Setting: Saturday, May 26 at BMO Field in Toronto, ON; kickoff scheduled for 4:36:30 PM Eastern

Broadcast Information: The Comcast Network (Rob Weingarten, Bob Rigby), with coverage beginning at 4:00 PM Eastern with a pre-game show / Sportsnet ONE (Dan Dunleavy, Craig Forrest) and TSN Radio 1050 (Gareth Wheeler, Alf De Blasis) in Toronto / MLS Live, Direct Kick (Sportsnet ONE feed)

Toronto's Record: 0-9-0, 0 points (10th in East)

Toronto's Last MLS Match: L, 3-1 at DC United

Philadelphia vs. Toronto Last Season: 1-0-1 (Philadelphia 6 @ Toronto 2 on May 28; Toronto 1 @ Philadelphia 1 on October 15)

For the Toronto Perspective, Visit Waking The Red

With their three-match losing streak broken following a gritty 1-1 draw in Dallas, the Philadelphia Union are headed north of the border to take on Toronto FC, who is riding a season-long losing streak. Literally. In fact, Danny Koevermans, who Toronto brought in from Europe along with Torsten Frings in the middle of last season in an effort to beef the club up, was quoted after their loss at DC last weekend as saying that Toronto "is the worst team in the world right now." Truthfully, it's hard to argue with Koevermans. It seems like nothing can go right for manager Aron Winter and Toronto -- at least when it comes to MLS. Toronto did wrap up yet another Canadian championship against Vancouver on Wednesday -- their fourth in a row -- marking their first win in any sort of competitive measure this season, and so they will be back in CONCACAF Champions League play soon enough. As things stand right now, that was probably their season, and the Champions League will be their focus yet again. Nine losses is about where a team needs to be after the entire season to make the MLS playoffs, not a quarter of the way through the season.

Toronto, for good reason, more or less played their first-choice roster on Wednesday night, so depending on who Winter chooses to play, their legs might get a little heavy as the match wears on tomorrow. The Union, in part due to Toronto's situation and in part due to their performance last week, have to be quietly optimistic. Zac MacMath should be back between the pipes tomorrow for them, Carlos Valdes will be ready to go after being forced to leave the match in Dallas due to a nasty cut above the left eye, and Freddy Adu will be eligible to play after serving his red card suspension last week. Adu in particular will be an interesting watch. It seems like with each passing appearance this season, Adu is simultaneously becoming faster and stronger as he finally becomes accustomed to playing in MLS again. Finishing has remained a problem for the Union -- though even without Adu, an argument can be made that the Union should have had more than one against Dallas, with Valdes hitting the crossbar from a header off of a corner kick. Toronto have allowed an average of 2+ goals a match, and more of the same is expected tomorrow. Getting a win on Wednesday had to be a real mental relief for the Reds, but it doesn't fix that they're an injury-plagued side, and it doesn't fully lift the weight off of their shoulders since it wasn't an MLS match (though it was MLS competition).

Defensively the Union appear to be able to survive in the post-Danny Califf era, though it's probably a bit early to draw any final conclusions given that Dallas's offense doesn't rank much higher than the Union's when you take away Brek Shea, and Toronto's offense, like their defense, is square at the bottom of the league. Raymon Gaddis continues to impress, and though Michael Farfan's creativity is muffled when he's coming out of the back, he can certainly slot in back on a wing. Koevermans and offseason acquisition Reggie Lambe lead Toronto with two goals a piece. Lambe scored the winner on Wednesday night against Vancouver, but hasn't scored in MLS in a month (and got both of his goals in that one match), and Koevermans hasn't been a starter since he suffered a groin injury. Koevermans insists that he's at 100%, but Aron Winter disagrees (we saw that story play out here recently, didn't we). Eric Avila's ankle contusion is expected to keep him out of the lineup for Toronto, though, and that could give Koevermans a way back in.

Projected starters, injury reports, and assorted match notes after the jump...

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Setting: Saturday, May 19 at FC Dallas Stadium in Frisco, Texas; kickoff scheduled for 8:36:30 PM Eastern

Broadcast Information: The Comcast Network (JP Dellacamera, Bob Rigby), with coverage beginning at 8:00 PM Eastern with a pre-game show / FS Southwest, Azteca America TV-55 (Carlos Alvarado, Rafa Calderon, Eric Mora), KFLC-AM in Dallas / MLS Live, Direct Kick (FS Southwest feed)

Dallas's Record: 3-6-3, 12 points (sixth in West)

Dallas's Last Match: L, 2-1 at Columbus

Philadelphia vs. Dallas Last Season: 0-1-1 (Philadelphia 0 @ Dallas 2 on May 14; Dallas 2 @ Philadelphia 2 on August 13)

For the Dallas Perspective, Visit Big D Soccer

Tomorrow, Frisco will see a meeting between two struggling and wounded teams. The Philadelphia Union and FC Dallas are both riding three match losing streaks, coming off awfully physical matches, and both will be without key players they expected to have little more than a week ago. FC Dallas will be without Brek Shea, who was handed a three match suspension for intentionally kicking the ball at a linesman last week in Columbus, while the Union of course will be without former captain Danny Califf, now of Chivas USA. The loss of these players serve as further blows to both sides, both of which were already reeling beforehand. Shea is the backbone of Dallas's midfield, and the face of the franchise, while Califf has been the backbone of the Philadelphia defense since the club's first-ever match in Seattle. On the plus side, both sides do know how to play without them, with Shea occasionally away on national team duty, and Califf missing some time due to apparent injury.

Dallas has been offensively challenged, though, like the Union, so they may be the ones who are hurt the most by the first match with these changes, but in the overall scheme of things, Dallas's defense has to be the bigger overall concern. Blas Perez has been absolutely terrific up top for Dallas this season right from their opening match, and Union fans likely remember how dominant Fabian Castillo was against them when the Union were in Frisco last year, so offense is still there, albeit weakened without the raw power of the workhorse Shea in midfield. Defensively, though, Dallas has given up two goals in each of their last three matches, and they're tied for the most goals given up this season with Toronto FC (though they've played a few more matches than most teams). It won't help that defender Zach Loyd will also miss tomorrow's match after a red card suspension last week in Columbus.

Defensively for Philadelphia, it's expected that, like last week against the Red Bulls, Sheanon Williams will slot into the centerback alongside Carlos Valdes, with Raymon Gaddis and Gabriel Farfan (back for his first match after a three match suspension of his own) on the wings. Given their lack of depth along the backline, Philadelphia is awfully fortunate that the rookie Gaddis has excelled as he has, and certainly has earned his spot in the starting XI. Certainly, as a group they're going to have to be a little bit more aggressive after sitting back a bit and giving up three goals to the New York Red Bulls, though, again, there's a world of difference between the Red Bulls' offense and Dallas's.

Projected starters, injury reports and assorted match notes after the jump...

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Setting: Sunday, May 13 at PPL Park in Chester; kickoff scheduled for 12:37 PM Eastern

Broadcast Information: ESPN2/TSN2 (Adrian Healey, Taylor Twellman) and ESPN Deportes (Richard Mendez, Giovanni Savarese) nationally, with coverage beginning at 12:15 PM Eastern / WLIB 1190 AM (Robert Sierra, Nelson Rubio, Marvin Sandoval) in New York / WatchESPN.com and WatchESPN app

New York's Record: 6-3-1, 19 points (second in East)

New York's Last Match: W, 1-0 vs. Houston

Philadelphia vs. New York Last Season: 1-1-0 (New York 0 @ Philadelphia 1 on April 9; Philadelphia 0 @ New York 1 on October 20)

For the New York Perspective, Visit Once A Metro

The Philadelphia Union and New York Red Bulls will both make quick turnarounds as they meet at PPL Park early Sunday afternoon for a mother's day clash. Philadelphia is coming off of a rather rewarding 2-1 win on Wednesday in a friendly against German club Schalke 04, while the Red Bulls took three points in MLS play as they hosted Houston on Wednesday. Besides scoring two goals (something they haven't done yet this season), by all accounts Philadelphia's offense was at its most potent this season. Of course, that's not necessarily saying all that much, but coach John Hackworth was quick to credit the team post-game for taking shots early, often, and from everywhere, something they might want to try at times when the goals actually count for something. Like this Sunday.

