2 pm on the LiveWell Network or the 6abc "D3" channel.
The Philadelphia Union have come quite a long way since they last met DC Union.
What is currently considered a young expansion team was then but a game old. There was some guy taken in the expansion draft who hadn't done much statistically for his former team, the Seattle Sounders. A back four that had yet to become belittled by supporters because of not only poor defense but poor late game defense. Some kid had not put a number 11 on his back until the game. Kansas City had not yet found itself inclined to trade for an overpriced defender who could not even find his way into the Union defense. This team had yet to win, mostly because it had only played a single game so far into its existence.
Then Union met United and we say the beginnings of many things that have brought the Union to where they are today.
A young expansion team won its first game, 3-2, over a team that currently is in the basement of the MLS. Sebastian Le Toux scored his, and the Union's, first MLS career hat trick and led Union to their first win ever, as well. Even though Le Toux put on an offensive show of force, the back four managed to nearly through away two points. Shea Salinas entered the game in the 68th minute and showed his versatility and promise. In June, Shavar Thomas was exchanged for two second round picks after leaving almost no noticeable trace of ability to play defense for the Union; Kansas City decided to take the overpaid defender onto its roster and mortgaged some of its future in the process - they were rewarded almost immediately with a defensive misstep by Thomas that cost them. This team had just won, only two games into its existence.
Unfortunately, there would be no winning streak or even a points streak for that matter. The win turned into five straight loses which could easily have been expected of an expansion team. After this streak, we knew a couple of things but one of them was not that the Union could pull off wins on a consistent basis. Now the Union know that they have a possible MLS MVP in Le Toux, a possible rookie of the year in Danny Mwanga, a developing and talented youth within its ranks and a promising future under Piotr Nowak.
It has been seven games since the Union were able to take full points and over four months since they took full points from DC United. The Union look to end that skid and take the season series versus United.
According to Ben Feldman of The Brotherly Game, the following are the projected line-ups for the United-Union game:
Projected lineups:
Philadelphia (4-4-2): Seitz; Harvey, Gonzalez, Califf, Orozco Fiscal; Mapp, Miglioranzi, Fred, Torres; Mwanga, Le Toux
D.C. United (4-4-2): Hamid; Burch, Talley, James, McTavish; Quaranta, Boskovic, King, Najar; Hernandez, Allsopp
Please follow the game over at The Brotherly Game, which will have a game thread where you can discuss the Union-United game with other Union fans; if you don't have time to watch the game you can read the important happens here in update form.
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