do but they work, especially for him. Antoine is a special, special player.”

Zac MacMath said of the own-goal, “There was three of us there, between Keon (Daniel), Gabriel (Farfan) and I, and obviously the communication wasn’t there and it went right off Keon’s head…The cross, I called off, but it was loud. It’s hard to hear (each other) in the moment. If (Daniel) lets it go, it’s right in my hands. Just a communication error.”

Impact defender Jeb Brovsky said, “I’ve been a part of some crazy finishes, but that one is up there with the most disappointing ones. Something as simple as a long throw-in catches us at the very last minute after we worked for 90 minutes. It’s brutal and it’s hard to swallow.”

CSN Philly reports Freddy Adu came out of the game early as a precautionary move on Saturday because of hamstring strain. “Freddy took a knock but wasn’t 100-percent,” Hackworth said. “He probably could have kept on going but wasn’t going to be 100-percent healthy.”

More match reports and recaps from PSP, MLSsoccer.com, Union website, the Impact website, the Inquirer, Delco Times, CSN Philly, NJ.com, the AP, the Canadian Press, Sports Network, SBI, ProSoccerTalk, Goal.com, SB Nation, 4E Sports, Examiner.com, MLS Talk, the 700 Level, Philly Soccer News, Phanatic Magazine, and the Brotherly Game.

John Hackworth said of Carlos Valdes’ selection to the All-Star team, “Carlos is very deserving of this honor. I am happy for him and the entire club is proud that he will be representing us in the All-Star game.”

The transfer window may be open for another 11 days but Nick Sakiewicz says, “We have a good team. We’re done tinkering.” Well, sort of. “Again, if opportunities come our way,we feel like we can take advantage of to make our team better, we’ll do it,” he continued, “but how can you not be proud of this team?”

Aston Villa are looking forward to their three-game pre-season tour, which kicks off against the Union on Wednesday.

In case you missed it, Jack McInerney won Goal of the Week for his back heel against LA.

Square Football talks to Chris Konopka.

Philadelphia Fever

Philadelphia Fever had a two-game weekend, and by two-game, I mean a game on Saturday away with Boston Breakers followed by a game at home on Sunday against New York Fury. The Fever lost to Boston 2-0 in front 2,541 spectators, the largest crowd the home team had seen all season. Sunday’s bout with the very Philadelphia Independence-like Fury was underway for about 15 minutes before the game was suspended due to lightning. We’ll let you know when it has been rescheduled for, a pressing question given the fact that next weekend marks the end of regular season play.

Local

Ocean City Nor’easters bounced back from their 2-0 loss to ten-men Reading United on Friday night to defeat Brooklyn Knights 1-0 on Sunday night and so claim first place in the PDL’s Mid-Atlantic Division.

Reading United defeated Central Jersey Spartans 2-1 earlier in the day to claim second place in the division. The Spartans had equalized in the 90th minute but Reading defender David Rodriguez replied with a stoppage time winner.

On Friday, Harrisburg City Islanders hosted Dayton Dutch Lions to a 0-0 draw despite controlling the lion’s share of possession. (See what I did there? Lion’s share.) Harrisburg coach Bill Becher said after the game, “Loads of chances, but you’ve gotta put them in. I don’t know how many times we can say that.” More on the draw here. Harrisburg, now on a four-game unbeaten streak, travels to Dayton for a re-match on Wednesday.

Union Academy affiliate PA Classics U-15/16 team is in the finals of the US Development Academy playoffs and will face St. Louis Scott Gallagher Missouri in their first match on Tuesday. Riding an 11-game unbeaten streak, this is the second consecutive year that the team has made it to Finals Week.

MLS

In Eastern Conference action, the Union’s 2-1 win over Montreal brought them within one point of the eighth place Impact and two points of seventh place Columbus, who lost 2-0 at home to first place Kansas City, and sixth place New England, who lost 1-0 at home to last place Toronto, who are four points behind Philadelphia. Seven points beyond the Union is fifth place Houston, who hammered second place DC 4-0. Fourth place Chicago defeated Vancouver 1-0. Third place New York drew 2-2 with Seattle after an opening goal from the recently acquired Sebastien Le Toux.

David Beckham and the Galaxy may have put on a “goal-scoring clinic” in LA’s 5-3 win over Portland, but Chris Wondolowski’s hat trick in San Jose’s 5-0 thumping of ten men Real Salt Lake brings his season tally to 17 goals, a pace that looks certain to set a new single season record.

ESPN takes a stab at what may be in store with the second half of the season.

The New York Times has an informative profile of Thierry Henry.

Geoff Cameron’s move to Stoke: The Houston Chronicle says its good for Cameron and the Dynamo; The New York Times says Cameron is ready; ProSoccerTalk wonders if Stoke will be the right fit and more.

The LA Times looks at the popularity of MLS to Colombian players and why they have found so much success in it.

Is Scotland international Kenny Miller on his way to Vancouver?

Is Olof “The Beard” Mellberg on his way to Toronto FC?

US

The Daily Beast has a very informative and revealing article on Hope Solo.

Lauren Cheney talks to USA Today about the Olympics.

Michael Bradley is officially a member of AS Roma.

Grantland’s series on the future of US soccer looks at the college game.

Elsewhere

Bundesliga president Reinhard Rauball says Sepp Blatter should resign.

Only days after saying he was powerless to do anything, Sepp Blatter says former FIFA president Joao Havelange should be stripped of his title as honorary president of the federation’s executive committee.

Enrique Sanz, Vice President of Traffic Sports USA, has been appointed the new General Secretary of CONCACAF.

Antigua and Barbuda general secretary Gordon Derrick was elected the new president of the Caribbean Football Union.

Goal.com takes a look at the Chinese Super League.

The Huffington Post has a slideshow of the Top 10 Most Outrageous Hairstyles in Soccer.