Much of the talk surrounding the Union has been about the turnaround the team has shown since a return to league action following a reset courtesy of the FIFA World Cup. It was a seven-week break that found a team searching for answers as how a season that had so much promise found them with just one win after 15 matches in Major League Soccer.
On Saturday, the Union will embark on Matchday No. 27 when they host Orlando City inside Subaru Park (7 p.m., Apple TV). A win would set a franchise record of 12 matches unbeaten in Major League Soccer, and they would do it under an interim coach and with a roster missing a sizable chunk of its nucleus, courtesy of the first FIFA international window since the World Cup.
The club’s second-half surge has them squarely in the driver’s seat to earn a trip to the MLS Cup playoffs, with seven games remaining before brackets and seeds are set. However, what’s rarely examined over the course of the last 11 matches are the numbers that have the Union surging up MLS’ Eastern Conference and the metrics that make this team once again a contender, instead of an afterthought.
Here are a few of those figures that stand out.
3
The number of head coaching roles within the Union by current interim head coach Ryan Richter. In addition to once being the director of the Union’s Junior Academy, Richter, 37, was also head coach of the club’s developmental team, Union II, before taking over as interim head coach of the senior team in May.
8
The number of wins and draws the Union has amassed in 23 league meetings against Orlando City. They’ll be looking to avenge a 4-3 loss to the Lions in a nailbiter inside Inter & Co. Stadium on May 13. It was a game in which Cavan Sullivan scored his first MLS goal, but a last minute clincher from Orlando would see the Union drop their second straight match in May.
Eight is also the number of goals by a player with the last name “Sullivan” on the roster. Cavan Sullivan has scored seven goals, including six in the Union’s last six matches while his older brother Quinn has one since returning from a season-ending ACL tear last season.
12
The number of goals the Union have allowed since their second half return in MLS play. By comparison, during their slump before the World Cup break, the Union had allowed 30 goals to get past their net. Nestled within that are four shutouts, including a pair of 5-0 outbursts against FC Cincinnati (Sept. 9), and four days later on the road against San Diego FC.
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16
Union captain Alejandro Bedoya’s appearances this season. Bedoya, 39, might be considered the elder statesman on the roster, but his work rate, particularly when he enters in the second half of matches, has been a key contributor to the team’s second-half surge. He owns a 65% accurate passer rating and has three assists in league play. However, Richter and several players on the squad suggest the leadership Bedoya brings is the real talent of this chapter of his 11-year career in Philadelphia.
18
The average age of the three Union players who were called into the senior U.S. men’s national team ahead of four matches for the Americans during the FIFA window. Defenders Frankie Westfield (20) and Neil Pierre (18) and midfielder Cavan Sullivan (16) make up the trio who, along with midfielder Danley Jean Jacques (26, Haiti), and goalkeeper Andre Blake (35, Jamaica), will miss time with the team due to international duty.
29
The number of points the Union amassed in this second half of the season. The club limped into the break with a 1-10-4 (seven points) record. Since the break, the Union are 9-0-2 in MLS play. n w
30
The number of MLS goals the Union has scored since the restart of the season. In total, the club has scored 50 goals in league play this season, meaning that 60% have come since July 22 when the Union took home a 3-1 win against Red Bull New York at home.
2,321
The number of minutes played by defender Nathan Harriel, who is the only player to have started every league match for the team this season. Harriel, who has been a bona fide presence at outside back, ranks third in MLS for the most minutes by a player who isn’t a goalkeeper.
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