Friday, D.C. United travel to the City of Brotherly Love to face the Philadelphia Union at 7:00 PM. After several weeks plagued with injuries and illness, the Black-and-Red defeated longtime rival New York Red Bulls 2-0 in front of 19,000-plus at RFK Stadium on Friday, May 13. Both Nick DeLeon and Patrick Nyarko are now back to their best after each were forced to miss time following illness; the latter provided an assist to Álvaro Saborío’s goal in addition to later scoring his own, while the former led the team with a 96 percent passing accuracy. Stringing together wins now is the priority, according to Coach Ben Olsen. "We have to continue to push ourselves," he said. "Our challenge right now is putting together back-to-back wins. We need to step on the gas and take it up a notch."
Meanwhile, Fabián Espíndola, who missed several weeks with a hamstring injury, saw the field again last Friday, subbing on for Álvaro Saborío in the 88th minute and looking lively in his limited time on the pitch.
The Union have enjoyed a strong start to the season, currently sitting in third place in the Eastern Conference, a point behind the Montreal Impact and New York City FC (but with a game in hand). Philadelphia are undefeated in their last four matches, most recently recording a 1-1 draw last Saturday against the Impact.
2015 Union top scorer C.J. Sapong leads the team in points again this season, with five goals and an assist, while former United midfielder Chris Pontius has enjoyed a strong start to his career in Philadelphia, with four goals and one assist. On the defensive side, 2016 SuperDraft pick Keegan Rosenberry is establishing himself quickly, making the bench for the Week 11 MLS Team of the Week following a dynamic performance against Montreal. The Georgetown alum has played every minute in the regular season so far, and scored his first league goal last Wednesday in the Union’s 2-2 draw with the LA Galaxy. Still, United’s midfield will have a slight scouting advantage with their familiarity in Pontius’ play, while the offense will look to use experience to their advantage against Philadelphia’s talented but youthful back line.
United are 7-5-3 against Philadelphia all-time, most recently defeating Philly 3-2 at home last July.
Kickoff is set for 7:00 PM on UniMás.
