Photo: Earl Gardner
IMPORTANT: New security protocols for entrance into Talen Energy Stadium begin on Saturday. In addition to search wands being used, there are new standards regarding bags being brought into the stadium. (Click here for the new standards. A Union spokesperson confirmed to PSP on Thursday, and again on Friday morning, that the bags season ticket holders received as part of their season ticket package will be allowed into the stadium.)
Any delays in entering the stadium are sure to be compounded by the fact that Saturday is the first day of the implementation of the new league-wide security standards. So, in order to be sure you do not miss the opening kickoff, make sure you have read the new guidelines before leaving for the game and make sure you lineup to enter the stadium earlier than you have in the past. You don’t want to experience a repeat of the Joe Biden-related delays that occurred at the Union’s first home game in 2010.
Philadelphia Union
The Union will look to bounce back from their loss in Seattle when they host NYCFC on Saturday at 4 pm. It’s the start of a three-game home stand for the Union, and it will be critical for the team’s long-term efforts to reach the playoffs to get maximum points from the home series, not to mention in quieting doubts about the team’s renewed quality.
They face a NYCFC team that is coming off of a road loss to Columbus and is winless in its last five games with a 0-2-3 record, its only win coming in their season opener.
NYCFC head coach Patrick Vieira said the Union, “is a team that is full of young, energetic players who can run for 95 minutes. They are well-organized and physically, it will be hard for us. It will be difficult but at the same time it will be as well hard and difficult to move their block because they defend really compact. I believe that we have what we need to give them a good game.”
Although Vieira says he’s committed to it, Hudson River Blue says the three-man midfield isn’t working for NYCFC. More at Metro Soccer Nation and Skyscraper Blues.
Previews of Saturday’s game at PSP, Philadelphia Union (print, video, gameday guide), Philly Voice, Brotherly Game (preview, three questions), Vavel, MLSsoccer.com, NYCFC (preview, injury report – Frank Lampard and former Union man are listed as questionable), Big Apple Soccer, NYCFC Nation, and US-Soccer.com.
On a post at CSN Philly talking to Josh Yaro about his MLS debut, Dave Zeitlin writes, “With Tribbett still recovering from an ankle injury, Yaro should get another chance to show what he can do Saturday at Talen Energy Stadium…But Tribbett played well enough in the team’s first five games to probably hold onto his starting spot when healthy — meaning this could be Yaro’s last such opportunity for a while.”
At Union Tally, Matthew De George notes that if the Union win on Saturday, Jim Curtin will become the club’s winningest coach in all competitions (MLS and US Open Cup). Curtin’s points per game average in league play stands at 1.28 from a 20-25-13 record, higher than John Hackworth (1.22 from a 23-30-20 record) and Peter Nowak (1.16 from a 21-30-23 record).
At the Union website, Matt Bodiford on Keegan Rosenberry and his role as a leader among the young players on the team. Rosenberry says, “When a club and its staff believe in you as a player it lets you play without reservations. I couldn’t be more thankful for the way the club has helped me start my career. Being thrown into a leadership role immediately has helped me grow as a player and person more than I could have hoped for this early.” More on Rosenberry at SBI.
Brotherly Game on the good, the bad, and the ugly from last Saturday’s loss to Seattle.
Metro on why you should start paying attention to the Union. I guess we’re all just early adopters.
Bethlehem Steel FC
Bethlehem Steel (8th place, 2-2-0) is back in action on Sunday at 3 pm when the team hosts Charleston Battery (5th place, 2-1-1). The game will be streamed on YouTube.
Head coach Brendan Burke said, “This is a big test for us this weekend. Charleston are another much older, experienced team. I don’t want to say that too much throughout the year, but it is a reality for us. Consistency comes with experience, and we need to demonstrate that consistency.”
Previews of Sunday’s game at Bethlehem Steel, Allentown Morning Call, Charleston Battery, and USLsoccer.com.
Ahead of Sunday’s game, Bethlem played Lehigh University on Wednesday evening, winning 2-1 with goals from Derrick Jones and Seku Conneh. Charlotte Muscroft’s match report notes,
Bethlehem Steel FC started the match with Samir Badr in goal and Matt Real, Auston Trusty, Mickey Daly and Ryan Richter in defense. Bolu Akinyode and James Chambers played holding midfield roles with Derrick Jones, Amoy Brown, Jamie Luchini in the attacking midfield. Seku Conneh played the lone forward and created several chances for Steel FC.
