Union forward Jack McInerney was named to the 35-player short list for the U.S. roster for the CONCACAF Gold Cup this summer.

The 20-year-old striker was one of eight forwards named to the preliminary list. The roster must be trimmed to 23 players 10 days prior to competition, which opens July 7. The continental championship will be hosted by the United States, with the Stars and Stripes due to play its group-stage matches in Portland, Salt Lake City and Hartford.

Usually an opportunity to develop domestic talent and send less then the full A team, the Gold Cup roster is mainly composed of MLS players (19 from nine different clubs). Rather than exclusively being young players, several veteran names that have found themselves unable to get into the first team lately are included, most notably Landon Donovan. Europe-based veterans Carlos Bocanegra, Clarence Goodson and Oguchi Oneywu are also included.


McInerney has been capped at the U17, U20 and U23 levels. Should he make the roster and play, he would be the first Union player to appear for the U.S. National team.
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John Hackworth wasn’t a big fan of being asked about Roger Torres’ exclusion from the 18-man roster last Tuesday in the U.S. Open Cup.

The question of where the Colombian belongs within this 2013 Philadelphia Union team is a little more complex than a post-game press conference can answer.

There’s the obvious answer that Hackworth offered Thursday at his weekly press conference: That Torres hasn’t done enough in training to earn the opportunity to play more than the 10 MLS minutes he’s gotten this season, last seeing the field in a meaningful match almost three months ago.

When training camp opened, back in late January, there was talk of Torres being in better shape than ever, finally banishing some of his fitness demons. That appears not to be the case anymore.

“I look at it that we have depth at a position that Roger Torres is competing for playing time right now,” Hackworth said. “And the fact is that guys that are in front of him and guys that have stepped in front of him have taken their opportunities and done better with them. At some point, I need to give Roger that same kind of chance, but he has to earn that chance.
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Union boss John Hackworth had plenty to say today at his weekly press conference. Here are some odds and ends...

On evaluating talent in Ocean City:
There were a couple of guys. I think anytime you look at a PDL team like that, you’re looking at amateur players that are looking to be pros, and there’s certainly a lot of talent out there. There were, I would say, three guys that we liked and that we’re going to continue to track and maybe even bring in on trial. I think that’s one of the great things about the Open Cup is that you get these amateur clubs to play professional teams and whether it’s meant to or not, it becomes almost a scouting opportunity for the professional teams and a chance for these young players to really impress and get a chance.

On playing a PDL team:
It’s different, and we obviously with our staff know the PDL very well and we value that whole process. We think it’s invaluable for scouting and preparation for the draft and things like that. But in this case, there is really an opportunity to get a hands-on look at a guy.

On what he's looking for from Toronto Saturday:
My hope is that the game is a little different, but my expectation is that it’s not going to be really any different. I think they have some new players. They added some very quality players on the field, so it’s a different team a little bit for Toronto. I think that makes this a little interesting. I still think you’re going to have two clubs who are really fighting for points, and they’re going to try to go out and get a result and hopefully it’s a better soccer game than it was here, but that’s all we can ask for.

On the midfield chemistry between Michael Farfan and Kleberson:
With Kleberson and Michael, we’re happy with both of them. We think they’re continuing to develop a relationship, and I think that being able to play Michael on either side of Kleberson has been advantageous for us to try to figure out a better matchup for us. So we’ll look at that for sure. We were able to rest both in the U.S. Open Cup for the most part – Michael came on at the very end – but to those guys that have fresh legs and will be available, we always hope that you can continue to get better and those guys that are really important can continue to step up.

On the defense's recent play:
I would be lying to you if I told you that I was really happy with the last couple performances of … I wouldn’t call it our backline though. I’ve said this to our guys in the locker room: We have to be a team in every sense of the word. We have to make sure we do things on both sides of the ball that complement each other, so for me it’s not just the backline that shares that burden. In Montreal, it’s a little bit of a hard one to take when you give up five goals because we certainly were going for it from about 60 minutes on, so that leaves us very vulnerable, very stretched, and we put ourselves in a great position to get back in that game at 3-2 and then gave up a restart. That’s not necessarily our backline’s fault, that’s on our team on a restart like that. And obviously the fifth one – to me, if you lost 3-2 or 5-3, it doesn’t matter at that point. It matters on the stat sheet so people can pick you apart for that, but the bottom line for us is that we’ve got to be a better team defensively in all areas. Our backline certainly takes a lot of pride in that and we have to improve, but it’s our midfield too, our forward, we have to do it collectively.