The offense is going to need to get a couple on Sunday, too, as the Union are dealing with a two-prong issue with regard to defense. One, the Red Bulls are tied for the highest scoring side in Major League Soccer. They've only been shutout once this season, and that was two months ago. They may be missing Thierry Henry to injury, but Kenny Cooper's been a heck of an offseason acquisition for Erik Solér and Hans Backe, with eight goals and an assist already in his account. It was Cooper who took advantage of a Tally Hall miscue to score what would end up as the game winning goal on Wednesday. Joel Lindpere and Dax McCarty can clean up too, so it's not as though the Red Bulls are without their capacity to run teams out of the stadium.

Perhaps the most interesting question for the Red Bulls is where Rafa Marquez will be. His suspension for brutally fracturing former Union player Shea Salinas's left clavicle ended after New York's 1-0 win at Los Angeles last Saturday, and yet Marquez was nowhere to be found on the pitch against Houston. There's no indication that he'll be back for Sunday, either. And it's probably for the best for the Red Bulls -- McCarty's badly outplayed the international star in Marquez's absence. So if Marquez does end up taking the pitch on Sunday in a surprise move, it may actually benefit the Union. And they're going to need every break they can get, with goalkeeper Zac MacMath listed by the team as out for Sunday with "concussion symptoms", probably as a result of a nasty knee to the head he took last week in Seattle. That leaves backup Chase Harrison as the likely man between the pipes. It would be his first ever MLS start. Let the fun times roll.

Projected starters, injury reports and assorted match notes after the jump...

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Setting: Saturday, May 5 at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Wash.; kickoff scheduled for 4:52 PM Eastern

Broadcast Information: NBC Sports Network (Arlo White, Kyle Martino) nationally, with coverage beginning at 4:30 PM Eastern / 97.3 KIRO-FM (Ross Fletcher, Kasey Keller) and La Gran D 99.3 KDDS-FM / MLS Live, Direct Kick (Canada only)

Seattle's Record: 5-1-1, 16 points (third in West)

Seattle's Last Match: W, 2-0 vs. LA

Philadelphia vs. Seattle Last Season: 1-0-1 (Seattle 1 @ Philadelphia 1 on April 16; Philadelphia 2 @ Seattle 0 on October 8)

For the Seattle Perspective, Visit Sounder At Heart

Following a heart-wrenching defeat at home last weekend that saw the Philadelphia Union score a late equalizer, only to concede an even-later winner in stoppage time, the team has traveled back to the West Coast to take on Fredy Montero and the Seattle Sounders. Yes, it's finally time to call them Montero's Sounders again -- he finally scored his first goal of the season this past Wednesday in a 2-0 home victory over the LA Galaxy. The Sounders are off to their best start in their MLS history, and winners of three in a row and undefeated in four. They'll be without starting goalkeeper Michael Gspurning, however, who will miss a good couple of weeks with a right hip injury. It had been bothering him for a while, apparently, but he really tweaked it on Wednesday. Gspurning will be completely shut down for a week or so before beginning to build back strength on his right side. Though it would seem nearly impossible for anyone to try and fill the shoes of Kasey Keller, the Austrian national had been doing a heck of a job in his first MLS season, guiding the backline and allowing just three goals in seven matches. North Jersey native and Monmouth University graduate Bryan Meredith, who was drafted and promptly released by Seattle in 2011, and then re-signed this past September, will be making his first MLS start tomorrow against the Union, who have had middling success in their short history with goalies making their MLS debut. If you can believe it, tomorrow will be the first time in Seattle's MLS history that they will have to go with their backup keeper due to injury.

Philadelphia, on the other hand, are very well set between the pipes tomorrow with Zac MacMath. Despite the late loss, MacMath came up with numerous spectacular saves to keep the Quakes from winning in a rout. Philadelphia does need to be tighter defensively, since for obvious reasons MacMath can't exactly be expected to make stops when the opposition is outnumbering the defenders in and around the box, but the Chris Wondolowskis and even the Steven Lenharts of the world are going to get their chances and occasionally make plays that are nearly impossible to read or predict. The Union will have to deal with the aforementioned Montero, who might have a little extra push after finally getting that first goal off of his back, as well as the ever-crafty David Estrada and, of course, Eddie Johnson.

Johnson and the Union's Freddy Adu have traversed remarkably similar paths in their careers, entering MLS at young ages, only to end up bouncing around in Europe after unmeetable expectations for such young kids were not met. The two even played together for a short while in Greece in addition to on the U.S. men's national team. Johnson has had a successful return to MLS, and although Freddy Adu has taken longer to get re-accustomed to the league, he, too, has had a strong start to the season. Finally healthy (unlike during the latter part of his 2011 season with Philadelphia), Adu seems to be getting better and better every week, and with strong play around him from Michael Farfan, Gabriel Gomez, and increasingly from Keon Daniel, the Union's offensive play has slowly come into its own. Lionard Pajoy, the prized offseason acquisition, continues to be a disappointment. The pressure should be starting to mount on Pajoy, which in all likelihood won't exactly help the situation, but if he continues to struggle and not produce offensively, surely the team has to consider whether it wouldn't be better served putting Danny Mwanga or Josue Martinez up top and seeing if that ends up working better.

Projected starters, injury reports and assorted match notes after the jump...

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Setting: Saturday, April 28 at PPL Park in Chester; kickoff scheduled for 7:06:30 PM Eastern

Broadcast Information: CSN Philadelphia (JP Dellacamera, Bob Rigby), with coverage beginning at 6:30 PM with a pre-game show / CSN Bay Area (Jim Kozimor, Kelly Gray), KLIV 1590 AM (Gus Johnson -- yes, that Gus Johnson), KZSF 1370 AM (Carlos Cesar Rivera) in San Jose / MLS Live, Direct Kick (CSN Philadelphia feed)

San Jose's Record: 5-1-1, 16 points (first in West)

San Jose's Last Match: W, 3-1 vs. Real Salt Lake

Philadelphia vs. San Jose Last Season: 1-1-0 (San Jose 0 @ Philadelphia 1 on April 30; Philadelphia 0 @ San Jose 0 on July 9)

For the San Jose Perspective, Visit Quake, Rattle and Goal

Coming off their second win of the season, and their second win in a row, the Philadelphia Union finally have some momentum. And they're going to need it tomorrow night as they welcome in the Western Conference pace-setting San Jose Earthquakes, who come into PPL Park riding a five match unbeaten streak. The Quakes had a disappointing 2011, but what looks to be the beginning of another MVP-caliber season from Chris Wondolowski has led San Jose to an absolutely terrific start. Going into tomorrow's slate of matches, the Earthquakes are tied for the top spot in the West with Real Salt Lake, but have played two fewer matches than RSL. Their goals per match is second in the league behind the Red Bulls, and they've given up a grand total of five goals in their seven matches. That is success defined.

The big key for the Union is awfully obvious, and awfully difficult to achieve: shut down Wondolowski. He's got eight goals and an assist already, and if you do the math (you might not want to -- it's an amazing, yet painful statistic for Union fans), he personally has doubled the output of the entire Philadelphia side this season. He always seems to find open space behind the backline, and he seemingly never fails to finish his chances. What will make trying to stop the unstoppable force that is #8 an even more difficult challenge for the Union tomorrow is the continued shuffling of defenders. Gabriel Farfan will miss tomorrow's match and two additional matches for his studs-up slide last week at Chivas that garnered him a straight red from the match referee as well as a supplementary two match suspension and fine from MLS Commissioner Don Garber. Fortunately for the Union, centerback (and captain) Danny Califf should be ready to return to action. That leaves Raymon Gaddis, the rookie who has impressively filled Califf's shoes for the past two weeks, to shift over and fill Farfan's spot at leftback.

Last weekend at the Home Depot Center, the Union continued to show signs of an improving offensive game. Freddy Adu had another excellent outing, getting the match's lone goal, and Michael Farfan was once again showing flashes of brilliance, including his setup of Adu's tally. Lionard Pajoy, the striker with a good deal of the offensive weight on his shoulders, has not yet quite seemed to click. Whether it's learning the system, getting his feet wet in the league, or what, the Union need Pajoy to start becoming more integrated and involved. It's not all on Pajoy, as there have been times when he's made good runs only to have the midfield fail him with a poor ball, but he was brought in as someone they could count on to be an offensive threat every single match, and it's becoming high time that he start doing so. It's unclear at this point whether newcomer Kai Herdling, on loan from Hoffenheim, will see his first minutes with the team tomorrow night, though reports from training indicate that he's been practicing with the full team. It can be easy to forget with the dazzling Wondolowski how solid San Jose's been defensively, with Jon Busch providing the last line of defense between the pipes. Wondolowski's inevitably going to get his chances, and if he finishes, San Jose will really tighten the screws on the Union and make countering a challenge on its own.

