Photo: Daniel Gajdamowicz

Over the first month of the 2015 season, Philadelphia Union face Colorado and Dallas at home while traveling to Salt Lake City and Chicago. PSP looks at how the Union fared against these teams last season and how the rosters have changed in the offseason.

Union vs Rapids, March 7

• 2014 record: 8-18-8 (8th in west)
• 2014 vs Union: 0-0-1 (3-3)
• Notable Exits
  • Tony Cascio (M): Expansion draft
  • Edson Buddle (ST): Option declined
  • Marvell Wynne (D): Re-entry draft
  • Nick LaBrocca (M): Option declined
• Notable Entries
  • Michael Harrington (D): Trade from Portland
  • Bobby Burling (D): Waiver draft
  • Caleb Calvert (ST): Dispersal draft

The Union’s home showdown with Colorado last July epitomized the 2014 season long before the late collapse against Columbus ever had a chance. Up 3-1 with 15 minutes to play, Philadelphia slunk out of PPL Park with a single point and two red cards (Amobi Okugo picking up a bizarre ejection after the final whistle).

Michael Lahoud was dismissed in the 76th minute and, even though Brian Carroll came on to fortify the midfield, the Union never looked like stemming a suddenly confident Colorado tide. The final quarter of an hour was an onslaught of shots and pressure, with an Okugo shot on goal the only thing going the other way.

This was Jim Curtin’s third league game in charge, and he faced some of his first really big and interesting decisions after Lahoud’s red card. Throwing on Brian Carroll and Aaron Wheeler for Conor Casey and Cristian Maidana did little to change the momentum. The Union’s thin bench and lack of possession players meant Curtin got a front row view to the opposite of Philly Tough, as the Union lost control of a match they should have won.

Colorado is still something of a shadow without substance at this point. They are likely to continue building around the engine of Dillon Powers, but its unclear how Pablo Mastroeni will support one of the more underrated players in MLS.

Union at Real Salt Lake, March 14

• 2014 record: 15-8-11 (3rd in west)
• 2014 vs Union: 0-0-1 (2-2)
• Notable Exits
  • Nat Borchers (D): Trade to Portland
  • Ned Grabavoy (M): Expansion draft
  • Chris Wingert (D): Expansion draft
  • Sebastian Velasquez (M): Trade with NYC FC
  • Carlos Salcedo (D): Transfer to Guadalajara
• Notable Entries
  • Jamison Olave (D): Trade from NY Red Bulls

One of those early season games that made it clear 2014 was going to be a roller coaster season. This was the ninety minutes that turned Austin Berry from a starter into a pariah, featured The Pass from Vincent Nogueira, and announced Maurice Edu’s goalscoring return to MLS.

As they had in Portland, the Union midfield went toe-to-toe with a strong opponent, suggesting the major offseason expenditures were the foundation of a good team. And after going down 2-1, Philly were pushed toward the tying goal by Cristian Maidana and Mo Edu, two players who were expected to lead the team going forward.

Tactically, the Union played one of their better games under John Hackworth, stepping up pressure without losing shape after going down early. However, the Hackworth Hallmark — individual mistakes due to a lack of tactical cohesiveness — struck twice.

RSL has had a curiously busy offseason by their standards. Not only did they lose two players to former coach Jason Kreis and NYC FC in the expansion draft (Chris Wingert and Ned Grabavoy), another left for New York via trade (Sebastian Velasquez), stalwart Nat Borchers was sent to Portland, and Carlos Salcedo is now with Chivas de Guadalajara. Additionally, General Manager Garth Lagerway, one of the brightest minds in MLS, slipped over to Seattle.

But RSL being RSL, the core of the team that just keeps making the playoffs will be back. Luis Gil will be a more central part of the offense as he looks to establish himself as the Scottie Pippen to Javy Morales’ Jordanesque offensive centrality. And the re-acquired Jamison Olave will slot in with Chris Shuler to fill a gigantic Borchers-sized hole in front of Nick Rimando.

