Photo: Paul Rudderow

Philadelphia Union

It was, as John Hackworth said, “a huge missed opportunity.” With Saturday’s game being the first of a three game stretch against Eastern Conference teams, two of which are below them in the standings, the Union were in a great position to solidify their post season hopes. Instead, the 2-1 loss was a night of defensive lapses and missed scoring chances.

John Hackworth said, “It was not our best night, in any way, shape or form. We started off poorly and got back into the game a little bit. But big picture, that’s not the kind of soccer we want to play.”

Brian Carroll said, “This is a tough one to swallow. We have to move on. This next game against DC United is more magnified.”

Sheanon Williams said, “It’s frustrating. We’re at home. We had a chance to kind of put them out of the picture and get them off our back. And we did the opposite of that.

Jack McInerney said of Chicago’s game-winner, “We pushed a little too much trying to get the win. They got one back.”

McInerney is now scoreless in six games. “It gets frustrating,” he said. “For forwards, it’s about getting in streaks and I haven’t scored in a while. I just have to get one of those tap-ins that I was getting in the beginning of the season to get it rolling again.”

McInerney continued, “I think for any forward it’s just kind of a streaky game and I’m just going through one of those phases. I like being in the spotlight and having the attention, but I have got to start finding the back of the net and scoring again.”

Hackworth said of the drought, “There could be lots of reasons, but the reality is that goal scorers go through these strings where they’re scoring and then it just doesn’t seem like the chances are falling their way. He’s just got to keep plugging away and hopefully he can find the back of the net and see.” Hackworth continued, “He’s a confident young man and he knows what he’s good at.”

Chicago’s Patrick Nyarko said, “I’ve been saying, we’re more desperate than [Philadelphia]. This team is confident because they grind out results here and there, so especially at home, they were going to be confident. So we needed to have a special performance to get three points today. Before the start of the game, everybody kept saying we need the three points, and we were going to settle for nothing but the three points. When we conceded that goal, we didn’t panic, we came straight out and went back on the offensive.”

McInerney said, “We were hoping to go on a three-game win streak and we had a good opportunity. We have to put this game behind us. We’ve been inconsistent this year. We have to put it behind us and come out hard against DC.”

Ray Gaddis injured his ankle in Saturday’s game and was replaced at the half by Fabinho. Further news about the seriousness of the injury will be available soon.

Recaps and reports from PSP, Philadelphia Union, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Delco Times, CSN Philly, The Cherry Hill Courier-Post, The Vineland Daily Journal, DelawareOnline, phillyBurbs.com, Philly Soccer News, Union Dues, Brotherly Game, Chicago Fire, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Fire Confidential, On the Fire, Hot Time in Old Town, MLSsoccer.com, SBI, ProSoccerTalk, Sports Mole, Goal.com, The Sports Network, and The AP.

We also have postgame video and more quotes from Saturday’s loss.

In the latest power rankings at Soccer America, the Union fall three spots to No. 8.

On Friday, the Union announced the signing of the generally unknown 24-year-old Brazilian midfielder Gilberto dos Santos Souza Junior. Judging by readers comments and social media, fans have generally been, to put it kindly, underwhelmed.

Jonathan Tannenwald checks in with former Union defender Jordan Harvey, currently tearing it up in Vancouver. He also talks to Brad Knighton.

A very happy birthday to Jack McInerney. Now we can all finally buy him a beer.

Local

Ocean City Nor’easters season came to an end in the semifinals of the PDL playoffs on Friday, losing 1-0 to Austin Aztex. Match reports from PDL, Austin Aztex, The Examiner, and The Press of Atlantic City.

Austin would go on to win the PDL championship, defeating Thunder Bay Chill 3-1.

Harrisburg City Islanders drew 2-2 on the road with LA Blues on Saturday despite being up 2-0 after 50 minutes. Nevertheless, the draw was enough to guarantee third place Harrisburg a playoff spot for the third season in a row. Match reports from USL PRO and Penn Live.

MLS

New York (38 points) moves into first place in the East after defeating now second place Kansas City (36 points) 3-2 on the road. Montreal (35 points) is in third place after losing 3-1 to last place DC (13 points). The Union (34 points) are in fourth place with the 2-1 loss to seventh place Chicago (28 points). Houston (33 points) is in fifth place after defeating eighth place Columbus (23 points) 3-1. Ninth place Toronto (20 points) defeated sixth place New England (30 points) 1-0.

