UNION (4-2-3-1)

McCarthy

Williams-Edu-White-Gaddis

Pfeffer-Lahoud

Ayuk-Maidana-Wenger

Aristeguieta

Bench: Blake, Marquez, Fabinho, Fred, McLaughlin, Casey, Le Toux

Toronto FC (4-4-2)

Konopka

Morgan-Hagglund-Perquis-Morros

Jackson-Cheyrou-Bradley-Findley

Giovinco-Altidore

Bench: Roberts, Creavalle, Zavaleta, Lovitz, Warner, Moore, Osorio

Preview  

- Whatever Jim Curtin’s plan was this week was likely scrapped Friday with news that CJ Sapong would be suspended indefinitely after a DUI arrest that requires entering MLS’ Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health (SABH) program. Curtin had tipped him to be an option on the win, but instead, the struggling Andrew Wenger will have to struggle through their issues on the field instead of on the bench.

- One absence was expected, the other a later fitness test. But the Union will be without two components of the team’s spine in Vincent Nogueira (ankle) and Steven Vitoria (groin). That leaves Ethan White to return to central defense while Zach Pfeffer pairs Michael Lahoud in midfield. Against Michael Bradley, Jozy Altidore and Sebastian Giovinco, that’s a tall, tall task for the Union.

- As anticipated, Chris Konopka gets the nod in the goal for TFC, his first appearance since 2012 … with the Union … against TFC. More on that here. The Union, meanwhile, go with John McCarthy for a fifth straight game. He’s given up eight goals in his first four starts.

- On the bright side, the Union are 6-2-4 all-time vs. Toronto, their last loss coming in May 2012, that game Konopka started. On the downside, they are beat up and in desperate need of a result, and desperation rarely breeds success in PPL Park.

- In addition to Toronto’s Big 3, Greg Vanney goes attacking with Robbie Findley as a winger in the 4-4-2. Union got torn up on the wings last week in Columbus, and even with Sheanon Williams back in the side, Vanney sees an exploitable battle.

There is goalkeeping news surrounding the Philadelphia Union’s meeting with Toronto FC, and for once, it’s not involving the Union.

While there’s a little intrigue in Philly – Jim Curtin said Wednesday that he’s leaning toward John McCarthy as the starter for a fifth straight game as Andre Blake continues his recovery from knee surgery – it’s the visitors to PPL Park that will have a goalie change, which involves a familiar face.

Toronto manager Greg Vanney said this week that if starter Joe Bendik, who is suffering from a plantar fascia strain in his foot, can’t go, Chris Konopka would be the starter.

Vanney: "Joe Bendik is questionable due to a foot injury. Chris Konopka would start if Joe can't go." #TFCLive

— Toronto FC (@torontofc) April 30, 2015

Well, Bendik is listed as out on MLS’ injury report, and while a post on TFC’s site has him officially questionable, the team’s probable lineup features Konopka in goal.

If Konopka gets the nod, it’ll be his second MLS appearance in his sixth MLS season. The 2007 SuperDraft pick and native of Toms River, N.J., spent three seasons playing for Irish clubs Bohemians, Sporting Fingal and Waterford United.

Konopka’s last MLS appearance came with the Union May 26, 2012, the final MLS match in Peter Nowak’s reign, against … you guessed it, Toronto. That game, a 1-0 loss at BMO Field, was the first win for Toronto after nine straight losses to start a season that featured just five wins, one of the worst in MLS history. The goal was provided by ill-fated designated player Danny Koevermans, who called time on his career after a litany of injuries. It’s worth taking a look at the lineups, which included the unforgettable left-flank pairing of midfielder Kai Herdling and back Gabe Farfan. Who would’ve imagined Nowak was losing the plot?
Read more »

Philadelphia Union (4-1-3-2)

MacMath

Gaddis-Parke-Okugo-Williams

Carroll

Fabinho-Farfan-Cruz

Casey-McInerney

Bench: Nikolov, Kassel, Daniel, Kleberson, Le Toux, Hoppenot, Wheeler

Toronto FC (4-4-1-1)

Bendik

Bloom-Caldwell-Henry-Morgan

Rey-Russell-Hall-Convey

Osorio

Dike

Bench: Frei, Agbossoumonde, Elmer, Earnshaw, Bekker, Lambe, Wiedeman

- No real surprises for the Union today. Knowing the stakes and their need to take the game to Toronto, you’d expect them to deviate from the two holding midfielders they used successfully last week against Kansas City. Brian Carroll sits back in midfield by himself, but the attacking trio of Kansas City – Fabinho, Michael Farfan and Danny Cruz – is preserved. Jack McInerney comes in for Michael Lahoud to pair Conor Casey up top.
Read more »

The Philadelphia Union made a personnel move Friday, trading reserve goalkeeper Chris Konopka to Toronto FC for a third-round pick in next year’s MLS SuperDraft. Perhaps the most stirring revelation of the trade is that what the Union got in return actually existed.

