Photo: Earl Gardner

Philadelphia Union

Power rankings! At SI, the Union drop one spot to No. 9: “The Union faced a tall task facing the Portland Timbers and their MLS-best home record this weekend. With that in mind, a 2–1 loss isn’t that bad on its own, but if you zoom out a little the picture gets worrying. Philadelphia hasn’t won in three games, and they face a brutal upcoming schedule with road trips to Toronto FC and the Red Bulls. The playoffs are still likely, but Philly’s seeding in them may be taking a big hit.” SI also named Portland goalkeeper Jake Gleeson its Defensive Player of the Week. At ESPN, the Union remain at No. 8: “Playing on the road in Portland is a tall task for any team, much less one coming from across the country. It doesn’t get easier; next up is a trip across the continent to face TFC at BMO Field.” At Soccer America, the Union drop one spot to No. 13: “A 1-1 tie forged by Chris Pontius’ goal shortly after halftime lasted only six minutes and Philly fell for the second time in the last three games despite putting eight of 14 shots on target. A first-time shot off the goalpost extended C.J. Sapong’s goalless drought to six games and a few more big saves from Andre Blake weren’t quite enough.”

In the latest Inside Doop, Dave Zeitlin wonders if it’s time to sit CJ Sapong for a game: “Sometimes that’s the perfect remedy for a slumping player and the Union do now have a solid option to replace him in the seasoned Charlie Davies, who head coach Jim Curtin likes to say heats up when the weather gets cooler.”

Chris Pontius makes the bench for MLSsoccer.com’s Team of the Week.

More on Saturday’s loss in Portland at Philly Voice, Brotherly Game, Prost America (recap, photo gallery), and MLS Multiplex.

You will recall that Keegan Rosenberry and Josh Yaro made the 50-player shortlist for MLSsoccer.com’s “24 Under 24” series. Players 24-16 were unveiled on Monday, with players 15-11 announced later today.

At the Union website, Matt Bodiford has the weekly “By the Numbers” review, while Marisa Pilla looks at the Eastern Conference playoff picture.

At Pro Soccer Talk, a look at the playoff picture says it would take an “improbable” finish for the Union to miss the postseason.

Local

Drexel hosts Princeton tonight at 7 pm. Saint Joseph’s hosts Villanova at 7 pm. Penn is on the road tonight to face Lehigh. La Salle is on the road to face Lafayette.

The Philly Soccer Six weekly awards have been announced:

Player of the Week: Jorge Gomez Sanchez, Temple (5 goals, 1 assist, 11 points)
Defensive Player of the Week: Etan Mabourakh, Penn (shutout win over La Salle in Soccer Six action)
Rookies of the Week: Carlos Cuevas, Drexel, and Sam Hefter, Penn (GWGs in overtime wins, both in Soccer Six games)

Temple’s Jorge Gomez Sanchez was also named AAC Offensive Player of the Week. Penn freshman forward Sam Hefter was named Ivy League Co-Rookie of the Week.

The Temple News talks to senior defender Matt Mahoney.

MLS

MLS says now that Toronto did not clinch a playoff spot with their 3-3 draw with NYRB on Sunday  but FC Dallas did with their 2-2 road draw with NYCFC.

Frank Lampard, injured again.

The league announced on Monday [Christian] Pulisic! has been added to the league’s Allocation Ranking List: “MLS clubs will have the right to acquire players on the Allocation Ranking List based on the Allocation Ranking Order. The Allocation Ranking Order is determined by the reverse order of finish in the previous season, taking playoff performance into account. Once a club acquires a player via the Allocation Ranking Order, that club drops to the bottom of the order.” Pulisic! is currently under contract with Borussia Dortmund through 2019.

At ESPN, Jeff Carlisle confirms an earlier report from Telemundo that Atlanta United are in talks with former Argentina national team manager Gerardo “Tata” Martino to become the expansion team’s first head coach. Martino has also coached Paraguay, Barcelona, and Newell’s Old Boys.

Fox Soccer on possible MLS expansion to Las Vegas.

PDL has announced a new team in Florida, the Lakeland Tropics. The team will begin play in 2017, bringing the number of Florida-based teams to 8, with 68 teams in four conferences throughout the league.

The Telegraph follows up on the Guardian report we recently linked to on the rapid decline of NASL-side Fort Lauderdale Strikers. Apparently, attendance for a recent midweek home match against MLS-bound Minnesota United was 455.

NWSL

At Philly.com, Jonathan Tannenwald talks to players, owners, and league officials about the future of the NWSL.

US

It’s official: The US will open play in the Hexagonal Round of CONCACAF’s World Cup qualification tournament against Mexico on Nov. 11 in Columbus. “The MNT is unbeaten in 11 matches at MAPFRE Stadium, holding an 8-0-3 lifetime record with a remarkable 10 shutouts. In fact, the U.S. scored 19 times while only surrendering a single goal in those 11 games, during the 1-1 draw against Jamaica on Nov. 17, 2004.” Tickets for the game will be available via a lottery system.

Soccer America reviews the past meetings between the US and Mexico in Columbus.

At US Soccer, a look at Aldo “Buff” Donelli and the first meeting between the US and Mexico in 1934. Been there, done that.

Elsewhere

Reuters reports, “Several defendants in a wide-ranging corruption case involving soccer’s global governing body FIFA are in talks on possible guilty pleas, a US prosecutor said on Monday.”

From Vice Sports: “The Dutch football association, the KNVB, plans to roll out a device that registers the identity and location of banned fans on match day through GPS and biometrics. Using a mix of fingerprint verifiers and GPS coordinates to identify offenders, the scheme is aimed at ensuring banning orders aren’t broken.”