Mistakes Prove Costly As Philadelphia Union Falls To Real Salt Lake 3-0

No one really expected the expansion Philadelphia Union to burst onto the pitch and take Major League Soccer (MLS) by storm in their inaugural season, but lax stretches of play through the first six games have prevented Peter Nowak’s side from producing better results. Example One, 27th minute: In today’s 3-0 loss at Real Salt Lake, the Union carried play during most of the first half, but in the blink of an eye an errant back pass from defender Christian Arrieta to keeper Chris Seitz proved costly. Instead of finding the comfort of his own keeper, Arrieta put the ball right at the feet of Salt Lake forward Alvaro Saborio, all alone behind the Union defense. A Jordan Harvey tackle prevented Saborio from scoring, but the deflection landed right in front of Real Captain Kyle Beckerman whose one time blast beat Seitz to the lower right corner. Note to Union Defenders; need to do a better job of marking your man. Why was Saborio so wide open inside your own 18? Example Two, 51st minute: Arrieta was also indirectly responsible for Salt Lake's second goal.   Arrieta’s yellow card for rough play helped set up a Real free kick just outside the ...

Philadelpha Falls in Open Cup and Loses Le Toux, Too!

The seeds of a Philadelphia Union-New York Red Bull rivalry were actually planted long before the two teams first met this past Saturday thanks in part to the Union Supporters group, Son’s Of Ben. You see the SOB’s have long made it a point to torment Red Bull fans with chants of "We've won as many championships as you have," and for those of you keeping count, that’s zero championships for NY in 15 years. The Bens would actually book passage to Red Bulls games just to establish themselves as an up and coming supporters group and wanted to remind NY fans that they were here to stay. That may be the case, but on the field, the Red Bulls have jumped on the early advantage, beating the Union 2-1 in league play over the weekend and by the same score again tonight in the Lamar Hunt Open Cup Play in game. New York, playing most of their younger players, carried the play of game in the first half and opened the scoring in the 16th minute, when Union goal keeper Chris Seitz failed to secure a Brian Neilson shot that eventually ended up on the boot of rookie Connor Chinn and into the back of ...

MLS: Philadelpha Union Seeing Red after 2-1 Loss to Toronto FC

For the second time in three games, the Philadelphia Union on the wrong end of a red card send off. Talk about playing at a disadvantage, ten against eleven is certainly no way to make a living, as Philadelphia found out in their season opening loss at seattle. In that game Philadelphia's Toni Stahl was sent off in the 40th minute after being shown a second yellow card. At the time Seattle led 1-0, but quickly pushed it to a 2-0 advantage three minutes later. Last night in the 34th minute, it was a straight red card send off for Union Captain Danny Califf. No yellow card warning needed, as Califf got called for an elbow to the head of Julian de Guzman, who had beaten Califf and had a clear path to a slow rolling ball headed toward the Philadelphia goal. That send off setup the games first score, as Toronto's Dwayne De Rosario struck a free kick past a wall of Union defenders and into the fragile hands of Union keeper Chris Seitz. It was a save Seitz should have made, but instead the ball deflected off his gloves and over the goal line, 1-0 Toronto. It was the second time in as many games a mishandled ball by Seitz has cost his team a goal (with the other being the second D.C. United ...

Soccer In The City: Can The Beautiful Game Survive in Philadelphia?

There is no question; the Philadelphia Phillies are currently the toast of the town when it comes to the city’s top professional sports team, thanks in part to back to back World Series trips, and a club house full of classy characters. So yes, the Phillies are the toast of the town, but make no mistake about it, the Philadelphia Eagles are still the talk of the town, especially on local talk radio, where Philly sports fans either praise their beloved birds or bash them, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Philadelphia Flyers and Seventy Sixers meanwhile, are somewhere in the rearview mirror. So what about the city’s two newest professional franchises, the Philadelphia Union and Philadelphia Independence? This past weekend, soccer fans in the tri-state area (Pa, NJ & Del.) had the chance to bask in the glow of the beautiful game, while enjoying a double dip of European Style football.  It all started Saturday night at Lincoln Financial field as Major League Soccer (MLS) made its   Philly debut, with the Philadelphia Union hosting D.C. United. 34, 870 fans on hand for this event, an event that saw the Union collect  the first victory in franchise history (3-2), thanks in part  to ...

Philadelphia Union and FC Dallas Make Roster Moves

With the MLS Regular season less than a month away, most teams are wrapping up their exhibition schedules and fine-tuning their rosters. FC Dallas did their fine tuning by making a deal to acquire four-time MLS All-Star keeper Kevin Hartman, one of the league’s most formidable back-stops. In exchange for Hartman, Kansas City received a second-round pick in the 2012 MLS SuperDraft. Hartman appeared in all 30 regular season games for the Wizards in the 2009 season, earning a 1.40 goals against average and collecting an impressive 105 saves. Hartman's all-time regular season record is 146-120-64 and his postseason record is 22-15-7. The former U.S. National team member holds all the major goalkeeping records in MLS history. He owns the record in games played in goal with 333, games started in goal with 328, minutes played in goal with 29,835, wins in goal with 146, saves in goal with 1,235 and shutouts with 84. "I'm excited to be in Dallas," said the 35-year-old Hartman. "It's the place where I won the 2005 championship with the Galaxy and it's always held a place in my heart. I'm excited to be here to play in front of the Dallas fans and excited to start a new ...