First, there’s Konopka, the 28-year-old ’keeper who joined the Union in 2012 and for whom Toronto is his fourth MLS stop. He made just one league appearance in nearly two years with the Union, a 1-0 loss to none other than Toronto May 26, 2012. Three days later, Konopka shut out the Rochester Rhinos, 3-0, for the Union’s first ever win in the U.S. Open Cup.

Konopka served as the backup for the first 24 league matches of the 2013 season behind Zac MacMath, who’s played every MLS minute and leads the league in shutouts. A knee injury kept Konopka out of the matchday 18 since Aug. 17, and he has been supplanted by veteran summer signing Oka Nikolov. 

Konopka, who was recently named one of the Philadelphia Daily News' Sexy Singles, was a bit of a fan favorite as backup goalies tend to be. He tweeted Friday morning:

I'd like to thank everyone at the @PhilaUnion for all the support over the past 2 yrs! Ill always look forward to coming back! #PhillyLove
— Chris Konopka (@ChrisKonopka414) September 13, 2013

As for the SuperDraft, which will be held in Philadelphia in 2014, the format has apparently changed. Instead of two rounds with a four-round supplemental draft, the latter has been eschewed for just a four-round SuperDraft this season, a fact that MLS never directly announced (there's even still info on the MLS site touting the supplemental draft).

However many rounds the league finally decides the draft will entail, the Union will be armed with an a bevy of picks. In addition to their four allotted picks, the Union have Chivas’ first pick thanks to the Gabriel Farfan trade, Chicago’s second-rounder in exchange for Bakary Soumare and a conditional pick acquired from Los Angeles in return for Chandler Hoffman.

The Supplemental Draft has been pretty friendly to the Union, as they've managed to extract the likes of Antoine Hoppenot in 2012 and Leo Fernandes in the final round of 2013. (Konopka, it should be noted, was picked in the third round of the 2007 Supplemental Draft by Kansas City.)

The league has jockeyed back and forth with the Supplemental Draft, twice dropping it then reinstating it, the last time being in 2011 after a two-year hiatus. Among the players to come through the Supplemental Draft process through the years: Adam Jahn (2013); Aaron Schoenfeld, Greg Klazura, Brian Rowe and Andy Rose (2012); Ryan Richter (2011); Chris Tierney (2008); Steve Purdy, Kosuke Kimura and Daniel Woolard (2007); Jordan Harvey, Andy Gruenebaum and Daniel Paladini (2006).

Philadelphia Union (4-4-2)

MacMath

Fabinho-Parke-Okugo-Williams

Le Toux-Carroll-Daniel-Cruz

McInerney-Casey

Bench: Nikolov, Farfan, Hoppenot, Fernandes, Lahoud, Kleberson, Wheeler

New York Red Bulls (4-4-2)

Robles

Sekagya-Olave-Holgersson-Miller

Alexander-McCarty-Cahill-Steel

Espindola-Henry

Bench: Meara, Sam, Lade, Barklage, Luyindula, Maizga, Obekop

- The thinking once was that the Red Bulls went as did Thierry Henry this season. There's an addendum to that: The Red Bulls are a different team when Henry and Fabian Espindola start. They've started together 16 times this season, and the Red Bulls are 8-4-4 in those games. If you exclude early-season stumbles, they are 8-2-2 in the the last 12 games in which both have started, including a recent 4-1-1 stretch interrupted last week in Columbus when Henry didn't travel. Their working relationship and able to create chances and goal from nothing will severely test Amobi Okugo and Jeff Parke in a way Peguy Luyindula simply couldn't in two starts against the Union this season.