Projected starters, injury reports and assorted notes after the jump...

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Setting: Saturday, April 21 at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.; kickoff scheduled for 10:36:30 PM Eastern

Broadcast Information: The Comcast Network (JP Dellacamera, Bob Rigby), with coverage beginning at 10:00 PM Eastern with a pre-game show / PRIME TICKET (Christian Miles, Allen Hopkins), KWHY-TV/XEWW-AM (Hipólito Gamboa, Rigo Cervantez) in Los Angeles / MLS Live, Direct Kick (PRIME TICKET feed)

Chivas's Record: 3-3-0, six points (fifth in West)

Chivas's Last Match: W, 1-0 at Toronto

Philadelphia vs. Chivas Last Season: 1-0-1 (Chivas 2 @ Philadelphia 3 on June 25; Philadelphia 1 @ Chivas 1 on October 2)

For the Chivas Perspective, Visit The Goat Parade

After finally securing its first victory of the season, the Philadelphia Union have traveled cross-country to take on Chivas USA tomorrow night. After finishing the last two seasons in the bottom third of the standings, Chivas -- despite a bit of a rocky start, losing their first two matches -- have really come on strong as the side rounded into form, winning three of their next four matches. The goats' success have to be looked at as one of the early surprises of this MLS season, along of course with the struggles of the LA Galaxy. Indeed, those were hardly easy points for them to take either, as all three victories came on the road in the tough environs of Salt Lake City, Portland and Toronto. But that's also exactly why the Union have to feel like they've got a fighting chance tomorrow night, and why Chivas might have a little something extra on their minds tomorrow night: all three of their victories have come on the road, while they've lost all three of their home matches thus far, which is just plain odd, especially in a league where home/road splits in any given season tend significantly favor the home side.

Chivas have had a problem scoring goals both at home and on the road, something hardly familiar to the Union. They've been shutout in each of their three losses, and have scored a total of four goals in their three wins. Like Philadelphia early last season with Faryd Mondragon, the goats have been able to hang on to their results despite a broad lack of offense thanks to a rock solid goalkeeper in Dan Kennedy holding down the fort and directing the backline. Fortunately for them, though, their offensive abilities could very well be taken up a notch or three tomorrow night, as Juan Pablo Angel is expected to be available for the first time since opening weekend after dealing with a concussion. Angel is one of the best MLS has ever had, and though he's starting to get up there in age, if Union defenders can't keep Angel in front of them, he will get his chances, which he won't often miss on.

The Union had another solid defensive showing last week, though, notching their second consecutive clean sheet and extending their team-wide shutout streak to 242 minutes. Zac MacMath was again equal parts strong and aggressive in goal, and rookie Raymon Gaddis, who received his first MLS start quite literally at the last minute last week after Danny Califf re-tweaked a hamstring during warmups, was also surprisingly collected and impressively effective. Gaddis is expected to get the start again in place of Califf tomorrow night. Offensively, Philadelphia looked more fluid and cohesive than they had in some time, though they continue to have trouble finishing, and wouldn't have even gotten their lone goal against Columbus were it not for penalty due to a handball in the box. Freddy Adu had a particularly strong outing, though he was substituted out in the 62nd minute, as did Keon Daniel and Gabriel Gomez, the latter converting the aforementioned penalty kick for Philadelphia. Encouragingly, Danny Mwanga is working his way back from his rib injury, and might be available for the team.

Projected lineups, injury reports and assorted notes after the jump...

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Setting: Saturday, April 14 at PPL Park in Chester; kickoff scheduled for 3:51 PM Eastern

Broadcast Information: NBC Sports Network (Arlo White, Kyle Martino) nationally, with coverage beginning at 3:30 PM Eastern / 610 WTVN-AM (Neil Sika) and 103.1 WVKO-FM (Carlos Cordova, Benny Pietrangelo) in Columbus / MLS Live (Canada only)

Columbus's Record: 2-2-0, six points (fourth in East)

Columbus's Last Match: L, 4-1 vs. Red Bulls

Philadelphia vs. Columbus Last Season: 1-0-1 (Philadelphia 1 @ Columbus 2 on August 20; Columbus 0 @ Philadelphia 1 on September 17)

For the Columbus Perspective, Visit Massive Report

The Philadelphia Union have had their bye week, and their chance to regroup, not to mention continue to work on forming increased chemistry between new and returning players. Now, minus Roger Torres, they get another chance to finally put their season on the right track as they host a stiff competitor in the Columbus Crew. There's been a lot of talk by the team, media and fans alike about what needs to change and what needs to be improved, both in a practical sense as well as in a strategic sense. Union supporters have begun to grow restless for the first time in team history, and rightly so. It's added a new pressure to players and management, though, and it was bound to happen at some point, but it'll be awfully interesting to see how both groups respond.

Standing between Philadelphia and its first victory of the season are the cagey Crew, with whom the Union battled for much of last season over the top seed in the Eastern Conference. The Crew haven't quite shown that form they found success with last year, and certainly a blowout loss at home to East-challenger New York hasn't helped in that regard, but they're formidable nonetheless in terms of talent, with Eddie Gaven and Emilio Renteria offensively and Chad Marshall defensively, and coaching with Robert Warzycha. The Red Bulls torched Columbus on the wings in particular though, and if there's but one area where Philadelphia's looked half-decent offensively (outside of free kicks), it's flank play. The Crew are banged up, too, especially on defense, where they've just lost starting goalkeeper Will Hesmer for some six months due to hip surgery. That, plus the continued loss of Julius James to a collapsed lung ought to leave even more room for Sheanon Williams and Michael Farfan if a shaky Columbus backline decides to pack it in a bit.

Defensively for the Union, there's not a ton to complain about. Their defensive effort a couple of weeks ago against Vancouver was quite effective, and even three weeks ago in Chicago, you could see the improvement. How does the bye week affect a strengthening defense? Is momentum lost, or can Zac MacMath and the backline continue to put the pieces back together? If it's the latter, and the Union can take advantage of some Columbus injuries and force the offensive issue, they've got a shot at three points. If a week without match preparation hasn't helped chemistry-wise, and prevents the Union from getting a good footing in possession before they can get their legs under them (no pun intended), it could be another long afternoon at PPL Park before the team heads to California to take on surprise story Chivas USA.

Projected starters, injury reports and assorted notes after the jump...

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Setting: Saturday, March 31 at PPL Park in Chester; kickoff scheduled for 4:06:30 PM Eastern

Broadcast Information: 6abc (JP Dellacamera, Bob Rigby, Keith Russell), with coverage beginning at 3:30 PM Eastern with a pre-game show and concluding into Action News at 6 PM Eastern / Sportsnet Pacific (Craig McEwen, Paul Dolan) and TEAM 1040 CKST-AM (Peter Schaad, David Norman) in Vancouver / MLS Direct Kick, MLS Live (6abc feed)

Vancouver's Record: 2-0-1, 7 points (first in West)

Vancouver's Last Match: T, 0-0 at DC

Philadelphia vs. Vancouver Last Season: 1-1-0 (Vancouver 0 @ Philadelphia 1 on March 26; Philadelphia 0 @ Vancouver 1 on June 18)

For the Vancouver Perspective, Visit Eighty Six Forever

It's hard to know where to start with this match. Philadelphia Union fans have had tomorrow circled on their calendars and on their schedules since January 31, when the team shipped Sebastien Le Toux to the Vancouver Whitecaps for allocation money. So there's been a particular focus on tomorrow, the teams' only meeting of the regular season, especially since it's so early in the season. But the focus has grown incrementally even more over the last three weeks, as the Union dropped each of their first three matches. They've yet to show the decent offensive potential the roster shows on paper, scoring just two goals in those three matches. And, well, that was the area where Le Toux was a little helpful, after all.