Union vs FC Dallas, March 20

• 2014 record: 16-12-6 (4th in west)
• 2014 vs Union: 1-0-0 (1-2)
• Notable Exits
  • George John (D): Expansion draft
  • Adam Moffat (M): Option declined
  • Andres Escobar (M): Option declined
• Notable Entries
  • Dan Kennedy (GK): Dispersal draft
  • Atiba Harris (M): Re-entry draft

A fluke, hard-to-forget own goal gave Dallas the win, but this match — Curtin’s third in MLS as a head coach — should be remembered as a preview of the Union’s summer sprint up the standings. Under Oscar Pareja, FC Dallas began turning the corner in early June. A run of eight games without a win hairpinned into nine without a loss as the Blas Perez/Tesho Akindele combination learned their roles at the tip of a well-organized midfield.

That the turnaround was completed without the services of playmaker extraordinaire Mauro Diaz is a testament to the organization of Matt Hedges’ defense, which locked the gates after an April 26 demolition at the hands of DC United. Dallas did not give up more than two goals in a game the rest of the season, and after going ahead in the 49th minute against the Union they gave a masterclass in defending a lead. Philadelphia had a single shot in the box over the last 40 minutes of play, and only two shots within 25 yards of goal.

It hardly helped that the best the Union could do to jumpstart the offense was a yet-to-settle Andrew Wenger, Aaron Wheeler, and Fred. At this point, Wenger was still adjusting to a wide role, and Wheeler was facing two centerbacks hardly intimidated by size. Fred, of course, was Fred. You might as well play the sound of dice rolling over the loudspeakers when his name is announced.

With about two months of offseason left, it looks as though Dallas is keeping the band together. Dan Kennedy arrived in the dispersal draft to form a scary-talented shot stopping duo with Chris Seitz and Atiba Harris was selected in the re-entry draft to fortify the midfield, but otherwise the plan looks the same. Diaz and Akindele will combine with all twelve cylinders of Fabian Castillo to power the offense while Matt Hedges, Zach Loyd, and young Walter Zimmerman will defend the box.

It’s a simple system that focuses on organization and requires a creative outlet of some talent to excel. Diaz is that talent, and with him the team becomes a multiidimensional pain-in-the-youknowwhat to defend. With Diaz out, however, Dallas can still threaten by combining the size of Akindele and Perez with the speed of Castillo to play a version of long ball that pulls a defense high and creates space for Castillo in behind.

Union at Chicago, March 29

• 2014 record: 6-10-18 (9th in east)
• 2014 vs Union: 0-0-3 (2-2; 1-1; 1-1)
• Notable Exits
  • Logan Pause (D/M): Retirement
  • Robert Earnshaw (ST): Option declined
  • Gonzalo Segares (D): Option declined
  • Bakary Soumare (D): Re-entry draft
  • Sanna Nyassi (F/M): Re-entry draft
• Notable Entries
  • Kennedy Igboananike (ST): Transfer from AIK
  • Joevin Jones (D/M): Transfer from W Connection
  • Eric Gehrig (D): Trade with Orlando City
  • David Accam (ST): Transfer from Helsingborgs
  • Adailton (D): Transfer from Bahia
  • Guilherme do Prado (ST): Free transfer

Chicago and Houston, Houston and Chicago. If anybody tells you Philly should have been a playoff team last year, just ask them about Chicago and Houston.

Why? Because these were bad, bad teams in 2014 and the Union went all of 0-1-5 against them, collecting an easy-to-calculate five points. The Chicago draws are harder to handle, because there is simply no excuse. Houston’s physical style has always given Union sides trouble, and their 2-0 victory over Philly came on the heels of the Union’s emotional shootout win in the US Open Cup semifinal.

Chicago though… there are just no excuses. The Fire had a mediocre defense that suffered from individual mistakes. They built an offense around league MVP Mike Magee only to get a season-long lesson in regression to the mean. Under John Hackworth, the Union gave away a late lead in Chicago. Under Jim Curtin, the Union tried it the other way — scoring in extra time to earn a tie — in July, then decided they liked original recipe best and gave up a late equalizer in October.

The most telling statistic from the trio of matches against Chicago in 2014 is: 1. That is the number of shots on goal the Union had outside of the four goals they scored. That is simply not good enough.