Category: Sports
-
Eric Ayuk and the tale of Rainbow FC
(Published by The Philly Soccer Page on July 9, 2015) Eric Ayuk has taken a strange path to Major League Soccer, from his home in Cameroon to Thailand’s obscure lower divisions and finally to Philadelphia Union. On paper, the talented teenager’s arrival in America to play for Major League Soccer came via a small, lower division […]
-
Nick Sakiewicz, behind the curtain
(Published by The Philly Soccer Page on Feb. 5, 2014) Nick Sakiewicz isn’t going anywhere, and he wants you to know it. Philadelphia Union’s chief executive felt the heat from fans after the team’s offseason began very slowly. Now, with the Union brass having answered the critics with three big midfield signings and one of the league’s best drafts, […]
-
John Hackworth lays out his offseason plans
(Published by The Philly Soccer Page on Nov. 11, 2013) John Hackworth will be the first to admit the 2013 season didn’t end the way he wanted. But he understands the big picture. Ask him whether he should get congratulations on a good season or condolences on Philadelphia Union’s crash out of the playoff picture, […]
-
Danny Califf’s return to Philly: What went wrong?
(Published by The Philly Soccer Page on July 25, 2013) Two months ago, the pieces seemed to be coming together for Danny Califf’s return to Philadelphia Union as a player. Toronto FC had engaged the Union in trade talks and sought to send Califf to Philadelphia. Union manager John Hackworth wanted to reacquire his former captain, who […]
-
Mondragon leaves Union for Deportivo Cali
(Published in The Philly Soccer Page on Jan. 30, 2012.) Philadelphia Union and Faryd Mondragon confirmed Monday that the veteran goalkeeper will leave to sign with Colombian club Deportivo Cali. Mondragon, 40, will return to his hometown to play for the team he made his professional debut for more than 20 years ago. “For family […]
-
RIP, Shane Kelly
Shane Kelly seemed to know everyone. He had contacts everywhere in the Philadelphia soccer scene. He knew the people who ran those fields in the northeast just as he knew the guys in the southwest. Shane had a foot in so many sports teams and leagues in Philadelphia that I sometimes wondered how he had enough feet left to play soccer in the Casa Soccer League, where he was commissioner of the league’s top division. If you needed something done, he knew who to go to. He was like a walking, talking Rolodex of names, and every one of them seemed to like him. The fact that Shane is dead today seems so utterly wrong.
-
A look in the mirror
(Published in The Philly Soccer Page on Nov. 5, 2011.) Philadelphia Union did not play better than Houston in either of their two games. The Union trotted out yet another poor lineup, with the team’s leading scorer deployed at midfield where he never scores instead of forward where he always scores and a zone defense that confused its own players more than […]
-
The 280-mile season tickets
(Published in The Philly Soccer Page on Sept. 28, 2011.) I might have the longest drive to PPL Park of any Philadelphia Union season ticket holder. It’s about a 280-mile round trip from Alexandria, Va., to PPL Park in Chester. On the way, I drive past RFK Stadium, home of D.C. United, and three baseball […]
-
Devil’s advocate: Why not to play the kids
(Published on the Philly Soccer Page in Aug. 30, 2010.) So here’s why Philadelphia Union couldn’t play the young guys constantly this year: If you play them too much, you could lose them in the expansion draft. The Vancouver Whitecaps and Portland Timbers will each pick 10 players in the expansion draft this November. That’s 20 […]
-
Union come back to win 2-1
(Published on the Philly Soccer Page on Aug. 28, 2010.) The winless streak is over. Union midfielder Justin Mapp scored the winner in stoppage time and assisted on a Jack McInerney goal to lead Philadelphia Union to a 2-1 road victory over a 10-man New England Revolution team.
Daniel Walsh 