Photo: Earl Gardner

Philadelphia Union

The Union will look to bounce back from last weekend’s road loss in Houston when they host DC United on Saturday (7 pm, 6abc, MLS Live, Direct Kick).

Preparations for the game likely took a bit of a turn with the news on Thursday that DC United had acquired winger Lloyd Sam from New York Red Bulls “in exchange for General Allocation Money.”

Previews of Saturday’s game at PSP, Philadelphia Union, Delco Times, Philly Soccer News, Brotherly Game, Philadelphia Sports Nation,  DC United,

At Delco Times, Matthew De George on the Union’s efforts to shore things up defensively.

At SBI, Joe Tansey talks to Roland Alberg about adjusting to MLS. Alberg says getting used to the travel  — “Always fly to away games” — was the biggest challenge and he’s also adjusting to the physicality of play. Looking ahead, Alberg says “our goal is to reach the playoffs and we’re doing great so far,” adding, “For many weeks we were in first place. I think with this group, with this team and coaches, we have to go for first place. If we are second or third, it’s also fine if you reach the playoffs. That’s the first goal, but for me the second thing is keep everybody fit and strong for the playoffs.”

Power Rankings! At SBI, the Union come in at No. 7: “The forward position remains a concern following injuries to C.J. Sapong and Fabian Herbers, but even a loss to the Dynamo isn’t enough to bump the Union out of a top spot in the East. The loss on a last-second goal by former Union midfielder Cristian Maidana was a gut-punch, but the Union can get right back.”

At Brotherly Game, Jared Young has his weekly player ratings comparison.

At Philly Voice, Kevin Kinkead has the first part of a talk with Union Chief Business Officer Tim McDermott, who emphasizes his belief that fan input is key when it comes to improving the gameday experience.

Vote for Kensington Soccer Club’s Jim Hardy, the Union’s nominee for MLS Works Community MVP!

Mitchell & Ness unveiled their new line of Sons of Ben apparel on Thursday. More at PSP, Philadelphia Business Journal, and Brotherly Game.

Bethlehem Steel FC

Bethlehem Steel return to Lehigh University’s Goodman Stadium on Sunday for the first time since June 5 when they host Pittsburgh Riverhounds (4 pm, YouTube).

Unauthorized Bethlehem Steel FC Blog has a lot of questions about the Bethlehem’s lineup and performance in Wednesday’s road loss to Toronto FC II. More on the loss at Brotherly Game.

Philadelphia Union Academy

The Union U-18s run in the USSDA playoffs came to an end on Wednesday at the Union training grounds with a 3-1 loss to PDA. Yosef Samuel scored the Union’s lone goal from the penalty spot after a handball in the box to make it 1-1 before the end of the first half.

City Islanders

City Islanders host Richmond Kickers tonight at Clipper Magazine Stadium in Lancaster (7 pm, YouTube). Richmond defeated City Islanders 3-1 when they met earlier this season but harrisburg is undefeated when playing in Lancaster this season, defeating Bethlehem Steel FC and Toronto FC II. The team is back in Lancaster on Sunday when they host Toronto FC II (6 pm, YouTube).

Previews of tonight’s game at City Islanders, USLsoccer.com, and Richmond Kickers.

PDL

A busy weekend for Ocean City Nor’easters, who are are second in the Mid-Atlantic Division (21 points, 7-4-0) and host third place Baltimore Bohemians (17 points, 5-4-2) tonight at 5 pm and then host fourth place Jersey Express (16 points, 5-5-1) at the same time on Sunday. Sixth place Lehigh Valley United Sonic (10 points, 3-7-1) are on the road to face fifth place NYRB U-23s (16 points, 4-4-4) on Saturday. First place Reading United (25 points, 8-3-1) is off until Wednesday, July 13, when they’re on the road to face Jersey Express.

Ocean City Nor’easters forward Chevaughn Walsh is now No. 10 in USLPDL.com’s list of the top 20 prospects in the league. His teammate, midfielder Miguel Jaime, is at No. 4.

Press of Atlantic City notes the fine play of Walsh.

At the Ocean City Nor’easters website, a look at how former players are doing in the pros.

Local

At Brotherly Game, Matt Ralph notes Lower Merion SC’s Sabertooth Rats U15 boys team, and Lehigh Valley United’s U18 boys team, have qualified for the U.S. Youth Soccer national championships, which will be played in Frisco, Texas, July 25-31.

