Union midfielder Brian Carroll, right, defending Columbus' Justin Meram
in a game June 1, is preparing to return next year for his 15th MLS season
and seventh in Philadelphia, at age 35. (AP)

Brian Carroll’s first comments assessing the 2016 Philadelphia Union season Wednesday were optimistic about what had gone and bullish about what could lie ahead. Implicit in that answer is that Carroll wants to be around for the latter pursuit.

So when it came time to fulfill the journalistic duty of asking a 35-year-old player, one just two years younger than his coach and older than Jim Curtin was in taking over the Union, the answer seemed a mere formality.

“I still think that there’s more,” Carroll said.

With the season that the club captain put together, it’s hard to argue with that appraisal. It’s been clear for months that Carroll’s level of play warranted another season in MLS if he so chose. And Carroll confirmed Wednesday that retirement isn’t in the cards just yet.

“Obviously (I’m) getting up in age and it’s going to be a year-to-year thing at this point,” Carroll said. “I think I proved to myself that there’s a little bit more left in the tank, and I’d like to have a strong offseason and I’d like to contribute similarly next year. I didn’t know how much I’d be able to be called upon this year, but I think when I was called upon, I handled my end of the bargain and maybe exceeded my own expectations. I’m willing to put in the work, continue doing this next year and see how next year goes and make a choice after that.”

Rather quietly, Carroll assembled an extremely strong season. He played 26 games and started 23, both his highest totals since 2013. He logged more than 2,000 minutes for the 10th time in his illustrious career. And he didn’t look outpaced by improvements in an increasingly technical Union side.

Per WhoScored’s metrics, Carroll’s passing percentage dipped slightly to 82.2 percent. But he had his most combative season with the Union at 2.6 tackles per 90 minutes, up from 2.3 last year and 1.8 in 2014. That speaks to a simplified role for the No. 6, and when surrounded by playmakers, Carroll can be an important, steady cog focused on breaking up opponents’ attacking moves.

Carroll entered the season with modest expectations. When questioned Wednesday, he threw out numbers of “maybe … five starts and play in 10” games as a for-instance. But he played well enough to earn considerably more time, partially due to Maurice Edu’s injuries. Read more »

Union (4-2-3-1) 

Blake 

Fabinho-Marquez-Yaro-Rosenberry

Creavalle-Bedoya 

Pontius-Barnetta-Herbers 

Sapong 

Bench: McCarthy, Gaddis, Tribbett, Fernandes, Alberg, Restrepo, Davies 

Sporting KC (4-3-3) 

Kann 

Medranda-Besler-Opara/Abdul-Salaam 

Espinoza-Mustivar-Feilhaber 

Zusi-Dwyer-Peters 

Bench: Kempin, Alvarado, Hallisey, Appiah, Nagamura, Davis, Rubio 

Preview 

- In naming an unchanged side from Wednesday’s win in Columbus, Union manager Jim Curtin again tries to strike the balance between consistency and squad rotation. His team is 3-0-2 in midweek MLS games this season, but 0-4-2 in weekend games immediately following those midweek affairs. If something changes, it’ll have to come from within this group, which includes a second straight start for Fabian Herbers. - It’s the third time this season that the Union’s set of three rookies all start, with Josh Yaro preferred to Ken Tribbett in central defense.

- No surprise that Ilsinho (foot) and Brian Carroll (foot) remain out. Curtin said Friday they’re on pace for a return next weekend in Chicago.

- SKC gets a little relief from its defensive injury backlog with Ike Opara back in central defense. That allows Graham Zusi to move back into midfield to cover for Brad Davis, who misses out. The front six is first-choice for SKC, but they are very thin on the bench and have an exploitable backline that the Union have to attack from the start.

Sebastien Le Toux, seen against Orlando City Aug. 8,
notched his 50th career MLS assist Sunday. (AP)

Sebastien Le Toux’s longevity in MLS has one bothersome side effect: As he continues to collect accolades, people insist on asking him about them.

