Philadelphia Union Host Colorado Rapids In Home Opener Today

The Philadelphia Union will host the Colorado Rapids at PPL Park today at 4pm in their 2012 home opener. The Union will be looking to bounce back from a very poor performance against Portland last Monday. Colorado, meanwhile, is coming off a 2-0 opening day win over Columbus.

The Rapids were the only team to beat the Union at PPL Park last season and their Philly native midfielder Jeff Larentowicz says he knows the Union will be up for this game.

"It's definitely about managing that first part of the game," said Larentowicz. "Especially coming off of a loss, they're going to be high energy, Peter (Nowak) I'm sure has been training them hard. I'm sure weathering the first 15 to 20 minutes is going to be important for us."

Union manager Peter Nowak says that the Rapids could present an even tougher challenge than Portland did in the opener.

"As I said to these guys in the locker room in Portland, the Colorado team is going to be even more physical than this team," Nowak said. "The game is going to be fast, they’re going to go up and down and they’re capable of doing good things. We need to make sure we stay compact and organized."

Coverage begins at 4pm today on NBC Sports Network. For more on the Union check out The Brotherly Game. For a Rapids perspective check out Burgundy Wave.