The Philadelphia Union finished in 9th place for the 2015 season with a final record of 10 wins, 7 draws and 17 losses. The standings, however, didn’t paint the full picture for the team, as there were aspects of the season that showed potential for the coming season. Things are looking up for the 2016 Union.
The first half of the season saw the Union coming out of June with a 4-3-10 record. The Union faced tough defeats, including a 4-1 loss to league finalists Columbus Crew in late April, a 3-0 loss to Vancouver in early May, and a whopping 5-1 loss to the LA Galaxy. Nevertheless, the first half of the season had some high points. The Union saw a convincing 3-0 victory against the Crew as well as a win at Red Bull Arena against Eastern league leader, New York Red Bulls.
The First half of the Union’s season also saw the emergence of midfield prospect Zach Pfeffer. The Upper Dublin native justified the team’s trust in him by putting out some great early performances.
The second half of the season proved to be much more entertaining for Union fans. The Union’s record for the latter half season was 6-4-7, which while not above .500, provided promising signs of things to come.
The second half began with wins over perennial powerhouse Seattle Sounders, as well as the eventual league champions Portland, 3-0. This ended up being the best 6 game stretch of the year for Philadelphia, including a 2-1 win in the Open Cup against D.C. United, in which the Union received a red card in the 24th minute. Philadelphia ended up pulling two goals back in the second half against all odds, in what became the start of a fantastic Open Cup campaign. The run hit its peak with a Open Cup victory over the Red Bulls. The Union went up 1-0, and once again were forced to play with 10 men due to a second consecutive red. Philadelphia conceded an equalizer late in the game, but after holding on throughout extra-time, ended up with a 1(4)-1(3) penalty victory.
The next game saw the Union bounce out to a 2-0 lead only to lose to D.C. 3-2 as well as suffer the loss of influential midfielder Vincent Noguiera to injury. The Union immediately picked up the pieces by signing Swiss international Tranquillo Barnetta, who ended up being a key player for the remainder of the season.
While the Union hoped for more by the end of league play, the Open Cup was a bit kinder. The Union beat the Chicago Fire in the semifinals of the Cup and went on to play Sporting KC in the final. Just 4 days after the 1-0 victory against Chicago in the Cup, the Union hosted the Fire yet again. It ended in a thrilling 3-3 draw which saw several late Union goals, each answered by a Chicago counter shortly after in what ended up being one of the most entertaining games of the season.
On Wednesday, September 30th, the Union hosted Kansas City in the Open Cup final. The game ended 1-1, with both sides playing to their physical limits. By the final whistle, both teams’ players were hunched over, hands on knees, thankful for the respite, but dreading the penalties to follow. Both Kansas City and Philadelphia had fantastic penalties; despite their fatigue. The Kansas City keeper ended up making 2 saves and winning the game for his team, as Sporting edged out the Union 1(7)-1(6).
Player of the year:
Despite his sale to Houston, midfielder Christian Maidana showed why he was one of the best players in the league, notching 15 assists, finishing 2nd to league leader Sebastian Giovinco. He led the lines for the Union with every attack, and looked dangerous whenever the ball was at his feet. It will be interesting to see how his void is filled.
Player to watch:
After several rotations in net, Coach Jim Curtin settled on Jamaican international Andre Blake. By the end of the year, it was obvious that Curtin made the right call as Blake came up with countless game saving plays. Now that he has had time to settle, he has shown increasing confidence in net, and looks like he could end up being the Union’s goalkeeper for some time.