Trusty, Lamine Conte, Mark McKenzie, Matt Real, Freeman Dwamena, Anthony Fontana, Alex Soto and Raheem Taylor-Parks from the Philadelphia Union Academy joined the squad and got minutes during friendly.
More on the game at Unauthorized Bethlehem Steel FC Blog.
Also at Unauthorized Bethlehem Steel FC Blog, an analysis of whether John McCarthy has been starting for Bethlehem because the Union consider him their No. 2 goalkeeper and want to keep him match fit for when Andre Blake is away on international duty or injured, or if Matt Jones, who has been on the bench for the Union in recent games, is the No. 2.
Philadelphia Union Academy
In acdemy play this weekend, the Union U-13/14s host Cedar Stars Academy on Saturday at 3 pm at YSC. The U-15/16s and U17/18s are on the road to the Maryland SoccerPlex to face Bethesda-Olney.
Academy defender Matthew Real, and midfielder Anthony Fontana, have been called up for the US U-18 BNT camp in Chula Vista, April 23-30.
Main Line Media News notes that Union U-13/14 player Jack de Vries was among those selected by US Club Soccer for the 2016 id2 National Selection International Tour team that played in Spain, Feb. 20 to March 2. Jack’s father, Raimo de Vries, played for Colorado Rapids in 1996.
Local
Harrisburg City Islanders (11 th place, 1-2-0) host Louisville (first place, 3-1-0) tonight at 7 pm in their home opener at FNB Field on City Island (YouTube). Previews at Harrisburg City Islanders, Brotherly Game, USLsoccer.com, Louisville City, and Louisville Coopers. The team is back in action on Monday when they host Orlando City B at FNB Field, also at 7 pm.
When Bobby Warshaw isn’t playing for Harrisburg, he’s a pretty darn good soccer writer. At FourFourTwo, Warshaw talks to former Columbus Crew forward Aaron Schoenfeld about playing in Israel for Hapoel Tel Aviv and the team’s historic rivalry with Maccabi Tel Aviv.
At Delaware Online, an article on the Delaware Stars, who play in the American Soccer League, and who will be making their home debut on Sunday at 5 pm at at A.I. du Pont High School. The article is a good review of some of the important Delaware-based teams since the 1970s.
La Salle men’s soccer senior Joe Farrell has been named the university’s Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The women’s team’s Emily Fenton was named Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
MLS
The league disciplinary committee has overturned the one-game suspension of Columbus Tyson Wahl for denial of a goalscoring opportunity, a suspension, you will recall, was at first mistakenly given to Michael Parkhurst.
The disciplinary committee also suspended Orlando’s Antonio Nocerino for one game “for violating the league’s policy regarding entering the field of play” (welcome to MLS!). As we noted in Thursday’s roundup, DC United head coach Ben Olsen has also been suspended for one game for the same violation.
DC United has announced its new stadium is tentatively being called DC United Stadium and will seat 20,000. More on the new stadium at Washington Post and Washington Business Journal.
Don Garber spoke to AP editors about a variety of topics, including expansion. SI reports expansion to 28 teams “would be done sometime in the mid-2020s and would be the last such decisions the league would make over the next 10 years.” After expansion “front runners” Sacramento and St. Louis, Garber said the other expansion candidates in order of priority are Detroit, San Diego, San Antonio, Austin, and Cincinnati. Reaction in Austin, San Antonio (My San Antonio, San Antonio Current), and Detroit (MLive, Daily Detroit). Las Vegas is feeling left out. More from the AP.
Addressing concerns that expansion will dilute the player pool and affect quality of play, Garber said the league would consider increasing the number of international spots allowed on MLS rosters.
Garber also said he expects more MLS teams will be running NWSL teams: “I think as the women’s game gets more and more popular, it just makes sense for teams that have the infrastructure to add NWSL teams. I think you’ll see, very soon, half of our clubs launching and managing women’s teams. When and how and what the specifics are, I don’t know.”
Garber said he also believes MLS gives young US players more opportunity to play than they would find in Europe. “I have a very different view than our national team coach does.”