Union Tally takes a closer look at the Union’s place in the standings and notes, “Montreal, a point ahead of them, has two matches in hand. As does Houston a point behind, and New England…The Union have 11 matches remaining, 10 against Eastern Conference opposition.”

So, Clint Dempsey is a Sounder. Reports and reaction from Seattle Sounders, Tottenham Hotspur, MLSsoccer.com, ESPN, SI, Fox Soccer, Sky Sports, SBI, ASN, The Seattle Times, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, The Los Angeles Times, The Columbian, The Irish Independent, The Press Association, and a gazillion other websites.

The Dempsey deal reportedly comes in at $41 million, making it a new transfer record for the league, set earlier this year when Seattle signed Obafemi Martins.

Jeff Bradley calls Dempsey’s return to MLS, the biggest shock move in league history.

Many have questioned just how Seattle sidestepped the allocation process to sign Dempsey. A statement from MLS executive vice president of player relations & competition Todd Durbin says, “For new players signed by an MLS club as a Designated Player, the allocation process does not apply.” (Updated.)

Despite reports suggesting that Houston was Dempsey’s first choice for a new home in MLS, Dynamo president Chris Canetti says, “We were not officially contacted by Dempsey’s camp or made aware of Dempsey having interest in coming to Houston before he signed with Seattle.”

What’s this? Dempsey’s back and Landon Donovan might leave?

MLSsoccer.com looks back on the ten biggest USMNT signings.

The Washington Post says PPL Park could serve as a model for DC United’s plans for a new stadium. Readers disagree in the comment section.

Speaking of new stadiums, with plans to put NYC FC’s stadium in Queens apparently dead, renderings have emerged of what a stadium might look like on Pier 40 in Manhattan. Whether the drawings represent new intentions or are left over from when Pier 40 was one of several sites considered in the past is not known.

Don Garber’s comments that the league will expand to 24 teams by 2020 has led to all kinds of speculation over which cities may soon have an MLS team. Here’s chatter from Pittsburgh, Indiannapolis, Minneapolis, San Antonio, and Sacramento.

WFTV.com reports that this week will be critical to Orlando City’s hopes to secure public funding for a new stadium.

New York Cosmos won their first competitive match in 29 years, defeating Fort Lauderdale Strikers 2-1 thanks to a last minute header in front of 11,929.

More on the Cosmos’ return from Soccer America, Goal.com, and The Guardian.

NWSL

First place Kansas City (38 points) claimed a playoff spot with a 3-1 road win over second place Portland (34 points) on Sunday. Third place Sky Blue (34 points) defeated last place Washington (7 points) 1-0 on the road. Western New York (31 points) remains in fourth place after coming from behind for a 2-2 draw with sixth (24 points) place Boston. Fifth place Chicago (26 points) traveled to seventh place Seattle (18 points) and emerged 3-1 winners.

Boston Breakers and head coach Lisa Cole have “parted ways,” that wonderful sports euphemism for getting sacked.

What’s this, a possible Sky Blue FC/New York Red Bulls partnership? That’s a great development for US soccer, coulds, ifs, and Red Bulls aside.

US

The World Cup qualifier on Sept. 10 in Columbus against Mexico has sold out. US Soccer reports, “The demand for tickets for the match was unprecedented in U.S. Soccer history, with more than twice as many requests than could be accommodated. The seating capacity for Columbus Crew Stadium is slightly more than 24,000…The sell-out crowd will be energized by the presence of the largest organized supporters section in U.S. Soccer history. More than 9,000 members will occupy 27 sections, which is more than three times larger than any group of organized supporters for a previous match.” I got my tickets!

US Soccer Hall of Famer Jackie Hynes—bane of Philadelphia ASL teams like the Americans and the Nationals in the 1940s and 1950s and who played for New York Americans, Brookhattan, and Brooklyn Hakoah—passed away on Saturday at the age of 92. SILive.com has a very good look back over the life and career of one of US soccer’s true greats.

Here’s a Q&A with US MNT Futsal coach Keith Tozer.

Former US Soccer Foundation chairman John Koskinen has been nominated by Barak Obama to head the IRS.

Elsewhere

Do you think the summer transfer window is too long? So does Paul Wilson.