- It's unfair to think of Roy Miller as the liability he has been in the past (though that could service at any time). But it'll be interesting to see how the Union attack the Costa Rican left back. Do they put Danny Cruz up the attacking right? Or do they break up the burgeoning chemistry between Sebastien Le Toux and Fabinho, making his second straight start at left back? I'd expect Cruz to take on the job.

- Still no Kleberson. That samba beat sounds more ghostly by the day. We'll see if Keon Daniel learns from the errors John Hackworth admitted he made last week.

- Interesting that Oka Nikolov makes his first MLS gameday roster in favor of Chris Konopka.

(Greg Carroccio / Philadelphia Union)

The Union pulled off something that, outside of their locker room, not too many people would've predicted.

How about a 4-0 victory over Sporting Kansas City ... to snap a seven-game winless streak ... for a team that, entering the night, had scored only eight goals all season?

"This was big, wasn't it?" rookie Antoine Hoppenot asked, rhetorically.

Yeah, it kinda was. The Union had been written off this season, left for dead after an abysmal start to the season was part of the reason Peter Nowak got canned. So to break out with four goals against the Eastern Conference's second-place team, against a goalkeeper (Jimmy Neilsen) many had penciled in as a favorite to start the MLS All-Star Game, this one was out of left field.

Is 'stunning' the right word? If you ask Freddy Adu, it is.

"It is. With our team, we haven't had a lot success this season," Adu said. "This game was huge for us. This was very important for us."

Here's a quick rundown of the accomplishments from Saturday night's win: John Hackworth picked up his first victory as manager, Hoppenot scored his first career goal in MLS, Jack McInerney (who had a brace) scored his first goals in 322 days, and Zac MacMath posted his fourth shutout.

That's a lot to happen in one night.

“Everybody brought it today," Adu said.

And that's what it might take for the Union to dig out of their hole in the East.

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A few notes and quotes from the locker room:

• Roger Torres, who was set to sub on in the 90th minute, never got his chance. He had to go back to the bench because he had forgotten his shin guards. "I would've been in trouble," he said.
• Zac MacMath, who took a knock to the head in the 89th, said he's OK. Having missed action with concussions this season, and playing without a helmet, MacMath drew widespread concern. "He hit me in the back of the head a little bit," MacMath said. "I'm not sure if he meant to do it or not, but just a little knock. Nothing serious."
• Ray Gaddis is a fan of bowties. He was rocking the unique look while fielding interviews from his locker. “Back home, if you don't have a good suit, that's bad. It's expected of you," the rookie right back said. "It's an expectation of your mom, too. I come from a church-going family, so I'm used to wearing suits and getting it all together. Chris (Konopka) has his variety of bowties, so it's always good to see what he brings to the table.”
• John Hackworth broke some news in the postgame presser. Here's the lowdown: "First announcement is I heard that if we score more than three goals, Great Clips is going to give free haircuts to everybody at PPL tonight," Hackworth said. "I guess we all get free haircuts." Better get in line: 18,207 attended the match.
• Peter Vermes is a man of few words. "They deserve the three points," the SKC coach said. "We didn't play well and they did." And that was the extent of his press conference.

 

There was a moment, in the final minutes of the first half, when Union goalkeeper Chris Konopka was caught in the middle.

(Times/COLIN KERRIGAN)

Unsure whether to retreat to defend the goal line, or whether to race toward the ball and retrieve it from a troublesome spot in the box, Konopka hesitated. And then Amobi Okugo, sliding six feet away from the endline, swung his right leg at the bouncing ball and booted it upfield.

The clearance looked all too easy. It almost looked as though Okugo has been playing centerback for years. He played it Tuesday night for the first time this season.

"I've been keeping sharp with fitness," said Okugo, who helped the Union post a cleansheet in a 3-0 win over the Rochester Rhinos, in a third-round U.S. Open Cup match. "I played centerback before, so it's nothing new. I played there with the (U-20s) and a little bit with the 23s. It's comfortable. You get to see the field a little more and I have a little more time on the ball."

The Union were in a bind. Captain and centerback Carlos Valdes missed the game with a red-card suspension carried over from last year's Open Cup, defender Porfirio Lopez and defensive midfielder Gabriel Gomez were out on national-team duty and defender Chris Albright can't seem to get healthy. Having traded Danny Califf earlier this month, those scenarios left the Union particularly thin on the backline.