On preparing for a different Toronto team:
Of course we’re looking at the game film. They’re different as I said earlier because they’ve added a lot of different pieces, and they can literally field a lineup that is 50 percent of guys that weren’t even here when we played earlier at PPL. I think we have to be ready for both, and certainly we’re going to try to play a little different style against them this time. And we’re studying how they played then and also how they’ve played recently. It’ll be an interesting game because it’s a little bit difficult to predict how they’ll play.

On the lack of Union players going away for international duty:
It’s good. Toronto lost a lot of guys midweek to Canada, and a lot of those guys played. I think (Darren) O’Dea went for the Ireland team. They have guys that are coming back, and it’ll be interesting. We played the Open Cup game. For us it’s just the matter of having the full selection from our roster, and that’s good. ... Not for me. I like those choices, because I think that it makes our job tougher, but it means that we have better quality.

On A.S. Roma being named the opponent for the 2013 MLS All-Star Game:
I think it’s really cool. I’m glad that Roma’s going to be the opponent particularly because I have a long relationship with Michael Bradley and to see him come play with Roma here in the states, I think it’ll be fantastic for him and a great opportunity for our All-stars.

For 90 minutes, there wasn't much to write home about in the Union's 2-1 win over Ocean City. Then all hell broke lose in stoppage time in a chaotic finish only the U.S. Open Cup could provide. Some spare thoughts from the men at the center of it all.


Union manager John Hackworth
On Ocean City's performance:
They played a good game tonight. They were a more-than-worthy opponent and made it really hard on us. … Not exactly how we draw it up, but this game is tough. The Open Cup is always this way. You’re going to have battles. It’s the March Madness of the U.S. soccer world, if you will.

On the performance turned in by Leo Fernandes:
I think he looked good. I think out of all the performances we gave tonight, I think Leo’s was one of the very bright spots because he got this opportunity because he earned it. It wasn’t me trying to throw a bone to anybody and saying hey, 'this is the Open Cup so we’ll start a rookie.' Leo was literally what we thought to be the best option, especially coming off Montreal, having some tired legs with Kleberson and Michael Farfan and what not. And his performance was excellent.

On the decision not to include Roger Torres in the matchday 18:
It is what it is. Roger’s got to play better, in both training and if he does that, I’ll give him the opportunity. But we have a lot of competition for that.

On the decision to start the same back four:
The thought process is that this is an event. This is a tournament that is very important to this club and we’re going to put out our best lineup to ensure that we’re successful in it.

On how far the conversation to make changes in defense went:
Not that far. As a staff we talked about it, but there really wasn’t from any of the coaches that we shouldn’t put out anything but our best lineup.

On the fitness of his side after the Montreal game:
You could tell some guys were heavy. We did a regeneration session after Montreal yesterday. We did everything possible scientifically to get us back. And I would say pretty good. You look at a guy like Brian Carroll, who did a tremendous amount of work as always, who scores the goal.

On bringing Jeff Parke back from injury:
We were very cautions with Jeff, so we brought him back very slowly. He was 100 percent going into Montreal. He felt ready, no problems in training, no problem recovering, so that wasn’t a thought for us.

On the challenge of the U.S. Open Cup:
You go into these games knowing that you're going to get maximum effort from your opponents. And it’s frustrating and it’s not easy. They dropped their line off tremendously and put a lot of guys behind the ball. It meant that one of our guys had to make a play, and we had to do it at a speed and a tempo with the ball that was going to meet their energy, their commitment, and we didn’t do that in the first half for sure.

On the reaction to the goal allowed in stoppage time:
I couldn’t believe we gave it up. It was very disappointing. I think it was a silly foul and we talked about yesterday, today, that the only way we though we were going to give it up was if we made some mistakes, gave up restarts or a long ball on a counterattack. For the most part, we did those things well.