The Drexel women’s team has announced its 2016 schedule.

MLS

Montreal have acquired Italian striker Matteo Mancosu on loan from Bologna through June, 2017.

Colorado have loaned defender Joe Greenspan to USL-side Colorado Springs Switchbacks.

Dallas Morning News notes the fine season former Union man Chris Seitz is having with FC Dallas.

Recode reports Twitter is in talks with MLS to acquire the “digital streaming rights for content related to live sports and events.”

Paul Stewart, president of Dallas Texans, the youth club who, along with Crossfire Premiere and Soccers FC, is suing the MLS Players Union and several players including Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey and DeAndre Yedlin, has issued a statement saying,

[W]e would like to clarify to our former players and to all American professional players that our actions are not intended to take money from them, and are not even primarily about training compensation. Our primary claims are for solidarity contributions, which will normally only be about 2-3% of the transfer fee under the FIFA system. Right now, the MLS is simply keeping this money (or the foreign professional club is keeping it when a player is transferred to the US)…

We understand why the representatives of the MLSPU are trying to focus the players’ attention on training compensation, because that is the biggest potential threat to the players if a professional team would in fact reduce a player’s compensation because of TC obligations. But we want to emphasize that we, the youth clubs, are and always will be on the side of our former players and all players…our current lawsuit is only intended to clarify the antitrust legal issues. Once the court clarifies those issues, or the MLSPU settles with us, all the parties can work together to figure out what system is best for American soccer.

Soccer America looks at the cases for and against compensating youth clubs.

Looks like the site of an unfinished county jail in Detroit is very unlikely to be the site of a stadium for a MLS team in that city. More at Daily Detroit and MLive.

The owner of USL-side Charlotte Independence soccer team says he would spend $8 million toward a $24.8 million rebuilding of Memorial Stadium, which could be further upgraded if the team lands a MLS franchise: “Frankly we could build something standalone and cheaper and own it, but it’s such a great location. I don’t think you could find something like (Memorial Stadium) anywhere else in the country.

US

The USWNT hosts South Africa in the first of its warm-up games for the Summer Olympics on Saturday in Chicago at Soldier Field (1 pm, FS1).

With the federal court ruling in June affirming the validity of the USWNT’s current CBA (which expires in December) and so removing the possibility the team could strike before the Olympics, and a ruling on their EEOC complaint not expected until sometime after the summer games in Brazil, the New York Times reports USWNT players are returning to the court of public opinion in their fight for equal pay and will be wearing shirts with the slogan “#EqualPlayEqualPay” during media events connected with their Olympic warm-up games, and temporary tattoos with the same message during the games.

Jurgen Klinsmann tells CNN, “The foundation in the United States is still fragile and disconnected compared to other countries. The youth leagues do their own thing, the professional system is not really connected to the amateur system, and that’s not really connected to the college system. So there are holes in the system, like in a Swiss cheese, and there’s a loss of quality. We’re working on connecting those pieces, on connecting player development, and on continuing to build a pyramid in this amazing country.”

Klinsmann also said, “We set an ambitious goal for the 2018 World Cup — to reach the semifinals. And, if we start with the end goal in mind, we obviously want to win the World Cup one day. There are huge challenges, and it will take a lot of hard work. But things are definitely moving in the right direction. Our goals are challenging but achievable.”

Elsewhere

France defeated Germany 2-0 in the Euro 2016 semifinals on Thursday and will now play Portugal in the final on Sunday. Coverage begins at 2:30 pm on ESPN, ESPN3, Watch ESPN, ESPN Deportes, and SiriusXM FC. The winner will qualify for the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia. Thankfully, the tournament has not had a third place game since 1980.

Sepp Blatter will appeal his six-year ban from soccer before the Court of Arbitration for Sport on August 25. More from Reuters, the Press Association, and the AP.

From Goal.com: “Manchester City has signed a new highly-rated 18-year-old, but the player will never kick a ball for the Premier League giant. Kieran Brown has been hired as the club’s first e-sports player and will represent the club at tournaments, playing the video game FIFA.” The article notes, “City is not the first club to sign someone to play video games, with West Ham bringing in its first e-sports representative, while Wolfsburg also hired an Englishman to play the game for it.”

Check out the latest Footy on the Telly for listings of live soccer on TV, online, and on satellite radio for the upcoming week.