That's where Okugo came into the equation. Sure, he played a little out of position -- beside Sheanon Williams at centerback -- but so did midfielders-turned-defenders Michael Farfan and Gabriel Farfan. Though Okugo is a little undersize for that spot on the pitch, he played well enough to help third-string goalkeeper Konopka post a cleansheet ... and help the Union win an Open Cup game for the first time in franchise history.

"We didn’t always defend as well as we wanted to at times, but we got a shutout and to have Amobi back there as a centerback, I thought he did a great job," said Union assistant coach John Hackworth.

There were plenty to reasons to worry about the Union's odds Saturday night. The most-daunting one was standing between the posts, looking like a HI-LITER.

Chase Harrison had never started an MLS game. Heck, he had never even appeared in one. So getting the start Saturday in place of injured goalkeeper Zac MacMath meant the Union would have to step up big in front of the 28-year-old Harrison.

They didn't, but that didn't matter.

Harrison played well -- far better than the two saves spotted him by the official MLS stat sheet -- and he and the Union earned a 1-1 draw against FC Dallas.

Here's one way to look at the tie: It could have gone a lot worse. Sure, Harrison took some bumps and lumps in the match -- including an uncalled-for, stoppage-time barreling into by Andrew Jacobson. (Somehow, Jacobson didn't earn a booking, but Harrison got one for delay of game. But that's neither here nor there.)

It had to have been a cause for concern for Union boss Peter Nowak when he found out MacMath, who took a knock in training Wednesday and sustained more of those troublesome concussion-like symptoms, wasn't going to make the trip to Dallas. Then, to have to turn to Harrison -- a total newbie to MLS -- made matters worse. Harrison's kicked around the MLS reserve goalkeeper pool, in cases of emergency, but he's never made a match.

That's what made his showing Saturday so impressive.

“He was very courageous on a couple of corner kicks and crosses and the free kicks from the sides," Nowak said of Harrison. "As you can see right now, he took some hits.  Some hits on the head and some on the ankle. So listen, you always keep everyone fresh and everyone on their toes because you never know what is going to happen."

Nowak ranted all offseason about how unnecessary it would be to seek out and sign a veteran 'keeper, instead of relying on Harrison and third-stringer Chris Konopka. Harrison's performance could have made Nowak eat his words, especially because Nowak clearly wasn't counting on MacMath getting clipped so soon in the soon.

But Harrison showed up Saturday, earned his paycheck and shouldered the weight of a club that looked in-flux on the backline after trading its captain and centerback this week. For that, Harrison deserved more than a draw against Dallas.

Union goalkeeper Zac MacMath has been upgraded from 'out' in Tuesday's injury report to 'probable' today, per a Tweet from the club.

MLS had not updated its injury report as of 6 p.m. MacMath has been suffering from concussion-like symptoms since a collision with Seattle's David Estrada in the first half of last weekend's loss to the Sounders. The second-year pro did not suit up for Wednesday's friendly vs. Schalke 04.

Times staff photo / JULIA WILKINSON

Though this seems like positive news, here's why MacMath should not play Sunday against visiting New York:

1. Concussions are far more severe than any other injury.
If MacMath Tuesday was suffering from symptoms related to a concussion, chances are it hasn't gone away in three days. And since MacMath has been the Union's best player this season -- by far -- the club will need him to be at the top of his game as the season progresses. An aggravated concussion leads to light and noise sensitivities, as well as headaches ... and that's only in the short term. The Union would be best served sitting MacMath.

2. Heightened sensitivities to concussions nationwide.
They are more than a buzzword or the hot topic of sports. Concussions are a serious epidemic, serious enough that the Union and PPL Park are promoting Sunday's match as Concussion Awareness Day. Taylor Twellman, an MLS all-star whose career was cut short by concussions, is an advocate for the awareness of the ailment. A former Union broadcaster, he'll be on hand with an ESPN team for the game. It would seem to undercut the message of the event should MacMath suit up.

So while Sunday is a big game against a big rival, it might be in everyone's best interests that MacMath take the day off and allow either of his backups -- Chase Harrison or Chris Konopka -- to get the start.

Courtesy: Getty Images

Wednesday night, in a game looking like it was pointed toward a draw, the Union had an 18-year-old lining up to take free kicks and corners.

Granted, Wednesday's game was a friendly, thus ensuring there was less at stake than a league match. But Cristhian Hernandez was the man called upon by Union assistant John Hackworth.

