Photo: Ryan McElroy
Coming out of a brutal May schedule, the Union head into an international period where they host a friendly vs. Atlas FC, this upcoming weekend at Subaru Park.
With several competitive international competitions being held in the month of June, the Union players listed below are away on international duty for various amounts of time, with either full national teams or youth national teams.
| Goalkeeoers | Defenders | Midfielders | Strikers |
| Andre Blake, | Nathan Harriel | Danley Jean Jacques | Tai Baribo |
| Andrew Rick | Frank Westfield | Quinn Sullivan | Sal Olivas |
| Cavan Sullivan | |||
| David Vazquez | |||
| CJ Olney | |||
| Jamir Johnson | |||
(Jamir Johnson is an Academy amateur playing with Philadelphia Union II.)
Alongside Nathan Harriel and Quinn Sullivan, the USMNT Gold Cup training camp will consist of six additional ex-Union Academy products:
- Paxten Aaronson
- Brenden Aaronson
- Zach Steffen
- Brian White
- Mark McKenzie
- Jack McGlynn
International duty subdivides into two categories, the “normal” two weeks of the break, and Concacaf’s Gold Cup held in the western parts of the United States immediately thereafter. Youth player surnames include their birth year.
FIFA International Break
| Blake | Sa, 07-Jun | Tu, 10-Jun | |
| Jamaica | British V. I. | Guatemala | |
| Competition | WC Qual | WC Qual | |
| Game missed | v Atlas | ||
| # | # | # | |
| Jean-Jacques | Sa, 07-Jun | Tu, 10-Jun | |
| Haiti | Aruba | Curacao | |
| Competition | WC Qual | WC Qual | |
| Game Missed | v Atlas | ||
| # | # | # | |
| Q. Sullivan | Sa, 07-Jun | Tu, 10-Jun | |
| US of A | v Turkyie | v Switzerland | |
| Competition | Prep camp | Prep camp | |
| Game Missed | v Atlas | ||
| # | # | # | |
| Harriel | Sa, 07-Jun | Tu, 10-Jun | |
| US of A | v Turkyie | v Switzerland | |
| Competition | Prep camp | Prep camp | |
| Game Missed | v Atlas | ||
| # | # | # | |
| Baribo | Fr, 06-Jun | Tu, 10-Jun | |
| Israel | Estonia | Slovakia | |
| Competition | WC Qual | friendly | |
| Game Missed | v Atlas | ||
| # | # | # | |
| Westfield ‘05 | Sa, 07-Jun | Tu, 10-Jun | |
| US U20s | Colombia | Egypt | |
| Competition | Friendly | Friendly | |
| Game Missed | v Atlas | ||
| # | # | # | |
| Vazquez ‘06 | Sa, 07-Jun | Tu, 10-Jun | |
| US U19s | Spain | Ukraine | |
| Competition | Friendly | Friendly | |
| Game Missed | v Atlas | ||
| # | # | # | |
| Rick ‘06 | Sa, 07-Jun | Tu, 10-Jun | |
| US U19s | Spain | Ukraine | |
| Competition | Friendly | Friendly | |
| Game Missed | v Atlas | ||
| # | # | # | |
| Olivas ‘06 | Sa, 07-Jun | Tu, 10-Jun | |
| US U19s | Spain | Ukraine | |
| Competition | Friendly | Friendly | |
| Game Missed | v Atlas | ||
| # | # | # | |
| Olney ‘06 | Sa, 07-Jun | Tu, 10-Jun | |
| US U19s | Spain | Ukraine | |
| Competition | Friendly | Friendly | |
| Game Missed | v Atlas | ||
| # | # | # | # |
| C. Sullivan ‘09 | Th, 05-Jun | Sa, 07-Jun | Tu, 10-Jun |
| US U17s | Sweden | Canada | Japan |
| Competition | Friendly | Friendly | Friendly |
| Game Missed | v Atlas | ||
| # | # | # | # |
| Johnson ‘08 | Th, 05-Jun | Sa, 07-Jun | Tu, 10-Jun |
| US U17s | Sweden | Canada | Japan |
| Competition | Friendly | Friendly | Friendly |
| Game Missed | FC Cincy 2 | ||
| # | # | # | # |
Nathan Harriel, and former academy player Paxten Aaronson, were also a late adds to the US Pre-Gold Cup camp as injury replacements Sunday, June 1st.