To be sure, the Frenchman isn’t concerned about where he stands with regard to history. Those facts and figures don’t impact his daily routines. But they are starting to stack up.

In Sunday’s 2-0 win over Houston, Le Toux added another to the mix: Membership in MLS’ 50 goal-50 assist club.

Le Toux’s reaction was predictable, his customary mix of congeniality and polite dismissiveness.

“It’s a good thing,” he said. “I’m proud about it. It’s a great achievement for me personally. Like I said with everything I’m doing in my career, I’ll look at it probably after when I’m done playing and I can say I did this in my time in MLS. It’s great and I’m very happy.

“I know lots of you guys talked about it even before my 50th goal. Now it’s done so we can move on and talk about something else. It’s great. I just hope to continue to get goals and assists.”

Le Toux has bagged plenty of honors, including the distinction as the leading scorer in the modern era of the U.S. Open Cup. This latest addition to the CV is one of the most impressive.



Le Toux is the 16th player in MLS history with 50 goals and 50 assists in league play. He’s one of only two active players in the group, joining Houston’s Brad Davis, who was on the field when Le Toux slipped a pass into Tranquillo Barnetta in the third minute Sunday for the Swiss midfielder to score his first MLS goal.

Here’s the full list:

Ronald Cerritos 71-57
Marc Chung 61-76
Jeff Cunningham 134-70
Brad Davis 54-120
Dwayne De Rosario 104-77
Landon Donovan 144-136
Chris Henderson 51-80
Cobi Jones 70-91
Jason Kreis 108-74
Sebastien Le Toux 50-52
Clint Mathis 61-52
Brian McBride 80-52
Jaime Moreno 133-102
Preki 79-112
Steve Ralston 76-135
Ante Razov 114-66
Read more »

UNION (4-2-3-1)

M’Bolhi

Gaddis-Valdes-White-Williams

Nogueira-Edu

Wenger-Maidana-Le Toux

Casey

Bench: MacMath, Okugo, Fabinho, Fred, Cruz, Carroll, Ribeiro.

Houston Dynamo (4-4-2)

Deric

Beasley-Horst-Cochran-Sarkodie

Davis-Garrido-Clark-Driver

Barnes-Cummings

Bench: Lisch, Brunner, Arena, Johnson, Ownby, Carrasco, Lopez.

Preview

-  With the Union returning to MLS play, Rais M’Bolhi is restored to his starting place between the posts. The consensus from within the organization is that Zac MacMath’s work to advance the Union to the U.S. Open Cup final earned him the start last Tuesday against Seattle, but M’Bolhi is back to the No. 1 status. It’s his second start in a Union jersey.

- The Union make no changes in the field from the side that logged 120 minutes at the midweek. That’s an interesting decision. We’ll see how long until fresh legs are summoned on in this one, whether it’s Danny Cruz, Pedro Ribeiro or Amobi Okugo.
- In shape and in personnel, it’s largely the same starting XI that the Union have gone with regularly of late. The defense is untouched, as is the front four. It’s imperative that the Union get a goal early and prevent the Dynamo from sitting in and counterattacking.

- Injuries have taken a toll on the Dynamo this season, and that’s why they’re in position to miss the playoffs for just the second time in nine years, a remarkable run of consistency. Missing tonight is forward Will Bruin (foot), midfielder Oscar Boniek Garcia (concussion) and defenders Corey Ashe (knee) and Jermaine Taylor (concussion). That’s in addition to the long-term injury absence of goalkeeper Tally Hall (ACL tear). It’s an injury-riddled side that the Union can and must exploit.

- Given the absences, this isn’t your typical Dynamo side. Yes, they’ll still be dangerous on set pieces as long as the aerial ability of Ricardo Clark and the deadly left foot of Brad Davis are out there. But with the speed of Omar Cummings and Giles Barnes (and absent the hold-up play of a traditional No. 9 like Bruin), expect the Dynamo to try to hit the Union on the counterattack more, though I'd question the Dynamo's ability to sit in for 90 scoreless minutes.