Union midfielder Brian Carroll
On his propensity for scoring in the Open Cup:
I don’t know what it is. I just hope it keeps happening. I think we stayed calm after their goal, kept the build-up play. We were able to get a really dangerous chance. It led to a corner kick, Seba puts it in the right spot, I just found my head on it at the right spot at the right time, and it goes off the post and in.

On what goes into a game-winning goal like that:
It’s a little bit of both. But part of it is just being in the right spot, being where your assigned position is and just following through, and the ball just finds you. It’s just kind of a magnet to my head. I was just in the right spot at the right time. Credit to Seba to putting it in that position; it was a dangerous ball.

I’ve got a feeling that there’s a bit to discuss after the Union’s 5-3 loss to the Montreal Impact Saturday, certainly at least as many discussion points as goals posted. So here are eight points I saw from the game.

Union defender Jeff Parke and company had problems all day
with Andrew Wenger and company as Montreal claimed a 5-3 win
over the Union (AP).

 

1. The Union defense simply was not up to the task. They struggle a lot against physical central forwards (see Thierry Henry, Lio Pajoy, Robbie Keane, to name a few), but Marco Di Vaio’s dominance Saturday was still remarkable. He scored three goals in 30 minutes in the first half, then missed a great chance later in the half that could easily have been four. He outmuscled the central defenders and got lost by the fullbacks, so there wasn’t anything that really worked against them.

2. There’s not a lot good on that back four. Ray Gaddis got sucked into the middle, Sheanon Williams struggled to pick up runners and all four got caught ball-watching far too often. The midfield coverage wasn’t much better. The Union scored three goals in hostile territory – one of only three teams to do that in the year-plus the Impact have been in MLS – yet they couldn't get a win. They’ve got some serious issues to fix.
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The long-awaited departure of Bakary Soumare, whether it’s a habit among the Philadelphia Union to admit it or not, leaves a hole in the backline in terms of depth. For a team that has just navigated a stretch of three games in eight days, has another such streak looming and faces several more should the progress as deep in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup as they did last year, reinforcements are needed.

With Soumare headed to Chicago in exchange for a second-round SuperDraft pick and allocation money, the third-string center back appears to be Sheanon Williams, the starting right back. Paired with the trade of Gabriel Farfan to Chivas last week, that leaves the fullback options as Chris Albright (36 appearances in the last four-plus years), Matt Kassel (two career MLS appearances) or a converted midfielder like Michael Lahoud. So here are three possible options for the Union. Read more »

Union manager John Hackworth was unavailable for his weekly press conference Wednesday, so assistant coach/technical director Rob Vartughian stepped in. Here's what Rob had to say.

On the challenge on heading to Montreal:
They’re obviously a good team. They’ve ahead of us in the table. They’re sitting on 20 points through 10 games, and they’ve got some really good pieces and they’re dangerous. We’re pretty familiar with them. We’ve watched a ton of film on them. They’ve got a guy in (Marco) Di Vaio who’s got six goals who’s up top and they have experience all through the field, whether that’s (Alessandro) Nesta. They’ve got Felipe, who’s a very good player, Justin Mapp, who we’re all familiar with, who’s a very good player. They’ve got some really good pieces, so we obviously started that preparation right after Chicago, and I’ll think we’ll be ready to go once Saturday rolls around.

On where the trip to Montreal ranks:
I think they’re all tough. It’s tough to go into anyone else’s park and play. And this is a good team, it’s an experience team. In terms of where it ranks, I don’t know if I could put a ranking on it so to speak, but our approach has been the same for all the road games, so we’re not going to waver or do anything different than we have in the past and treat it like all the other ones.

On Kleberson's continued place in the starting XI:
We felt good about it. Kleberson was going into his second game, second start, and played a good game. Same for Michael (Farfan). But I would say that about generally all the guys that have been given the opportunity in the midfield. We’re happy for Kleberson and what he’s been able to bring in the two games that he’s played. He’s given us good minutes and he’s given us a little something different than maybe what we weren’t getting, but I think the players around him complement him well, whether that’s Michael, whether that’s Keon (Daniel), whether that’s Brian (Carroll), Danny (Cruz), you name it. That’s been good, and we’ve liked what we’ve seen.
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Philadelphia Union (4-1-3-2) 