Meanwhile, a Vancouver side that never really got going in their first season in MLS seems to be figuring things out, getting results in their first three matches, including their first-ever MLS road victory in Carson against Chivas USA. In fact, they're the only MLS team that has yet to concede a goal. They'll be without Eric Hassli, their other French striker, whose red card helped Philadelphia to their 1-0 win early last year, but the Whitecaps have already been getting it done by committee. Their three goals this season have come from three different players, and the large force that is Eric Hassli only has one assist from those. So the offensive threat doesn't disappear with Hassli -- Camilo, Le Toux, and Atiba Harris (or whomever fills in for Hassli) can certainly keep Philadelphia's backline busy. Despite their positive start though, folks in Vancouver are concerned that their offense hasn't really clicked together yet either. They haven't scored a goal in the run of play since Camilo tallied against Montreal in their opening match.

The Whitecaps are shorthanded defensively as well, losing Alain Rochat to a left knee sprain. That should open up a spot for Jordan Harvey, who, like Le Toux, the Union sent to Vancouver for allocation money. Philadelphia will likely try to build off of play down the wings, where Michael Farfan and Sheanon Williams have found some of the only consistently open avenues for attack. The dual focuses of tomorrow's match might be a little overbearing in the opening minutes of the match (though Peter Nowak has promised that his side will be laser focused from first kick), and you wonder whether that might benefit the ten Whitecaps players who are essentially being totally ignored, but the front office and the players have caused the media attention and these ruckuses themselves.

Projected starters, injury reports and assorted notes after the jump...

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Setting: Sunday, March 18 at PPL Park in Chester; kickoff scheduled for 4:21:00 PM Eastern

Broadcast Information: NBC Sports Network (Arlo White, Kyle Martino) nationally with coverage beginning at 4:00 PM Eastern / Mile High Sports Radio KCKK 1510 AM/93.7 FM (Todd Romero, Marcelo Balboa) and ESPN Deportes 87.7 FM KXDP (Esdrel Peinado) in Colorado / MLS Live in Canada only

Colorado's Record: 1-0-0, 3 points (third in West)

Colorado's Last Match: W, 2-0 vs. Columbus

Philadelphia vs. Colorado Last Season: 0-1-1 (Philadelphia 1 @ Colorado 1 on June 4; Colorado 2 @ Philadelphia 1 on July 29)

For the Colorado Perspective, Visit Burgundy Wave

After a disappointing season opener out west, the Philadelphia Union return to Chester to host their 2012 home opener against the Colorado Rapids. The Rapids put together an impressive 2-0 victory in their home opener last week against the Columbus Crew, and are hoping a quick start can give them steady positioning to work from for the rest of the season in the incredibly tight Western Conference. Philadelphia, on the other hand, is looking to rebound after being overpowered by the Portland Timbers. Newcomers Gabriel Gomez, Josue Martinez, and Lionard Pajoy had strong performances, while Porfirio Lopez probably had one he'd like to forget, though all four exhibited signs that chemistry with teammates and internalization of Peter Nowak's system was still a work in progress. Passes didn't end up in the paths of teammates, and positioning had a tendency to be jumbled throughout much of the night for all four. Those fixes will come in due time, and probably sooner rather than later since all four are expected to get regular minutes.

Rookie goalkeeper Zac MacMath, despite the final score, had a strong performance. Yes, Portland's first goal should have never gone in (many Union fans undoubtedly had flashbacks to 2010), but it's hard to fault MacMath on Portland's other two goals, and MacMath continued to fight, remaining awfully aggressive throughout the full 90 minutes. He challenged for every single ball he believed he could get to, coming off of his line regularly, and his judgment was superb. Put another way, Portland could have very easily netted four or five or six goals were it not for MacMath. He was under pressure almost all night with the Union defense, the team's backbone last season, having a mediocre night at best against a powerful Timbers offensive display. Portland was able to bend and bend the Union defensively, and then bend them some more. To their credit, the Union rarely broke, but they were still bent pretty badly by full time. The team hasn't seemed to put together the pieces offensively yet, either, showing only a handful of promising buildups while not converting on any counterattack chances and getting their lone goal from a lucky own goal on the part of the Timbers.

Despite Conor Casey being unavailable as he finishes his recovery from his Achilles tear, the Rapids have put together the pieces on their end, and the focus for Philadelphia rests on Omar Cummings and Brian Mullan. Tony Cascio, the 14th overall pick in this year's SuperDraft, is making an immediate impact with the team. Cascio made his MLS debut as a starter, and is expected to get the start once again against the Union, while offseason acquisition Jaime Castrillon proved his worth in midfield and with Pablo Mastroeni will be a worthy opponent for Gomez and Brian Carroll in trying to control the middle of the back. Their backline is contributing as well, with Kosuke Kimura being involved in both of their goals last weekend.

Projected starters, injury reports and assorted notes after the jump...

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Setting: Monday, March 12 at JELD-WEN Field in Portland; kickoff scheduled for 9:55 PM Eastern

Broadcast Information: ESPN2 (Adrian Healey, Taylor Twellman, Monica Gonzalez) and ESPN Deportes (Richard Mendez, Giovanni Savarese) nationally with coverage beginning at 9:30 PM Eastern / 750 AM The Game KXTG (John Strong, Adin Brown) and La Pantera 940 AM KWBY (Fernando Sobrevilla, Edison Mosquera) in Portland / WatchESPN.com/WatchESPN app in the U.S. and MLS Live in Canada

Portland's Record: 11-14-9, 42 points, sixth in West (2011)

Philadelphia vs. Portland Last Season: 0-1-1 (Philadelphia 0 @ Portland 1 on May 6; Portland 0 @ Philadelphia 0 on September 10)

For the Portland Perspective, Visit Stumptown Footy

After an offseason that was hardly quiet or restful, the Philadelphia Union open their third season in franchise history on the West Coast in a nationally televised match against the Portland Timbers. You could wax poetic for days about the last three months, but to put it lightly, some high-profile players in, some very high-profile players out. You could be easily be optimistic about the changes, or easily be pessimistic about the changes, but until tonight, it's all been speculation. Heck, we don't even know all that much about how the guys in blue and gold have looked in their preseason training, except that they haven't lost their physicality. You can't really draw conclusions one way or another from preseason friendlies, but fans of teams that participate in the annual Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic can at least see how their side is warming up and get a feel for new players. For all but a handful Union fans who made the trek down to training in Florida, outside of a couple of YouTube highlight clips, tonight will literally be the first time they've seen their team compete since November. And there are a lot of questions to be answered.

Can Freddy Adu become a more integrated part of the Union? Due partially to his late arrival, and partially to a nagging injury, Adu never quite seemed to fit in and find his role with the team. Can Danny Mwanga and Roger Torres take the next step in their development? There is surely increased pressure this season on Torres, in whom the team invested significant resources this offseason to fully purchase his contract from América de Cali. How will 20-year old Zac MacMath handle the #1 goalkeeper position? And, of course, how will the team's acquisitions fit in? Josue Martinez and Lionard Pajoy will be counted on from day one to help fill the huge gap in scoring left by the loss of Sebastien Le Toux. Panamanian national team captain Gabriel Gomez is expected to form a shutdown tandem in midfield with Brian Carroll, while Porfirio Lopez is expected to slot into a starting spot on the team's backline.

But none of those questions will be truly answered for some time. Instead, we can look at the Timbers, who on the other hand did have much of their preseason in the public eye. They played in seven organized matches, in which they were unbeaten, grabbing four shutouts and outscoring the opposing clubs 11-3. That last statistic has to be particularly encouraging for Portland, who scored just 40 goals in the regular season and gave up 58, placing them towards the bottom of the league in both categories. They've added substantial defensive depth in Hanyer Mosquera and substantial scoring in designated player Kris Boyd, both of whom have the potential to be impact players for Portland and possibly All-Stars come July 25 at PPL Park. If his preseason success is any indication, look out in particular for Boyd tonight, who will likely be all over the place. Danny Califf and Carlos Valdes will have their hands full dealing with the Scottish Premier League's all-time leading scorer, which could open the door for Jorge Perlaza and Diego Chara to slip in behind the fracas.

Projected starters, injury reports and assorted notes after the jump...

