Ah. It's that time again! It seems like only yesterday that the 2014 MLS season ended, and yet here we are again, having patiently waited for the release of the 2015 Major League Soccer schedule. 2015 brings with it some major changes with the introduction of New York City FC and Orlando City to the Eastern Conference, with the Houston Dynamo and Sporting Kansas City shifting west. Many argue that the Eastern Conference is wide open and Philadelphia fans will hope it's their year to finally return to the playoffs. With that, here's a look at the Philadelphia Union's 2015 MLS schedule.
March:
Philadelphia kick off the 2015 season by welcoming second year manager Pablo Mastroeni and the Colorado Rapids. The match promises to be a potential goal-fest with the two sides' only meeting last season having end in a 3-3 draw at PPL Park. Philadelphia will hope to build on last season in which a late season collapse saw them miss out on the playoffs, despite a late summer surge under the now permanent manager Jim Curtin.
As for Colorado, the Rapids saw flashes of attacking brilliance between the young trio of Powers, Serna, and Brown but finished a dismal 8th place in the West largely due to having the worst defense in the league. Colorado will hope that the same is not the case in 2015 after having added veteran defenders Bobby Burling and Michael Harrington to the roster over the off-season as well as Union keeper Zac MacMath on a season-long loan.
The Colorado match is followed by a trip to Rio Tinto to face Real Salt Lake, normally a scary proposition but with RSL looking like they're going through a rebuilding year, the Union will hope they can pick up maximum points away from home.
The penultimate match of March for the Union sees them take on FC Dallas whom they lost to 2-1 in the regular season in Frisco, but beat on penalties to reach the US Open Cup Final following a 1-1 draw, also in Frisco. Philadelphia have the advantage of playing Dallas at home this season in the only league matchup between the two sides, but if Fabian Castillo carries last season's form into 2015, the Union could be in for a very rough night.
Finally, Philadelphia round out March with a trip to Toyota Park to take on the Chicago Fire. 2014 saw the Union draw Chicago in all three matches. The final of which, a 1-1 result at home following a late Chicago equalizer was one of that matches that slowly closed the door to the playoffs for the Union at the tail end of last season.
Chicago have strengthened all around with the additions of two strikers- David Accam and Kennedy Igboananike as Designated Players. As well as former Southampton midfielder Guly do Prado, and Michael Stephens, and defenders Eric Gehrig, Joevin Jones, and Adailton. However, with the early season problems that bringing in lots of new players can cause, the Union will be confident that they may still be able to get a result. Overall, March promises to be a reasonable month for Philadelphia.
April:
However, April looks to be very tough for the Union. An away trip to Sporting Kansas City, followed by a double header against MLS newcomers New York City FC, a home match against MLS Cup runners-up the New England Revolution, and finally an away trip to the Columbus Crew. While achieving two wins and a draw versus Sporting Kansas City last season, including a 2-1 at Sporting Park, the Union know how hard it is to get a result in Kansas City.
While making some major overhauls, Kansas City potentially look even stronger than they were last season. Philadelphia look to have offloaded last season's hero Brian Brown who scored his only two league goals against Kansas City after declining the option on his contract, where as another one of last season's goal scorer's- Pedro Ribeiro was picked up by Orlando City in the Expansion Draft. The Union will likely have to defend with gusto and play on the counter attack to get a result.
It remains to be seen just how good New York City will be this season, having amassed a group of MLS veterans, and coached by an MLS great in Jason Kreis. Despite this being their first season in the league, and not having Lampard for either of these matches, following the recent events of Lampardgate, New York certainly look like they could be early playoff contenders, and Philadelphia are win-less all time versus Jason Kreis in the league with an 0-2-4 record. However, expect the Union to give NYCFC a run for their money at PPL Park, but the reverse fixture at Yankee Stadium may prove to be a tougher task for Philadelphia.
2014 saw Philadelphia grabbing an early season victory at home to New England, as well as summer victories in the Open Cup and the league; however, the game that stands out to most Union fans is the 5-3 drubbing Philadelphia received at home in May, and fans will be hoping that history does not repeat itself in this regard.
Although remaining largely unchanged from last season, multiple reports state that New England have sold defensive stalwart AJ Soares to Hellas Verona, as well as having lost Patrick Mullins in the Expansion Draft. It's unclear as to whether New England have truly replaced either of these players so far in the off-season, but if that's the case there's no reason that Philadelphia can't manage a win at PPL Park.
The last match of April will have Philadelphia looking for revenge as they take on Columbus, the team who put the nail in the coffin of the Union's playoff hopes last season. Columbus look to have lost some defensive depth, having decline options on Ross Friedman and Matt Wiet as well as having traded Josh Williams, and seeing Eric Gehrig picked up in the expansion draft.