The Gold Cup
| Blake | Mo, 16-Jun | Fr, 20-Jun | Tu, 24-Jun |
| Jamaica | Guatemala | Guadeloupe | Panama |
| Competition | Gold Cup | Gold Cup | Gold Cup |
| Game missed | v Charlotte | @ Chicago | |
| # | # | # | # |
| Jean-Jacques | Su, 15-Jun | Th, 19-Jun | Su, 22-Jun |
| Haiti | Saudi Arabia | Trin & Tobag | US of A |
| Competition | Gold Cup | Gold Cup | Gold Cup |
| Game Missed | v Charlotte | @ Chicago | |
| # | # | # | # |
| Q. Sullivan | Q. Sullivan’s status for the Gold Cup is uncertain. | ||
| US of A | |||
| Competition | |||
| Game Missed | |||
| # | # | # | # |
| Harriel | Harriel’s status for the Gold Cup is uncertain. | ||
| US of A | |||
| Competition | |||
| Game Missed | |||
The Club Atlas Friendly
Fourteen first-teamers will be unavailable:
| Call-ups (11) | Injured (3) |
| Andre Blake | Ian Glavinovich |
| Danley Jean Jacques | Neil Pierre |
| Quinn Sullivan | Mikael Uhre |
| Nathan Harriel | |
| Tai Baribo | |
| Frank Westfield | |
| David Vazquez | |
| Andrew Rick | |
| Sal Olivas | |
| CJ Olney | |
| Cavan Sullivan |
These 19 players will likely be Carnell’s options to work with on Saturday – including two players from Union II. With the density of the Union’s schedule of late, look for the reserves to play a larger role in this one.
| Striker | Striker | ||||
| Damiani | Donovan | ||||
| Korzeniowski* | Davis | ||||
| Left Mid | Right Mid | ||||
| Vassilev | Bender | ||||
| Anderson | Rafanello | ||||
| L Def Mid | R Def Mid | ||||
| Lukic | Bueno | ||||
| Bedoya | Pariano | ||||
| Left Back | L Cen Back | R Cen Back | Right Back | ||
| Wagner | Makhanya | Glesnes | Mbaizo | ||
| LeFlore | |||||
| Keeper | |||||
| Semmle | |||||
| Sheridan* | |||||
Postscript
Congratulations to Union II striker Stas Korzeniowski who recently graduated from the University of Pennsylvania (see photo).
Photo @PhilaUnionII
I can’t understand the purpose of scheduling this friendly. Seems it would make more sense to rest players and focus on training (team-wide first touch is awful).
You are not alone. It is difficult to understand the perceived benefit of this friendly.
Money grab. This allows them to not count the round of 16 and quarterfinals of the Open Cup as part of the season ticket package and get extra money for those games. Plus, they might get some extra revenue from Atlas fans buying tickets.
I tend to agree with the naysayers about the friendly, and have disposed of my season tickets accordingly. That being said, there’s something to be said for giving those staying behind a professional level run at full speed on an off week.
Mid season friendlies are always about money. For both teams. Atlas has the potential to bring a ton of fans to the Soob. And the Union doesn’t have to play the starters.
With 10 or 11 players away — there are reports Baribo got hurt and is going home — their roster flexibility is heavily reduced. That id especially true given the closed door scrimmage with Auckland City FC on Thursday afternoon.
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It seems likely that some Union II players will be added into the roster mix.
Around 8:00 yesterday I was proud of the 5 USMNT starters from the Union (current and recent past). By 8:30 I wasn’t sure how to feel. Still says something good about Union development system I guess. Not sure how Harriel, who is essentially 2nd behind Westfield now, gets the start for USMNT even in a friendly. What was perhaps most disappointing was lack of Philly toughness in the game from the local lads. Was it jitters or a function of what Pochettino is asking of his players?