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Unlike last season, which saw a complete upheaval of the Philadelphia Union's local broadcasting situation as the team moved the majority of its telecasts from the Live Well Network to the much more prominent Comcast SportsNet and Comcast Network, the television schedule released by the team this morning contains no surprises.

Alongside Comcast, the club's original broadcast partner 6abc returns as the home of a select group of matches, and the two will combine to air all 22 matches not being televised nationally. For the third consecutive season, the Union will have every regular season match broadcast in the area, with every match once again shown in high definition (be thankful for these two things -- there are a lot of fans from some MLS teams who wish they could say the same).

The Comcast Network will air ten matches, Comcast SportsNet will carry nine, and 6abc will have the remaining three. The nineteen matches Comcast will air is equal to their number from 2011, while for 6abc, their slate drops from seven matches to three, in large part due to the Union being chosen more times for Major League Soccer's national broadcasts.

Since 6abc is a network television station that is owned and operated by ABC, timeslots open for local programming (like the Union) are relatively limited, likely contributing to the small number of telecasts on the station; in fact, the Union had to move all three 6abc matches to 4 PM starts in order to accomodate network needs. Comcast will continue to produce and air the weekly State of the Union show with Amy Fadool and Bob Rigby as talent.

The team did not announce its television broadcast team, though veteran play-by-play man JP Dellacamera is expected to return, given that he has one year remaining on his contract and interviewed the team's SuperDraft picks for philadelphiaunion.com.

It's unknown who will be working with Dellacamera in the booth with 2011 primary color analyst Taylor Twellman now at ESPN full-time. Rigby, who served as a pitchside analyst last season, is obviously still in the fold, but it is unknown whether he will remain on the television side, or whether he will be a part of the team's new radio broadcasts on SportsRadio 610 WIP (the Union is expected to release their first-ever radio broadcast schedule in the near future).

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It seemed so fitting. So perfect, even. The Philadelphia Union were seeking their first ever playoff match victory and playoff series victory in the same place where they took their first-ever road victory, and opened their second season with a victory: Robertson Stadium in Houston. But it was not to be. An improbable season for the Union ended predictably with a set-piece goal against and not enough offense for.

After a somewhat promising first 45 minutes, if only for the fact that the Union hadn't conceded anything, Brad Davis and Brian Ching teamed up in likely the last kick in first half stoppage time on a Houston freekick. Two experts combining to take advantage of arguably the Union's biggest weakness, and give the Dynamo a backbreaking 3-1 lead in the aggregate that they would not relinquish. But let's spare the details of this match. You know what happened. Rubbing salt in these fresh wounds does no one any good. There are plenty of questions to be asked about Piotr Nowak's strategies for this match, and they'll undoubtedly be repeated for the next five months.

It's not exactly all bad, though.

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Setting: Thursday, November 2 at Robertson Stadium in Houston; kickoff scheduled for 8:45:00 PM Eastern

Broadcast Information: ESPN2, ESPN3.com, ESPN Deportes (Richard Mendez, Giovanni Savarese) and ESPN Deportes Radio (Jorge Ramos, Hernan Pereyra) nationwide, with coverage beginning at 8:30 PM Eastern / SportsTalk 790 KBME-AM (Jonathan Yardley) and La Ranchera 850 KEYH-AM (Daniel Mejia, Alex Parra) in Houston / TSN2 nationwide in Canada (ESPN2 feed)

Series Information: Houston leads the series 2-1 on aggregate

For the Houston Perspective, Visit Dynamo Theory

After what can only be described as a disappointing performance from the Philadelphia Union in their playoff opener, with plenty of blame to go around to both players and coaches, anything less than a gutsy performance in this series concluder will see Philadelphia's season end the same place it started: Robertson Stadium in Houston. If, come full time tomorrow night, the Union are tied or trailing to Houston, it will be the Dynamo who advance to the Eastern Conference final. With a one goal advantage, Philadelphia can force extra time and perhaps even penalty kicks to decide the series. Should the Union manage to take tomorrow night's match by two or more goals, it will remarkably be them moving on. The odds are undoubtedly against them, but it's not necessarily an impossible task.

Yes, it's true that the Union have won both matches they have played in Houston in their two-year history by a goal apiece. But that's far from a telling statistic. What may play more to Philadelphia's advantage (or disadvantage) is that team manager Piotr Nowak will be all but forced to play his best offensive lineup, even if it means losing some defensive prowess in the process. The Union have nothing to lose at this point; they're already in a hole. There's no difference now between giving up two goals in your best attempt to score three, and giving up no goals in an attempt to hold the opposition and maybe pop in one yourself. You're eliminated either way. So the Union will, tactically, go right at Houston from first kick.

There is no reason for Roger Torres and Freddy Adu to not start. There's no reason not to go all out late in the match and move to three in the back if you have to. Even before a potential desperation situation, these changes probably mean that the Union backline will have another very busy night, and Gabriel Farfan in particular will need to have a bounce back performance. The availability of Veljko Paunovic, who one has to expect will start, has apparently recovered enough from a hamstring strain to play, will help the flow of the Union's offense. Truth be told, in the two matches the Union have played in his absence (at New York and vs. Houston), the team hasn't looked the same, and Paunovic's return might be what gives Union fans the most hope heading into tomorrow night.

Projected starters, up-to-date injury reports and assorted match notes after the jump...

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The scene was perfect on a brisk evening along the Delaware. PPL Park was ready. The 18,500 local fans and 25 or so Houston Dynamo fans that filled the seats and all the various nooks and crannies of the facility were ready. A national television audience was ready. The Houston Dynamo were ready. The Philadelphia Union, however, were not. From the opening kick, it was clear that Houston had traveled to Chester seeking not just a draw, but a victory. A mere five minutes in, Andre Hainault's header converted a perfect Brad Davis free kick to give the visitors the lead and leave Philadelphia fans silenced.

The Union would respond less than two minutes later, as Michael Farfan crossed a ball right into Sebastien Le Toux's run into the box, and the Frenchman did not miss, slotting the ball straight ahead into a narrow crevice between the goalpost and a diving Tally Hall. But ultimately, that seventh minute equalizer did little to change the momentum of the match. Houston continued to take the bulk of the possession and, frequently exposing Philadelphia left-back Gabriel Farfan, retook the lead in the 30th minute as Brian Ching sent a perfect ball straight behind the Union defense to the top of the box, where Calen Carr collected, put on the jets and cooly finished in on a 1-on-1 with Faryd Mondragon.

Both teams would have numerous high-quality chances throughout the rest of a highly physical first half, but Houston retained its possession game, and thereby retained its lead. By full time, six different players had received yellow cards -- four Union players (Gabriel Farfan, Stefani Miglioranzi, Sheanon Williams, Brian Carroll) and two Dynamo players (Danny Cruz, Adam Moffat).

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Setting: Sunday, October 30 at PPL Park in Chester; kickoff scheduled for 5:15 PM Eastern

Broadcast Information: ESPN2 and ESPN3.com (Rob Stone, Taylor Twellman), ESPN Deportes and ESPN Deportes Radio nationwide, with coverage beginning at 5:00 PM Eastern

Houston's Regular Season Record: 12-9-13, second in East

Houston's Last Match: W, 3-1 vs. LA

Philadelphia vs. Houston This Season: 1-0-1 (Philadelphia 1 @ Houston 0 on March 19, in the teams' regular season opener; Houston 1 @ Philadelphia 1 on August 6)

For the Houston Perspective, Visit Dynamo Theory

It's hard to put the feelings that are going through the minds of Philadelphia Union fans right now into words. This team, that didn't exist two years ago, is just hours away from competing in its league's playoffs. The difference from year one to year two has been night and day, and this despite the already-young team becoming even younger. It's not just the illusion of youth, either. In other words, it's not just the bench that's gotten younger -- it's the starters, too -- which makes the team's ascent to the playoffs even more remarkable. But we'll have plenty of time to opine on this regular season throughout the winter; for the moment, the current challenge that lies ahead is the Houston Dynamo in the form of a two match home-and-away series.

These two teams met in their regular season openers, and both teams have grown rather dramatically from that Saturday night at Robertson Stadium. But one thing that remains clear is that these are two very similar teams. When they're at their best, their preferred style of play may not be the prettiest in the league. It may not involve the flashiest goal scoring, or for that matter very much goal scoring at all. It's effective, though, and they will clog you up and shut you down. Philadelphia's defense has been the best in the East, and Houston's ranks as number three. And it's carried these two clubs into the upper-echelon of their Eastern Conference.