US
As part of its preparations for the Copa America Centenario, the USMNT will play Puerto Rico for the first time in team history on May 22 in Bayamón, Puerto Rico (12 pm, FS1, UniMas and UDN).
At the US Soccer website, a Q&A with Jurgen Klinsmann about the Copa America Centenario. Asked about whether Christian Pulisic might make the US team for the tournament, Klinsmann said,
With the statements he sends out there – scoring his first goal for Dortmund, starting a game in the Bundesliga, getting valuable minutes in that very intense environment – he sends messages out toward what happens with the National Team as well. We are just weeks away from Copa America Centenario, the biggest competition in the United States since the 1994 World Cup. He makes himself a case, similar to other players who are trying to get on the right track now, trying to perform with their club teams and he knocks at the door breaking into the 23-man roster for the Copa America. With every one of them right now, we are very close. We are watching their minutes, their touches, their performances, and it’s the best team that you try to put together for such a huge competition. Christian is in that run and others are as well.
Pulisic! More on Klinsmann’s comments on the Hershey, Pa. native at ESPN, Fox Soccer, SI, Soccer America, and Goal.com.
Surprise! Jeffrey Kessler, the lawyer representing the USWNT in their wage discrimination action, disputes the financial information US Soccer released to ESPNW that shows women national team players are paid 2.2 percent less than their male counterparts.
The AP has a profile piece on Pittsburgh-born USWNT defender Meghan Klingenberg.
The US U-17 BNT defeated Canada twice by the score of 3-1 in two recent friendlies in Fort Lauderdale.
Elsewhere
Check out the latest Footy on the Telly for listings of live soccer on TV, online, and on satellite radio for the upcoming week.
At Ussoccerplayers.com, Charles Boehm writes, “American soccer people: Gianni Infantino wants your time, your respect and your attention. Are you game?”
In addition to confirming that the bags that came with the STH package will be allowed in, they also told me that all of the gates will open 90 minutes prior to kickoff Saturday. (I know I was confused when the original e-mail said that the Talen Energy gate would open 90 minutes early since I know the gates have sponsor names but I don’t know which is which so I was worried that only one gate was opening early.)
CUnder the most ideal circumstances PPLs seats don’t fill up til the 10th minute. (PPL 4 EVA!) God knows when people are getting in.
I don’t get the nostalgia for the old corporate name for a stadium.
It is my opinion the next two games are a litmus test, as I dare say, NYCFC is a team our Union should beat, particularly at home, followed up with a strong showing again, at home against Montreal.
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I have a long view to the direction of the franchise, but it is a season and you may as well make the most of it.
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Four points over the next two, (in either permutation) closer to WELL PLAYED games shows me this team is for real this season… all while considering the pretty significant factor they are still not yet at full complement.
I don’t see the Union getting any points at home against Montreal until after Labor Day. Now San Jose on April 30 is a different story 🙂 (Montreal is on May 14 in Montreal.)
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I think we should be looking at the next 3 games as a block since they are all at TES. NYCFC is a team they should beat. That’s followed by San Jose who is middle of the table in the west and a chance for the Union to show strength at home. San Jose has a home gaame Sunday and then has to fly across the country to Philly. Finally, May 11 is a real opportunity for the Union. They have 11 days rest and are playing an LA team that plays Sunday afternoon in LA followed by Wednesday evening in Philly. If they can win that, they’ll be able to thank the schedule maker for 3 points. That game is also the start of 6 games in 21 days prior to the Copa America break which is a reason the Union need to be picking up their points NOW.
I stand corrected. I meant SJ. My apologies, either way I am fine with looking at the next three as litmus as well. More an overall idea.
MLS site has article on why Le Toux loves Philly (and we love him).
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http://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2016/04/22/philadelphia-unions-sebastien-le-toux-10-things-i-love-about-philly
New York City FC goalkeeper Josh Saunders is decidedly nicht gut, auf meiner Meinung … Giovinco’s equalizer for Toronto FC was anything but irresistible – in fact, I saw that game and the ball appeared to go under Saunder’s outstretched hand and not wide of it on the behind-the-goal replay … I also watched when Saunders made a huge mess of the high ball that Cyle Larin finished in the 1-0 loss at home to Orlando City.