MacMath 

Gaddis-Okugo-Soumare-Williams 

Carroll 

Farfan-Kleberson-Cruz 

Le Toux-McInerney 

Bench: Konopka, Albright, Daniel, Torres, Fernandes, Casey, Hoppenot

Chicago Fire (4-4-2)

Johnson

Segares-Anibaba-Berry-Thompson

Duka-Pause-Laurentowiz-Lindpere

Rolfe-Nyarko
Bench: Tornaghi, King, Bone, MacDonald, Amarikwa, Videira, Alex

 - It seems like the lineup many have been waiting for has finally come to fruition. Gone is Keon Daniel after a lackluster midweek showing in a loss to Los Angeles. In is Michael Farfan, giving the Union what on paper appears to be its best midfield foursome. Kleberson returns in the middle to be the fulcrum of that advanced triumvirate.

- Bakary Soumare starts a third game in eight days with Jeff Parke not yet ready to go (my preview is grateful for that). Parke participated fully in training this week and was listed as questionable, but he doesn’t make the 18 on this cold rainy day.

- Conor Casey is on the bench for a second straight game in favor of Sebastien Le Toux, pairing Jack McInerney. With Casey and Antoine Hoppenot on the bench, expect changes.

- Chicago makes just one change this week, with the suspended Jeff Larentowicz returning to the lineup to replace Daniel Paladini. Sherjil MacDonald recovers from his bout of strep to make the bench after being out altogether last week, while Maicon Santos is dropped for the 18. The emphasis on speed in the forms of Patrick Nyarko, Chris Rolfe and Dilly Duka remains.

Philadelphia Union (4-4-2)

MacMath 

Williams-Okugo-Soumare-Gaddis  

Cruz-Carroll-Kleberson-Daniel  

Le Toux-McInerney  

Bench: Konopka, Hoppenot, Albright, Torres, Wheeler, Farfan, Casey
Los Angeles Galaxy (4-4-2)  

Cudicini  

Meyer-DeLaGarza-Gonzalez-Dunivant  

Donovan-Juninho-Sarvas-Magee  

Villarreal-Keane 

Bench: Rowe, Leonardo, Franklin, Cochrane, Garcia, Jimenez, Rugg  

- The day is here at long last: The first start for Kleberson, the Union’s newest designated player. Interestingly, though, it’s not in the position most would’ve envisioned with he and Keon Daniel in the side. Looks as though one will operate wide on the left in the position vacated by Michael Farfan; I’d expect a fair amount of interchanging though.

- After starting one game in 14 months, Bakary Soumare makes it two in four days. The trade of Gabriel Farfan Tuesday made any other combinations – such as returning suspended Sheanon Williams to the center of defense – untenable with a sudden lack of fullback depth (given the injury to Michael Lahoud, the top candidate as a deputy there). Williams is back at right back though, Ray Gaddis moving to the left.

- There’s also a change up top that comes as no surprise. The combination of Sebastien Le Toux’s assist on the game-winning goal by Jack McInerney over the weekend against Chicago and the fixture back-up made it an easy choice for the Frenchman to replace Conor Casey. Casey still makes the bench with Antoine Hoppenot and Aaron Wheeler. Plenty of attacking options there.

- For the Galaxy, both Robbie Keane and Todd Dunivant passed their fitness tests. That means Keane will pair Jose Villarreal up top with Mike Magee doing a lot of interchanging up top.

So, the biggest news from the Union may have come later in the afternoon Tuesday with the trade of Gabriel Farfan to Chivas USA. But manager John Hackworth had plenty to say on a variety of topics in the afternoon. Here are a few quotes that didn't make the cut.


On the extra motivation for Los Angeles:
We’re trying to just manage this three-game stretch in eight days, so our focus has been trying to prepare and recover from Chicago in a short amount of time, but the reality is that they’ll be a little more juiced. I don’t know if it’ll be in the legs, but it’ll certainly be emotional because there’s definitely a little more of a spotlight on you for sure. You’re playing at home, all of those kinds of things. Probably for our team, there’s probably a little bit of a feeling that people don’t give us respect right now, and even when we go and we win games, it doesn’t seem like we’re getting enough credit for it. I think having an opportunity to play LA at home is a really good game to try and make a statement, so I think there will be a little more motivation there for sure.