Last season's matches proved Columbus were at times vulnerable defensively, despite beating Philadelphia in all three league matches, and along with an increased defensive composure, the Union will look to expose Columbus' holes at the back. However, they must also make sure to shut down Federico Higuain who was at the heart of nearly everything for Columbus last season. The match may prove tricky, but if properly coached the Union can grab a victory.
May:
May could provide an opportunity for the Union to make up for the potential lost points of April and steal points from Eastern rivals with home matches against Toronto and DC sandwiched in between away trips to Vancouver and the New York Red Bulls, and finally the reverse fixture at DC United. All of whom, Vancouver aside, are Eastern conference playoff rivals for Philadelphia. Philadelphia managed back to back wins against Toronto during a period of turmoil following the dismissal of Ryan Nelsen last season.
Toronto have strengthened with the additions of Marco Delgado and Robbie Findley, but with transfer speculation buzzing, they could see the departure of star striker Jermain Defoe before the season begins and have already said goodbye to long time defender Doneil Henry. It remains to be seen which Toronto will show up this season, having started last season as one of the Eastern Conference favorites but ultimately crashing and burning to yet again miss the playoffs. Although nothing can be taken for granted in the crazy world that is professional soccer, Philadelphia should absolutely expect to win this match.
In five outings, the Union have only ever lost to Vancouver once, and although Vancouver have a good set of play-makers and young forwards, they relied on Pedro Morales a great deal last season. If the Union can quiet Morales, Vancouver become much less of an attacking threat. Despite an excellent season overall for David Ousted, the Vancouver keeper has been inconsistent in his time in Canada, so the Union should really look to get at him and force him to make some saves.
Philadelphia have a bit of an abysmal record against the Red Bulls at 3-6-2 but the good news for the Union is that frequent tormenter of Union defenses, Thierry Henry is no longer a Red Bull. Without the service of Henry, it's questionable whether Bradley Wright-Philips will manage to reach the heights of last season, and an already poor New York defense recently traded Jámison Olave to Real Salt Lake. This is an absolute must win, and can win for the Union.
DC's biggest downfall last season was their lack of depth. While excellent defensively, they were one dimensional going forward at times, and despite the addition of Andrew Driver, they've done very little to address either issue. Despite going winless last season versus United, the Union should be able to beat them this season. Both matches were hotly contested 1-0 games and a well-organized defense will keep the Union in any match against rivals DC.
June:
The summer months of June, July, and August last season saw Philadelphia go on a run of form in which they only lost two matches, and with a relatively favorable schedule, they'll hope to do the same this season. However, an already match heavy MLS schedule will be complicated by the presence of Lamar Hunt US Open Cup games, particularly if the Union make another run to the final. Squad depth may be key. At this time last season, Le Toux and Casey were in a fine vain of form, but with questions over whether Casey will resign with the team, the Union may have to find goals elsewhere.
June sees the Union take on Columbus and NYCFC at home followed by a trip to LA before returning home to take on Seattle and Montreal. As mentioned before, the Union will have to expose a leaky defense to get a result against Columbus with an even 3-3-0 record at home to Columbus in the league.
Last season the Union suffered a 4-1 loss at the hands of Donovan and co, following a goal drought and the news that the USMNT legend would not travel to Brazil for the World Cup. With Donovan gone, the Union have some respite before having to wrap their heads around dealing with the potential threat of Steven Gerrard, as well as LA captain Robbie Keane and strike partner Gyasi Zardes. Keane loves to run the channels, and Zardes often needs the proper service to score, meaning that if the Union remain compact in central midfield they have a good chance of closing down LA's attack.
Last season's heartbreaking loss to Seattle as well as a regular season loss in the rainy city will be on the minds of Union players as they travel to Seattle to seek revenge. However, a win in Seattle poses a significant task for the Union. Not only to the Sounders have an excellent home record, but their depth, and Obafemi Martins' pace and dribbling ability on the counter attack make them an opponent any team dreads playing.
It will likely prove a monumental task for the Union defense to shut down Seattle; however, if Obafemi Martins is man-marked by Maurice Edu, the Union can prevent him from linking up with Clint Dempsey and significantly reduce their chances of conceding goals.
Finally, Philadelphia close out June with a trip to Montreal. The Impact are an opponent that, particularly without the services of Marco Di Vaio, the Union should 100% win on paper. However, soccer isn't played on paper. In fact, despite a torrid defensive record last season, Montreal played some of their best soccer against the Union in 2014, with April's 1-0 victory for Montreal also being a particularly poor performance for the Union. Nonetheless, the Union should win this one.