Houston Dynamo To Announce Player Signing

Two-time MLS Cup Champion Houston Dynamo has called a Tuesday, March 9 press conference to announce a player signing. One can only speculate at this point, but there has been quite a buzz the past few weeks surrounding Jamaican National team midfielder Lovel Palmer. Palmer, now in his second one week trail with Houston, has been somewhat impressive so far, his biggest moment to date coming in a friendly back on Feb. 27, when he scored a spectacular long range 35 yard goal in the 16th minute of a 2-1 win over FC Dallas. "He obviously scored a great goal that stood out, but it was also the way he worked on and off the ball," Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear said. "He tried to get on the ball, he broke up plays, and he tackled—sometimes very hard—which we like in that position. He was clean with the ball and made good decisions." In addition to his role with the Reggae Boyz (Jamaican National Team), the 25-year-old Palmer is also captain of the Jamaican Premier club Harbour View. Granted, Palmer is currently under contract with Harbour View, but the Premier League Clubs Association in Jamaica has been in the market to sell some of its ...

Ice Curling Over Soccer? Now You Really Have Lost Your Mind!

Look, I think you all know by now that I live here in the City of Brotherly love, and although the folks at City Hall have continued to ignore my requests and the numerous petitions to rename the City, Phillipdelphia, I still love it here. I’m actually going to love it even more this spring and summer now that we finally have not one, but two professional soccer teams to root for. Unfortunately, while the new teams in town continue to spread their branches and bury their roots deeper into the soccer rich environment here in the Delaware Valley, there are still those non believers who think soccer is a waste of time and won’t succeed here. I’ve got news for you; it already has succeeded and in many cases at the youth level surpassed several other sports in participation numbers.  Trust me when I tell you,  there are more kids playing soccer year round in the tri-state area (Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania) than any other youth sport. As a matter of fact, the United States Youth Soccer Association boasts over three million players between the ages of five and 19, while the American Youth Soccer Organization has more than 300,000 players between ...

Seattle Sounders Sign Swiss National Team Member Blaise Nkufo

At six feet , two inches tall and 185 pounds, Blaise Nkufo (pronounced Blehz KOOH-fo)   is a force to be reckoned with, both from  a physical and skill set stand point.   In other words, Seattle Sounder supporters should get their kicks out of this Congolese born striker, who now claims Swiss Citizenship. The Sounders announced today that they have signed the Swiss National Team forward on a free transfer, but before booking passage to the Pacific Northwest, Nkufo must fulfill commitments to his National Team and Dutch Club side, FC Twente. The 34 year old Nkufo has scored over 200 goals for club and country and has capped 27 times for the Swiss, scoring seven goals. Five of those goals came during the qualification process for the 2010 World Cup and, as a result, Switzerland will join Honduras, Chile and reigning European champion Spain in Group H when World Cup play begins in June. Nkufo, now in his seventh season with FC Twente, has led the club in scoring each of the past six seasons and last summer became the club's career scoring leader and, to date, has scored 129 goals in 260 appearances for the Dutch club. "I am really ...

It’s Official: Philadelphia Union’s New Stadium to be Named PPL Park

The MLS (Major League Soccer) Expansion Philadelphia Union has placed yet another set piece into the upper right hand corner. Today, Keystone Sports and Entertainment (KSE) and the Philadelphia Union officially announced their partnership with PPL (Pennsylvania Power and Light) Energy plus. The partnership gives the Allentown, Pa. based power company the 11 year naming rights to the team’s soccer specific stadium currently under construction in Chester, Pa. From this point forward we can now call the future home of the Philadelphia Union, PPL Park. This partnership, however, is more than just a name on the side of a building. For starters, PPL EnergyPlus also will become Philadelphia Union’s exclusive energy provider. Philadelphia Union will utilize energy at PPL Park supplied by PPL EnergyPlus, which will purchase and retire renewable energy credits equal to 100 percent of the park’s electricity use from renewable energy projects in Pennsylvania owned or contracted by PPL EnergyPlus. “Simply put, we have found the perfect partner,” said Nick Sakiewicz, CEO & Operating Partner of KSE and Philadelphia Union. “This is a very important moment in our club’s and stadium’s history. "To have a venerable, well-respected Pennsylvania company team up with a brand new world class facility is a profound statement. We ...

Philadelphia’s Missing Linc to World Class Soccer

Prior to the summer of 2003, Soccer fans in the Philadelphia tri-state area had to travel down to Washington D.C. or up to East Rutherford, NJ to watch World Class Soccer. That scenario however changed with the Aug. 23, 2003 opening of Lincoln Financial Field, an NFL (National Football League) style stadium with a real grass surface. Ironically the first ever event held at Lincoln Financial Field was a soccer friendly between European club powers Manchester United and FC Barcelona. I consider myself lucky to have been among the 68,000 plus in attendance that night as United beat Barca 3-1. The site lines at this stadium make Lincoln Financial Field a great venue to watch soccer, which probably explains why Philadelphia has been fortunate enough over the past seven years to host a hand full of International Matches. In 2003 several FIFA Women’s World Cup Games were played at the Linc. Then after winning the soccer gold-medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics, the U.S. Women’s National Team conducted a “Fan Celebration Tour,” playing 10 games across the United States between September and December. On Nov. 6 of 2004 they dropped a 3-1 decision to Denmark. More recently Lincoln Financial Field was host to a pair ...