But that doesn't mean that these teams are fully devoid from offense. The Union's Sebastien Le Toux has had an absolutely dominant second half of the season, and one can't help but get the feeling that while they've yet to get Freddy Adu to fully click into the lineup, if and when they do, he will be amongst the most dangerous in the league. Danny Mwanga, a Rookie of the Year candidate from a year ago, is back from injury, and don't forget about Roger Torres and, increasingly, Michael Farfan. Veljko Paunovic, whose importance to the team's offense has grown exponentially since joining the team in mid-June, is likely to be kept out due to a right hamstring strain, which is troubling, but the Union have plenty of skill on their roster to make up for his absence. The Dynamo are still led by Brian Ching, but the key challenge for Philadelphia is that Houston has been able to consistently spread the bulk of its scoring to several players. Seven Dynamo players have scored four or more goals. The Union have three players that fall into that category. But the one player to watch for on the Dynamo is Brad Davis. He's one of Houston's seven four-or-more goal scorers with four on the season, but he also has 16 assists. That is not a typo. He leads the league in assists, and if you combine his goals and assists, he's directly contributed to 21 of Houston's 45 goals. In other words, if you can keep Davis to the outside and bottle him up, you've just cut off about half of Houston's offense. It's far from that easy, of course, but that has to be objective #1 from the Union.

Projected starters, up-to-date injury reports and assorted notes after the jump...

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The Philadelphia Union's unexpected announcement of a partnership with CBS Radio's SportsRadio WIP came less than six hours before its highly-anticipated match against the New York Red Bulls, and while the aftermath of that match will garner much of the attention and newspaper ink dedicated to the team over the next few days, fans and followers of the Union need to make sure they don't overlook the ramifications of this deal. Despite having one of the best local television platforms in MLS with Comcast SportsNet and 6abc of any MLS team, and the third highest local television ratings in the league, the Union -- until yesterday -- were the only team in MLS to not have a terrestrial radio partnership of any kind. The closest thing they had to a relationship with a radio station was with another CBS Radio property, rock station 94 WYSP, that was absorbed by WIP some six weeks ago. With the loss of WYSP as a friend, the Union seemed to have lost its one foothold in local radio.

From day one of the team's inaugural season, WIP management and talent showed a sincere lack of interest in even mentioning about the Union over their airwaves, let alone carrying some of their matches and partnering on a weekly hour-long show. As a source told the Brotherly Game earlier this fall, the Union had about as much of a chance of finding themselves on WIP as a snowball's chance in hell. Despite being scorned repeatedly, Union CEO and Operating Partner Nick Sakiewicz remained courteous and made sure that an olive branch was out there, just in case the seemingly slim chance of a change in heart came to fruition. The team (and perhaps the team alone) said it considered WIP one of its media partners, even going so far as to list WIP hosts Anthony Gargano, Glen Macnow and Brian Startare under its local media directory in the organization's yearly media guide.

When WIP absorbed 94.1 FM on the dial from WYSP on September 2 as part of a multi-pronged effort to deal with increased competition from 97.5 The Fanatic, it immediately began using its new FM location as its flagship, and relegated 610 AM to an overflow station that simulcasts the main 94.1 FM feed when it has no original content of its own (which is just about 24/7). A source tells the Brotherly Game that CBS Radio management decided that it wanted original content specifically for 610 AM to keep it relevant in the local radio space, and that's where the Union come in.

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Well, talk about unexpected. The Philadelphia Union and CBS Radio property SportsRadio WIP have announced a major deal that will see 17 select home and away Union matches broadcast on local radio starting next year, in addition to a weekly hour-long show dedicated to soccer, also starting next year that will run through the end of the MLS season in November.

This is, sensationalism aside, an absolutely remarkable achievement for the young team. WIP is no upstart -- it is established local radio, that for years has appeared to have no interest in soccer. As recently as last month, a local media source told the Brotherly Game that the chances of seeing the Union on WIP were about the same as a snowball's chance in hell. Well, times have changed, it turns out. A growing buzz around the team with their upcoming playoff run and (we're told) a desire on the part of WIP's management to have original programming on its 610 AM feed instead of just simulcasting from their new 94.1 FM flagship station led to interest in a deal.

Despite getting negative vibes from WIP hosts and management alike over its first two seasons of existence, the Union and its CEO & Operating Partner Nick Sakiewicz tried to leave an olive branch available to CBS Radio just in case there was ever any interest down the line, often going out of their way to be kind. Those extra efforts have paid off.

We'll have much more on this over the coming days. For now, Union fans, congratulations: a deal with WIP is about the furthest proof you can get that this team is breaking into the mainstream.

Setting: Thursday, October 20 at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ; kickoff scheduled for 8:06:30 PM Eastern

Broadcast Information: ESPN2/ESPN3.com (Adrian Healey, John Harkes), ESPN Deportes (Richard Mendez, Giovanni Savarese) and ESPN Deportes Radio (Jorge Ramos, Hernan Pereyra) nationally, with coverage beginning at 8:00 PM Eastern

New York's Record: 9-8-16, fifth in East

New York's Last Match: L, 2-0 at Sporting KC

Philadelphia vs. New York This Season: 1-0-0 (New York 0 @ Philadelphia 1 on April 9)

For the New York Perspective, Visit Once A Metro

The Philadelphia Union have pushed through the proverbial door. They are guaranteed a spot in the MLS Cup Playoffs. The only question is what position they will find themselves in when the regular season comes to a close. For their opponent on Thursday, the New York Red Bulls, the situation remains much less certain. After a painful 2-0 loss at Sporting Kansas City that was downright demoralizing, not just because of the result, but because of the loss of Thierry Henry to a red card, the Red Bulls' postseason hopes rests on the result of their final match of the season.

New York is guaranteed a spot with a victory against the Union, but with a draw or loss, the situation becomes murkier, and the Red Bulls would need some help. If the Red Bulls share a draw with the Union, they need Portland to win and tie in their final two matches. With a loss, they need Portland to lose at least one of its two remaining matches, DC United to lose both of its two remaining matches, and for Chicago to lose at home against Columbus. Suffice to say, the Red Bulls will just about be forced to go all out tomorrow against the Union, and the loss of Henry won't help -- although it may not hurt, as starlet Juan Agudelo will take his place up front.

Since their playoff-clinching draw on Saturday, the Union have expressly said that they will try to beat New York to put themselves into the best scenario possible when the playoffs roll around, and that means keeping their foot on the pedal. They will be without Veljko Paunovic, whose role and importance on the team has increased throughout the second half of the season, due to a hamstring sprain. Paunovic and the team hope that he will be available for the postseason, but at this point in time, a timetable for his return is "uncertain." Faryd Mondragon, refreshed and reinvigorated, will be back between the pipes for the Union as they try to put the finishing touches on a tremendous regular season in front of hundreds of traveling fans from Philadelphia, while simultaneously putting New York's on life support.

Projected starters, up-to-date injury reports and assorted notes after the jump...

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Setting: Saturday, October 15 at PPL Park in Chester; kickoff scheduled for 4:08:00 PM Eastern

Broadcast Information: Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia (JP Dellacamera, Taylor Twellman, Marc Zumoff), with coverage beginning at 3:30 PM Eastern with a pre-game show / TSN (Luke Wileman, Jason de Vos) nationally in Canada and Sportsnet 590 The FAN CJCL-AM (Dan Dunleavy) locally in Toronto / MLS Direct Kick, MatchDay Live (blackout in Canada; CSN Philadelphia feed)

Toronto's Record: 6-13-13, eighth in East

Toronto's Last Match: T, 1-1 vs. New York

Philadelphia vs. Toronto This Season: 1-0-0 (Philadelphia 6 @ Toronto 2 on May 28)

For the Toronto Perspective, Visit Waking The Red

A week after an all-impressive 2-0 victory in Seattle, the Philadelphia Union return to PPL Park for their last (regular season) home match this year. The preview for this one is simple: win or draw and you're in. Lose, and things become a little more complicated, but you're probably still in. Don't be deceived by Toronto's record, either. Union manager Piotr Nowak and his players are insisting that they aren't, but the proof is in the pudding, so to speak. Their defense is still as leaky as any in MLS (the 4-3-3 formation they've come out in at times this season probably doesn't help), but mid-season acquisitions Torsten Frings and Danny Koevermans have revitalized the team offensively, and it's carried them to a respectable 3-2-4 over their last nine MLS matches.