Hernandez didn't deliver the game-winning goal, or the helper that led to it, though his effort in a 2-1 win over FC Schalke 04 provided a glimpse into how the Union technical staff view the future career trajectory of the 5-11 forward.

“Ever since I was young, I was the guy behind the ball," Hernandez told me the other day. "I got used to having the pressure of delivering a nice ball. From that pressure, I got the confidence of Coach Peter (Nowak) and going out there tonight having corners and free kicks. Having no other guy responsible to take it, I was willing to step up to the challenge."

The franchise's second Homegrown Player, and a mere 17-year-old when he netted the game-winner against EPL side Everton FC, Hernandez has gotten 26 minutes -- largely garbage time -- in two home losses. So, at the very least, the PPL Park fans have gotten a glimpse at him.

He said he's confident in the future the Union have promised him, in giving him a pro contract last offseason, even if he wishes he'd play more. Until then, it'll be games like Wednesday's that motivate him.

“It's difficult because, going out there is a whole different level," Hernandez said. "Everyone's a lot faster and a lot stronger. It's all about confidence. And I have it right now."

# # # # #

As of 5 p.m. Friday, MLS had yet to update its injury report.

That left the status of Union goalkeeper Zac MacMath up in the air. MacMath was listed in Tuesday's report as 'OUT' with concussion-like symptoms, after taking a knee/shin to the back of the head in the first half of last weekend's loss at Seattle.

Backups Chase Harrison, 28, and Chris Konopka, 27, played well in the friendly, but have combined for one appearance (Konopka's start last season with New York) in their MLS careers.

The Union scored first, endured an equalizer and buried an 88th-minute goal to defeat Schalke 04, 2-1, Wednesday night in a friendly at PPL Park.

Here are two storylines worth looking into from tonight's game:

1. Carlos Valdes played 90 minutes.
With defensive depth lacking, as Danny Califf and Chris Albright were missing in action per Peter Nowak's doing, someone was going to have to bite the bullet and play 90 minutes. That ended up being centerback Carlos Valdes, who never left the pitch.

That's what Union assistant John Hackworth told reporters afterward.

“The reason was, we only had a limited number of substitutions, so we knew we had to have a couple guys go the full distance for us," Hackworth said. "We wouldn't have done it unless he was (up for it). Carlos is a true professional. He told Peter yesterday, 'I feel fine, I'm fully recovered from Seattle so no problems.'”

Still, why risk injury to one of your finest players in a meaningless game?
 

2. Chris Konopka has a sense of humor.
The Union's third-string goalkeeper, Chris Konopka doesn't get interview requests all too often. So when he was asked to speak following their win over Schalke, Konopka opened up.

He tied his tie while giving an interview, then teased rookie teammate Jimmy McLaughlin for being unable to do the same. Konopka told reporters McLaughlin, his roommate, often leaves the PPL Park locker room before the game ends "to go home and do his tie in the mirror, because he can't do it."

Then, Konopka explained who from the Union inspired him against Schalke. Read this:

“Yesterday in training, literally the first five minutes of a short-sided game, I let a ball go in and (Zach) Pfeffer scored on me," Konopka said. "I basically curled up into a ball. I made myself small. The first thing I had to get into my head was to keep myself big. I'm a big guy – 6-foot-5. The more I make myself big, the less they have to shoot at the goal."

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A couple odds-and-ends notes from the game:

• Danny Mwanga might have a future as a broadcaster. He eavesdropped on interviews with Konopka and Chase Harrison, sticking his iPhone over reporters' shoulders and up to the goalkeepers' mouths. 
• Game-winning goal-scorer Chandler Hoffman swapped jerseys with Schalke's Jermaine Jones, of the United States national team, in the moments after the match. 
• Though it hit the crossbar, Harrison had Schalke's PK sniffed out from the start. Harrison said Kai Herdling, a German who's quite familiar with Schalke's Lewis Holtby's tendencies, told him Holtby goes "down the middle" on penalty kicks. Trouble averted. 
• PPL Park security wouldn't allow Pfeffer -- by this time, wearing a button-down and a blazer -- into the mix zone area afterward...at least not until Pfeffer pleaded with the guard, saying, "But I'm a player." The guard took Pfeffer at his word, and let him in.
• The "official attendance" released by Union officials was 7,464. Sorry, but there's no way 7K were at PPL Park. Don't buy it.