Philadelphia Union (4-1-2-3)

MacMath

Gaddis-Okugo-Wheeler-Williams

Carroll

Edu-Nogueira

Maidana-Casey-Wenger

Bench: Blake, Le Toux, Lahoud, Hoppenot, Berry, Fabinho, Fernandes.

Houston Dynamo (4-4-2)

Hall

Sarkodie-Taylor-Horst-Ashe 

Driver-Clark-Garcia-Cascio 

Bruin-Barnes

Bench: Deril, Cochran, Lopez, Carrasco, Creavale, Sherrod, Cummings. 

- The thought midweek was that there was a plan in place with John Hackworth’s starting XI against New York to rotate the squad. He followed through on that with a handful of changes, including the reintroduction of Conor Casey, Brian Carroll and Sheanon Williams after rests.

- The chemistry in the center of defense will be a key today for the Union. The position next to Amobi Okugo has been rotated often this young season, and the relationship between he and Austin Berry, and he and Aaron Wheeler has been underwhelming. With Wheeler back in the fold today (an interesting commentary on Berry’s place), they will have to be much better against an experienced strike tandem like Will Bruin and Giles Barnes, which can break you down a number of ways.

- Sebastien Le Toux gets a day off, which could be beneficial for him long-term, as he hasn’t exactly wowed of late. Le Toux’s absence on corners, where his delivery is occasionally sub-par, will be helpful, especially with Vincent Nogueira or Cristian Maidana taking over.

- At some point after his acquisition, you had to think you’d see Andrew Wenger as a wide forward in a 4-3-3.

- Both goals against New York came from untenably large pockets of space in front of the back four. The Union can ill-afford to replicate those mistakes today, especially with Oscar Boniek Garcia slotted into the center of midfield with Brad Davis out. That eases the burden on the fullbacks – though Tony Cascio can be a handful – but raises the onus on players in the center of the pitch.

- The battle today could very well be won in the middle of the pitch. The Union possess a manpower advantage there, with Carroll, Maurice Edu and Vincent Nogueira patrolling the area against Ricardo Clark and Garcia. However it happens, the Union’s personnel needs to have a better push forward and be more responsible tracking back if they want to end their winless ways.

Philadelphia Union (4-4-2)

MacMath

Gaddis-Parke-Okugo-Williams

Fabinho-Carroll-Daniel-Cruz

Le Toux-Casey

Bench: Nikolov, Lahoud, Torres, Farfan, Wheeler, Hoppenot.

Houston Dynamo (4-4-2)

Hall

Crevalle-Boswell-Taylor-Sarkodie

Johnson-Clark-Barnes-Davis

Bruin-Weaver

Bench: Marscheider, Ching, Cummings, Chabala, Lopez, Ownby, Carrasco. 

 - John Hackworth promised changes, and he’s delivered. Sort of. A beleaguered midfield gets a boost on the wings with Fabinho, who had deputized for the suspended Amobi Okugo in defense, coming in to presumably play on the left with Danny Cruz going to the right. Sebastien Le Toux moves up top to pair Conor Casey at his more natural striker position, while Jack McInerney heads to the bench.

- What isn’t changed, however, is the Union’s predictability in attack. With Keon Daniel in the center, there’s still an attacking stagnancy there, and the onus will be on Fabinho and Cruz to provide crosses to the two, 6-foot target met. Creative.

- But the Union may have a change of pace available on the bench in Roger Torres, who’s been limited to just 37 minutes in three MLS appearances this season. That breakthrough comes at the expense of Kleberson, who is not included in the 18-man roster today.

- Houston will have the services of newly-acquired Servando Carrasco, picked up from Seattle in exchange for Adam Moffat Friday, on the bench. Will Bruin and Cam Weaver start up top with Giles Barnes and Brad Davis doing the majority of the creating in midfield thanks to Oscar Boniek Garcia’s suspension.

- Let’s not mince words here: Both teams are winless in their last four. A win by either side puts the other team into full tailspin mode. The Union could put five points between them and the Dynamo tonight with a win. This is a game playoff teams must win.