The real point of discussion over this past week amongst Union fans and media is who to start in goal, with Faryd Mondragon officially available to play. Rookie Zac MacMath has really excelled in his time in MLS (the four goals conceded against New England weren't truly his fault, and the team's comeback certainly helped him throw that performance out of the memory bank), and the team is on a roll -- do you really want to tinker with something that's not broken? We'll know the thoughts of the Union braintrust tomorrow afternoon, but in all probability, the answer is yes. Mondragon is ready, and he's hungry to be back on the pitch. In fact, the entire Union roster has proclaimed in one way or another -- through Twitter or through the media -- that they're ready. They're calling this their most important match of their season, and Nowak has continued to explain the proverbial 'door to the playoffs' that he believes the Union are now standing right in front of.

If they can limit the impact of Frings, and particularly Koevermans (7 goals in nine matches/eight starts), there's no reason why the Union won't be able to turn the knob of that door and push tomorrow afternoon in front of another full PPL Park, clinching the organization's first-ever playoff berth.

Projected starters, up-to-date injury reports and assorted match notes after the jump...

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Setting: Saturday, October 8 at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Wash.; kickoff scheduled for 10:06:30 PM Eastern

Broadcast Information: Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia (Marc Zumoff, Bob Rigby), with coverage beginning following Flyers Post-Game Live / KING 5 and News Talk 97.3 KIRO-FM (Arlo White, Erin Mayovsky), THIS-TV/KOMO 4.2 (Jaime Mendez, Hugo Alcarez-Cuellar) and La Gran D 99.3 KDDS-FM (Rene Aleman, Victor Hernandez, Noe Menendez) in Seattle / MLS Direct Kick, MatchDay Live (CSN Philadelphia feed)

Seattle's Record: 16-6-9, second in West

Seattle's Last Match: W, 2-0 vs. Chicago (U.S. Open Cup final)

Philadelphia vs. Seattle This Season: 0-0-1 (Seattle 1 @ Philadelphia 1 on April 30)

For the Seattle Perspective, Visit Sounder At Heart

When the 2011 MLS schedule was released this past February 10, every member of the Philadelphia Union organization still with the team from its inaugural season circled October 8. On March 25, 2010, the Union took on Seattle, in Seattle, for their first-ever MLS match. The Sounders snatched three points with a decisive 2-0 win. Toni Stahl and David Myrie saw their first, and last, MLS minutes. Danny Mwanga started in midfield. It seems like ancient history, but it was only a little more than a year and a half ago. So much has changed for the Union, but Seattle remains the stalwart -- perhaps even a stronger one -- that Philadelphia suffered a trial-by-fire at the hands of. Those who played in that match and still remain with the club (Mwanga, Danny Califf, Roger Torres, former Sounder Sebastien Le Toux, Stefani Miglioranzi, Amobi Okugo and Jack McInerney) will probably have memories from that night flash up in their minds as they take to the pitch. Three months and a couple of days later, the Seattle visited the Union to help open up PPL Park, and Philadelphia greeted them in style with a 3-1 shellacking. In short, the Sounders hold a significant place in the Union's brief history, so it seems fitting that the Emerald City will be the setting for such a crucial match.

Why so vital? For literally months, the Union have held one or two matches in hand against most of their Eastern Conference opponents. That match in hand has certainly given Union fans some added optimism when looking in the standings -- "look at where they are, and think about if they win that match in hand!" Well, here comes that match in hand. There's only one other MLS match on the docket this weekend, and it involves two non-playoff teams with New England and San Jose. With a draw, the Union would pull into a tie with Sporting Kansas City for first place in the Eastern Conference, and with a victory, they would have first place to themselves for the first time in a while.

After a brief ankle scare, it appears as though rookie goalkeeper Zac MacMath will be able to start tomorrow night. Faryd Mondragon has resumed training after fracturing his right ring finger early last month at Real Salt Lake, but is not yet ready to take back the reins. He and the backline are very lucky that the scorching Fredy Montero won't be available as he serves a one-match suspension for yellow card accumulation, but Alvaro Fernandez and Lamar Neagle are ever-dangerous from midfield. Wonder-find Mauro Rosales, nursing a right MCL sprain, might be kept out of the lineup as well. With Montero missing, expect to see Mike Fucito slot in up top with Nate Jaqua for Seattle.

Projected starters, up-to-date injury reports and assorted notes after the jump...

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Setting: Sunday, October 2 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.; kickoff scheduled for 8:06:30 PM Eastern

Broadcast Information: The Comcast Network (JP Dellacamera, Taylor Twellman, Bob Rigby), coverage beginning at 7:30 PM with a pre-game show / PRIME TICKET (Christian Miles, Allen Hopkins), KWHY-TV/W Radio 690 XEWW-AM (Hipólito Gamboa, Rigo Cervantez) in Los Angeles / MLS Direct Kick, MatchDay Live (PRIME TICKET feed)

Chivas's Record: 8-12-11, seventh in West

Chivas's Last Match: W, 3-0 vs. Toronto FC

Philadelphia vs. Chivas This Season: 1-0-0 (Chivas 2 @ Philadelphia 3 on June 25)

For the Chivas Perspective, Visit The Goat Parade

After an exhilarating 3-2 victory against regional and standings rival DC United on Thursday, the Philadelphia Union face a very quick turnaround as they head cross-country to pay a visit to Chivas USA. From a physical standpoint, this will undoubtedly be the Union's toughest test of the season -- players' bodies are likely just starting to recover from a fast-paced, physical match on Thursday, and to immediately throw a six-hour plane ride, a three-hour time change and another match at them is a big challenge. And they won't be taking on a pushover side, either. As remote as the possibilities may be, Chivas is one of several clubs in a position where, if they win the remainder of their fixtures, they might just sneak their way into a wild card spot.

Nick LaBrocca, Justin Braun and Juan Pablo Angel make up a three-pronged attack for Chivas, with former Union player Alejandro Moreno sitting back slightly in the hopes of slipping behind opposing defenses who already have their hands full. Dan Kennedy has been forced to save his side's bacon on more than one occasion this season thanks to a somewhat erratic backline, and is fully capable of stealing points for his club tomorrow night against Philadelphia. Angel looks to be rejuvenated since moving across town from the Galaxy a month and a half ago, and that is a scary proposition for any team playing against him.

Philadelphia, on the other hand, is fighting to say in control of a top-3 spot in the Eastern Conference to guarantee their position in the postseason. While their three point performance against DC on Thursday was massive, they must take another result tomorrow night as they make up a match in hand against many of their Eastern Conference counterparts. The schedule doesn't get any easier for the Union, who visit Seattle next weekend before returning to the East Coast to host Jekyll and Hide-esque Toronto FC and visit the New York Red Bulls. Zac MacMath, who will be between the pipes once again, has had better performances than his one on Thursday, and has to be a little more aggressive both vocally and physically.

Projected starters, up-to-date injury reports and assorted notes after the jump...

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Setting: Thursday, September 29 at PPL Park in Chester; kickoff scheduled for 8:06:30 PM Eastern

Broadcast Information: ESPN2 and ESPN3.com nationwide (Adrian Healey, John Harkes), ESPN Deportes (Richard Mendez, Giovanni Savarese) and ESPN Deportes Radio (Jorge Ramos, Hernan Pereyra) nationally, with coverage beginning at 7:00 PM Eastern / TSN2 (ESPN2 feed) in Canada

DC's Record: 9-8-11, sixth in East

DC's Last Match: W, 4-1 vs. Real Salt Lake

Philadelphia vs. DC This Season: 0-0-1 (Philadelphia 2 @ DC 2 on July 2)

For the DC Perspective, Visit Black And Red United

After taking a hard-earned point from Sporting Kansas City at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park last Friday night, the Philadelphia Union return home to take on DC United who, despite being sixth in the East, are only separated from first by four points. If there's ever been such a thing as a full log-jam in professional sports standings, Major League Soccer's Eastern Conference is surely it. Call it balanced or call it mediocrity if you wish, but it's what these teams have to deal with. And for the Union, things don't get any bigger than this: after hosting DC tomorrow night, Philadelphia travels to Carson, California to take on Chivas USA on Sunday. Two matches in four nights, separated by some 3,000 miles. In other words, if you've been wondering when the Union would be making up their elusive match in hand on the rest of the East, well, this week is it.