On the depth of his team:
It’s something we’ve talked about all year is that there were going to be times in the season where we had stretches where whether it was injuries, suspensions, just the number of games coming in a short amount of time where guys were going to get a chance. That proved to be very true Saturday in Chicago, it’ll be that way tomorrow night and I’m sure it’ll be that way against Chicago again.
Read more »

Once again the Union proved an ability to pick up points away from home, and despite playing on the backfoot for large stretches and failing to create much in the way of attacking verve, they managed to get the goal they needed in a 1-0 win at Chicago. Some quick reacitons:

- Jack McInerney showed exactly what makes him such a dangerous weapon. His goal off a quickly taken free kick showcased his ability to pop up out of nowhere and get a goal. He was clinical in the finish, and it's the reason why the Union start a difficult stretch with three points.

- Eyes were focused on Bakary Soumare, and I think he proved pretty conclusively that he's still an MLS-level defender. He may not be as quick as Jeff Parke, but he knows that and doesn't take the kind of risks that Parke does tracking the ball farther up the field. Since both Parke and Amobi Okugo prefer to play that aggressive style, it can open holes at times. But if Soumare stays home and cleans up the messes, he and Okugo could flourish for however long they play together. This was a tough matchup for Soumare with speedy guys like Chris Rolfe and Patrick Nyarko. But he did well in the face of that.
Read more »

In case you missed the holiday that is MLS salary day (asinine concept that it is), here are the full numbers for the Philadelphia Union, most expensive to least (numbers represent 2013 base salary/guaranteed compensation):

Kleberson $495,000/$495,000
Bakary Soumare $310,000/$350,000

Carlos Valdes $321,000/$321,000
Jeff Parke $205,000/$216,500
Sebastien Le Toux $200,000/$212,812
Brian Carroll $176,400/$176,400
Conor Casey $175,000/$175,000
Sheanon Williams $150,000/$110,500
Jack McInerney $125,500/$189,666
Roger Torres $121,968/$125,093
Danny Cruz $120,000/$126,500
Zac MacMath $110,000/$155,000
Amobi Okugo $101,250/$184,250
Michael Farfan $98,670/$136,170
Michael Lahoud $90,000/$93,333
Keon Daniel $80,004/$80,004
Chris Albright $75,000/$75,000
Zach Pfeffer $65,000/$75,000
Cristhian Hernandez $62,500/$64,375
Jimmy McLaughlin $60,000/$69,000
Gabriel Farfan $50,820/$50,820
Antoine Hoppenot $48,400/$48,400
Ray Gaddis $46,500/$46,500
Greg Jordan $46,500/$46,500
Matt Kassel $46,500/$46,500
Chris Konopka $46,500/$46,500
Aaron Wheeler $46,500/$46,500
Don Anding $35,125/$35,125
Leo Fernandez $35,125/$35,125

Union forward Conor Casey, left, duels with Seattle Sounders
defender Djimi Traore during Saturday's 2-2 draw between
the clubs. (Times Staff/JULIA WILKINSON)

Union manager John Hackworth
On the defense response after Parke is injured:
Great response. Really good but then we let up and we let the second one in. you work so hard to get back in that game and we put a lot of energy to get back in that game. Should have been back at halftime, for sure and we are down a goal. Get two back in the second, do all the right things, should have got a third. Our fault for giving up that second one for sure.

On Danny Cruz stepping up in the second half:
We talked about the fact that we just had to come out with as much urgency, and as much pressure and as much...we were playing good at the end of that first half, we had put a lot of balls into the box but execution was really poor and I said to the guys, there is nothing I can say as a coach to get you to execute a skill that you guys are all really good at, but I can get you to play harder and you have got to just keep going, you have got to keep your foot on the gas and know that it is coming and believe in it and thank goodness....For Danny it was especially pleasing because he probably has been microscoped a little bit and criticized for some missed chances and for sure he takes two great chances there. So I am really happy for him.
Read more »

Philadelphia Union (4-4-2)
MacMath
Gaddis- Parke-Okugo-Williams
MFarfan-Carroll-Daniel-Cruz
McInerney-Casey
Bench: Konopka, Le Toux, Kleberson, Hoppenot, Lahoud, G.Farfan, Wheeler

Seattle Sounders (4-4-2)
Gspurning
Yedlin-Hurtado-Traore-Gonzalez
Rosales-Evans-Carrasco-Caskey
Johnson-Neagle
Bench: Hahnemann, Scott, Martinez, Ianni, Estrada, Rose, Zavaleta

- Union manager John Hackworth said this week that the time for changes was close; he also said it wouldn’t be this week. He was right on the money, naming an unchanged squad from last week’s loss at New England.

