Thanks for joining us today and be sure to stay with VAVEL for coverage of the 2015 MLS season.
Full time. 0-0. Thats it from PPL Park.
Just missed.
Free kick for the Union.
Six minutes of added time.
90'- Union make another attempt, but misses.
89'- Colorado sub. Badji off, Brown on.
88'- Badji being strechered off for Colorado. And then gets up.
Paid attendance, 18,022.
85'- Union subs. Noguera off, Pfeffer on. LeToux off Casey on.
82'- The Union make a run up the middle but another missed shot.
80'- LeToux with a chance gets in close for a header but just misses.
74'- Yellow card for Serna.
70'- Colorado sub. Torres out, O'Neil in.
68'- Burling with his second yellow resulting in a red card.
67'- Noguiera goes down in the box, but no foul.
62- Colorado gets in close for a shot but misses just wide of the net.
61'- Williams tries from distance but blocked.
57'- A near miscue by Colorado nearly leads to a Union goal.
56' Colorado sub. Sanchez off, Powers on.
53'- Maidana shoots. Just missed.
50'- Throw in for the Union goes into the box but is swept away.
No shots on goal for Colorado.
Union with six shots on goal. Two on target.
Second half under way. Union sub. Out- Sapong. In- Maidana.
Half time- 0-0.
45'- 2 minutes added time.
44'- Yellow card to Sjorberg.
43'- Fernando brought down just outside the box. LeToux takes a shot at goal but its stopped.
40'- Colorado tries for goal, nothing doing. The Union counter and go the distance, but it's a goal kick.
39'- Sapong nearly drug to the ground. Free kick.
37'- Fernando gets fouled trying to move up the right hand side.
32'- Union threaten inside the box. Shot blocked.
29'- Corner for Colorado ends with the Union making a decent run, but was stopped by the defense.
27'- Both teams have had a fair amount of chances thus far.
25'- Vitoria issued a yellow card.
4'- Yellow Card to Burling.
21'- Shot by Wenger deflects off the crossbar.
18'- Free kick to Colorado. Ends in a goal kick.
16'- Union take a shot from deep. Nothing.
14'- Union starting to control the pace of the game.
10'- Union with the corner goes just over the crossbar.
8:00- Rapids with a nice cross into the box, and a nice save by M'Bolhi.
6:00- Union made a nice run down the left hand side. Wenger's shot blocked.
5:00 - Offside Rapids.
4:11 Both teams trying to get settled.
2:13 - Corner for the Union.
Rapids trying to make something happen already.
We're under way.
The National Anthem has been played and we're ready to start.
Teams are headed out of the tunnel.
Good afternoon, everyone and welcome to PPL Park for todays opening matchup between the Philadelphia Union and the Colorado Rapids. The teams are on the pitch for their pre game warm ups and we will be under way in 30 minutes.
The match starts in about 2 hours, so stick with us on the Live Philadelphia Union vs Colorado Rapids for full updates, as we are LIVE from PPL Park.
Rapids fans saw the departure of Marvell Wynne as an upgrade while the trading of Chris Klute to Columbus was seen as a huge loss. Neither player had a great year in 2014, but a defense that was marred by injuries forced both players into roles neither played well. Wynne was thrust into the center-back role due to injuries to Drew Moor, Shane O’Neill, and Jared Watts. Klute started the year injured and was forced to the right side when Moor, O’Neill, and Watts went down. Both players’ deficiencies bubbled to the surface, but Wynne’s salary was the main reason that fans were pleased to see him go. Colorado has added three veteran defenders, Bobby Burling, Michael Harrington, and James Riley, in hopes of improving their porous defense. With Moor still recovering form knee surgery, all three are likely to find starting spots on the back line right away. With Burling they get a talented veteran with height and presence that is going to give the center back position something they have missed since the days of Julien Baudet.
Once again the Colorado Rapids went through an offseason of modification. For the fourth year in a row the Rapids made big changes in hopes of bringing back the glory of winning the MLS Cup. Twice over those four years the team has introduced a new Head Coach and twice that coach's horrendous first year was followed by a massive overhaul of the roster. The first time Oscar Pareja was able to take that overhaul and finish the year with the most points in franchise history. Now, it is Pablo Mastroeni’s turn to attempt the same thing.
Now that the MLS Players Union and Major League Soccer have reached an agreement during the CBA talks in D.C., we can finally get down to the business of soccer. MLS will begin the 20th season this weekend and the Philadelphia Union will kick off season number six against the Colorado Rapids. The Union and their fans have a lot to look forward to this year considering last years attempts of making the playoffs was a near miss and nearly going the distance at the U.S. Open Cup. Head Coach Jim Curtin and company have a lot to prove as this will be his first full season at the helm. This is his team now and quite honestly, he may have a better than average shot at getting his side to the playoffs this year.
The Union have made some good moves during the off season starting with aquiring forward C.J. Sapong via a trade with Sporting K.C., defender Steven Vitoria -loaned from Benfica, and forward Fernando Aristeguieta -loaned from FC Nantes. The Union have also purchased the contract of Midfielder Maurice Edu from Stoke City following a season-long loan, and just recently, signed 2015 SuperDraft picks defender Raymond Lee, and Midfielder Ayuk Mbu.
Also announced this week from the team was the signing of Bosnian native forward Dzenan Catic -31st pick overall in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft and loaned fromer MLS rookie of the year defender Austin Berry to FC Anyang which is a second-division South-Korean side.
PPL Park has been quite a buzz over the last couple of days. With preparations for the match, the Union have been holding indoor training sessions at the University of Penn, and also at the Philadelphia Eagles practice facility. On Thursday, about 8 inches of snow fell throughought the entire Delaware Valley forcing PPL Park crews to work into the night to clear the snow for Staurday's home opener. It was reported that the Union recieved some help from the Eagles and brought on an additional work-force to help clear the snow away. It was also reported about $100,000.00 was spent for the snow removal. As of this evening, the snow has been cleared away and the Union appear ready to get underway Saturday. The weather forcast on match day calls for sunny skies and temperatures to top out around 40 degrees at kick-off.
The last meeting of these two sides ended in a 3-3 draw on July 12, 2014. As of Friday evening, Colorado had reported no injuries. The Philadelphia Union have but one injured player in GK Andre Blake -although he is not listed as a starter. One other note for Saturday's match, GK Zac MacMath will not play as per league rules any player cannot play against a team in which they were loaned from.
Saturday's matchup will be televised on 6 ABC (WPVI Philadelphia) and MLS LIVE. According to the Union website, there are still tickets available.
VAVEL is looking forward to covering the Philadelphia Union all season long with live updates from John Whitesall at PPL Park. Also don't forget to follow John on Twitter and MLS VAVEL.