July:
July's set of matches offer a period of rest for the Union as they only play three games the whole month. Philadelphia kick off July by welcoming Portland to PPL Park. The Union will look to break a win-less streak against the Timbers that stretches to Portland's introduction into the league. At times suspect at the back and led by the mercurial Diego Valeri, the Union should be able to get a result at home.
Next to their defensive frailties, Portland's biggest problem last season was not having a striker who scored consistently, with strikers Fanendo Adi, Gaston Fernandez, and Maximiliano Urruti only scoring goals in patches. The Union should in theory be able to take advantage of this.
Finally the other matches in July see the Union travel to familiar foes Toronto FC and DC United. Neither are necessarily the toughest to play, but the Union could be satisfied coming away with two draws. Overall, July could see the Union go undefeated.
August:
August has historically been a tough month for the Union, with just four wins for Philadelphia all time and a lack of depth could see them drop points at home versus New York. An away trip to Orlando and a reunion with former Union utility player Amobi Okugo could prove to be unpleasant as Orlando look to have built a strong squad from the offset.
Meanwhile the Union's home form versus Chicago (two wins out of a possible five) is less than exemplary, and they've also never won away at Montreal. Records however, were meant to be broken and a victory against Montreal could give them some much needed confidence in a tough month, particularly as their next match seeing them take on New England at home.
The Union will hope not to repeat the performance that saw the defense collapse as they fell to the Revolution 5-3 at home and despite it being well known that Lee Nguyen is the heart of that New England team, stopping him is easier said than done.
September:
If the Union are fortunate they'll have wrapped up a playoff spot by September, but seeing as that's unlikely they're posed with an interesting set of games in the penultimate month of the season. An away trip to San Jose, and a home game versus Houston mean that September is the only month in which Philadelphia play more than one Western Conference opponent all season. Philadelphia doesn't have the best of records versus San Jose, and with the Earthquakes bring in plenty of MLS experience in the off-season, expect it to get even worse.
For the second time in two seasons, Philadelphia have what may turn out to be another must win game late in the season versus Columbus after having lost twice in a fifteen day span against the Crew last season, and three times overall. The Union have clearly struggled against Columbus in recent history and could do so again if they're not careful.
Following the Columbus match, Philadelphia take on a Houston side that despite poor play, managed a win and a draw versus Philadelphia last season. The Union players were visibly exhausted after having gone to penalties against FC Dallas in the Open Cup just three days earlier and played one of their worst games of the season. While failing to capitalize on a then league-worst Houston defense, expect the Union not to make the same mistake this season.
The Union finish September with a trip to Gillette Stadium to take on a New England side whose September consists of only Eastern Conference opponents, if Philadelphia are still in a position to make the playoffs by September, a victory versus New England or results for New England versus fellow Eastern Conference playoff rivals could mean that the Union may have to rely on other games going their way in order to qualify for the playoffs.
October:
Finally, October could prove to be a crucial month for the Union as they tackle three Eastern Conference opponents who will likely expect to be fighting for a playoff spot like Philadelphia, potentially the final spot in the East. The Union close out the series with Toronto as they travel to BMO Field, followed by a trip to Red Bull Arena to take on New York, and finally they close out the season against newcomers Orlando City at home.
The Union are 2-2-2 at Toronto but also managed their all-time highest goal tally with a victory in 2011 and will hope for a repeat performance despite a much improve Toronto side following the acquisitions of Michael Bradley, Jermaine Defoe, and Gilberto.
If we can learn anything from history, it's that games against the Red Bulls are generally high-scoring, passionate affairs, and Union fans will hope for a repeat performance from Andrew Wenger, whose introduction as a left side forward/ proved very successful in the 3-1 victory in July. It remains to be seen where the Union will stand following the final whistle of the last regular season match versus Orlando, but the players and fans alike will be hoping it's only the beginning.
Conclusion:
Provided that the Union can pick up a couple of depth players at right back, central midfield, and striker they should be able to make a playoff run. Double headers versus Eastern conference opposition such as DC United and New York City FC could potentially make or break their season, and the Union's form in May could be absolutely crucial to the outcome of the rest of their season, or they may be left in a similar situation as they were last October.
No one game is a certain victory, particularly with expansion sides New York and Orlando looking the strongest teams to enter the league since Seattle. While the majority of games will likely be hotly contested in a Eastern Conference that's been blown open by the transfers of Houston and Kansas City to the West, there are a handful of games that Union should certainly expect to win and with a relatively solid home record on their side, the Union will hope to cause a couple of upsets in front of the fans at PPL Park and make the stadium a fortress.