- The big name missing from the starting XI or the bench for Seattle is Obafemi Martins, who scored last week in the win against Colorado. Instead, it’ll be Lamar Neagle pairing Eddie Johnson up front, which could be even more dangerous given their familiarity. (Martins has played just three games since coming over as a DP pick up from Levante in Spain.) Also missing are Shalrie Joseph, Steve Zakuani and Osvaldo Alonso. Those are big missing pieces.

- You may notice three strikers on the Union bench: Sebastien Le Toux, Antoine Hoppenot and Aaron Wheeler, the latter getting his first bench appearance of the year. No defenders again.

- The battle in this game will be in the engine room of the midfield. Mauro Rosales is one of the best playmakers from that deep-lying role in MLS and will test the central tandem of Brian Carroll and Keon Daniel. But without Joseph or Alonso, this is an opportunity for the Union to get an upper hand (making the exclusion of Kleberson even more perplexing).

In my sit down with him Wednesday, Nick Sakiewicz made a couple of things painfully clear. First, he and his ownership group were taking nothing for granted in trying to improve the viewing experience of fans at PPL Park. Second, any changes would be made with the soccer experience and the best interest of the fans in mind.

Here's a little more of what the Union CEO and Operating Partner had to say.

On the possibility of seat expansion at PPL Park:
"I think the seat expansion part is a little bit out there in the further timeline. What we’re looking at right now are some entertainment amenities. Suites, we’re virtually out of suites, so we’re looking at a concept there to build out more suites and different types of offerings. We’re looking at things outside the stadium in Toyota Plaza in terms of some hospitality options that are new and different. We’re looking at the section behind the sons of Ben, which is the roof of that building, was footed and designed and beefed up to accommodate either a restaurant or a party deck or something, so we’re exploring that option"

On preserving the river view:
"One thing is for sure that we don’t want to elevate too high on that end because the river, the bridge have become iconic symbols of our brand, so I don’t think they’ll ever be a big wall masking those visuals there. So we’re exploring ideas of maybe a second club in that area, but the seating expansion, the growth of the seating, is off a ways."
Read more »

It's going to be an emotional week for Union defender Jeff Parke. After three years in Seattle, a successful tenure he cut short last winter to return home closer to his native Abington, the 31-year-old will face his former team for the first time in what promises to be an emotional weekend. (For another perspective, here's the view from the Seattle side of things.)

Here's a little extra from his press conference Wednesday.

On how much useful knowledge he'll have of his old team:
"I’ve been around for three years and I know the team quite well, so there will be some questions asked and some things that I’ll have to point out and some areas where I’ll be able to help out in a way. But they’re a different group this year. Their backs are against the wall a little bit, so it’s going to be a different feel and a different team, but at the end of the day it’s another game, and we’re at home and we want to get three points."
Read more »

The Union face a tough task this weekend of coping with a Seattle Sounders team that has gotten off to a slow start to the season. It's just the latest installment of the lengthy roller coaster that is the MLS season.

Aside from the story, he's the rest of the press conference from John Hackworth.

John Hackworth

On Jeff Parke's meeting with a former team:
"I really don’t have anything but good things to say about Jeff because of the kind of person he is and the kind of professional he has been since the first day he arrived here. Not only that, he’s played very well and brought some leadership and continuity to our backline which up to now in this part of the season has been very good. Jeff’s been a great acquisition for this club. Him being a hometown guy is really important to us in a lot of ways because he totally gets the culture here in Philadephia, the fanbase growing up here. I think that’s a little unique for anybody to understand and he’s certainly very valuble to us and hope that remains the way for a long while to come. ... It won’t be the first time Jeff is in this situation, and once you’ve gone through it, you understand the emotions that come into it. I don’t have any questions that he’ll handle it any way other than the pro that he is."
Read more »