Dwayne De Rosario just about singlehandedly defeated Real Salt Lake last week, taking a hat trick and an assist out of their 4-1 victory, keeping DC in contention and showing that if he doesn't end up with some hardware at the end of the season, someone at MLS has to check to make sure their head is screwed on properly. To say that Philadelphia has to shut him down is an understatement, but if they're watching De Rosario too narrowly, Andy Najar or Josh Wolff might sneak in behind and burn the Union. Fortunately for them, it appears as though they will get Sheanon Williams back very quickly after suffering a concussion (perhaps too quickly, as Union color commentator Taylor Twellman would likely suggest).

For their part, Philadelphia could do with scoring more than one goal. They should have Freddy Adu and Danny Mwanga back from injury and available to start, and if Roger Torres can continue his trend of getting better every match, they might just do it, particularly against a pedestrian DC defense. Zac MacMath in particular has been rock solid between the pipes for the Union, and the number of times he has been out of position since taking over for an injured Faryd Mondragon at the beginning of this week can probably be counted on one hand. Make no mistake: he's the real deal. As much as handling the three-pronged attack of Sporting KC was a challenge, trying to close off the red-hot De Rosario might be an even tougher one for Mondragon and company.

Projected starters, up-to-date injury reports and assorted notes after the jump...

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Setting: Friday, September 23 at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kansas; kickoff scheduled for 8:36:30 PM Eastern

Broadcast Information: Fox Soccer (JP Dellacamera, Kyle Martino, Brian Dunseth) and Fox Deportes (Jorge Caamaño, Alejandro Luna) nationally as 'Soccer Night in America', with coverage beginning at 8:00 PM Eastern with a pre-game show / La Gran D 1340 KDTD-AM (Raul Villegas, Enrique Morales) in Kansas City

Kansas City's Record: 10-9-10, second in East

Kansas City's Last Match: L, 1-0 at Real Salt Lake

Philadelphia vs. Kansas City This Season: 0-0-1 (Kansas City 0 @ Philadelphia 0 on June 22)

For the Kansas City Perspective, Visit The Daily Wiz

After snapping an eight match winless drought this past weekend against Columbus, the Philadelphia Union travel to shiny new LIVESTRONG Sporting Park for the first time to take on Sporting Kansas City in another match that has major implications on the Major League Soccer playoff race. Philadelphia sits one point behind Sporting in the standings, but has one match in hand, and a Union win combined with a Columbus loss could see them back in first place. Kansas City have proven to be a very tough nut to crack in their new confines, though, amassing a 7-2-5 record at home thus far in 2011.

The Union face a rather big injury blow as well, as Sheanon Williams has suffered a concussion, and a definite timetable for his recovery is unclear (as it tends to be for head injuries). Williams has been a spark plug for Philadelphia, both offensively and defensively, and he will be sorely missed by the team. The Union have a couple of options to replace him, but it seems just as likely as anything that Michael Farfan will slot into Williams's position as he has done a few times this season. Sporting has one of the top offenses in the league, and with Faryd Mondragon already out due to injury, the last thing the Union needed was another blow to their backline. But those are the breaks, so to speak, and Piotr Nowak and company will have to try and deal with them appropriately.

Kei Kamara, Teal Bunbury, Omar Bravo and Graham Zusi headline Kansas City's offensive numbers, and with names like that, plus the emerging C.J. Sapong, it's not tough to see how Sporting were able to survive their incredibly long season opening road trip while the finishing touches were made on their new facility, and put themselves in a position to make the playoffs thanks to some luck and good form at home (just ask Philadelphia how tough it was to not play a true home match until June). Make no mistake that while Jimmy Nielsen can steal points at any given time against any given team, it has been their scoring touch -- something Philadelphia has so desperately lacked at times -- that has kept them afloat, not their defensive play. If an injury-riddled Union backline can keep Sporting from running them over, there's no reason why a resurgent Sebastien Le Toux can't lead his team to a crucial road result.

Projected starters, up-to-date injury reports and assorted notes after the jump...

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Going into their match against the Columbus Crew, the Philadelphia Union and their supporters talked up tonight as perhaps the most important in club history. The first-place Crew came into Chester leading the Union by five points in the standings, with one match in hand. A Union victory would do two things: snap an eight-match winless streak in MLS play, and put the Union right back in the thick of the race for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. As it turned out, Union manager Piotr Nowak managed to shift the focus of attention of fans, media and players alike with a mere seven letters: 'PFEFFER'.

In a highly unexpected move, Nowak put the 16 year-old's last name onto his side's starting roster card. There had been talk all year that Pfeffer would see time in MLS play at some point during the season, but to give him his first minutes in a starting role for the club's biggest tilt of the year thus far? No one -- including Pfeffer himself -- expected that. He, and his parents, had no idea about Nowak's decision until early this evening, and the team actually had to call his parents at their home in Dresher to tell them that they might want to make sure to arrive at PPL Park in time for kickoff.

In the minutes that Pfeffer has played for the Union in reserve matches and international friendlies, he's looked surprisingly comfortable and in-sync, and tonight was no different. He was aggressive, but stable in his 62 minutes of play in midfield tonight. He had an excellent chance setup by Sebastien Le Toux, and on several occasions surprised those in the standing-room only crowd and watching on TV with a great cut or an incredible turn. It's hard to argue that his debut appearance was anything but special.

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Setting: Saturday, September 17 at PPL Park in Chester; kickoff scheduled for 7:36:30 PM Eastern.

Broadcast Information: The Comcast Network (JP Dellacamera, Taylor Twellman, Bob Rigby), coverage beginning at 7:00 PM Eastern with a pre-game show / ONN (Dwight Burgess, Duncan Oughton), News Talk 610 WTVN-AM (Neil Sika) and La Mega 103.1 WVKO-FM (Carlos Cordova, Benny Pietrangelo) in Columbus / MLS Direct Kick, MatchDay Live (The Comcast Network feed)

Columbus's Record: 11-9-8, first in East

Columbus's Last Match: T, 2-2 vs. Houston

Philadelphia vs. Columbus This Season: 0-1-0 (Philadelphia 1 @ Columbus 2 on August 20)

After a somewhat disappointing scoreless home draw against the Portland Timbers on Saturday, the Philadelphia Union welcome in the Eastern Conference-leading Columbus Crew in an absolutely vital match for both sides. The Crew lead the Union by five points in the standings, but Philadelphia has one match in hand. Columbus has hit a bit of a rough patch lately, going winless in their last three (of course, Philadelphia is winless in their last eight in MLS competition), and entering PPL Park on the backside of a stretch with three matches in eight nights. They lost last weekend at home to last-place Toronto in rather resounding fashion, and conceded a late equalizer while hosting the ten-men Houston Dynamo on Wednesday.

A Union victory would assure that they keep pace with other East leaders Sporting KC, who are visiting Real Salt Lake, Houston, who host San Jose, and DC United, who are in Seattle. It would also be a major mental breakthrough for the Union. They have appeared to be on the upswing in their past two performances, but with no victory to show for either, it's hard take solace at a time in the season where the standings get tighter and tighter with the passing of every week. Manager Piotr Nowak has said multiple times over the past six weeks that the team appears to be lacking that "killer instinct" to go above and beyond the run of play, and cash in. Their performance against New England showed that they aren't lacking it, but their performance against Portland proved that it's hard for this team to bring it out on a consistent basis.

Something that the Union can take comfort in is the play of rookie goalkeeper Zac MacMath, who earned a clean sheet against the Timbers after showing a rather unrepresentative four goals against in his first career MLS start. He seems to have his bearings and, most importantly, the play in front of him is becoming consistent. Having the last several days to practice can only help MacMath and his defense learn about each other, particularly about when MacMath will come off his line to try and smother the ball, when he won't, and how he likes to have things organized in front of him. The Crew bring a large offensive threat, though they're missing several pieces to injury and suspension, and it will be another challenging ninety minutes for MacMath and the backline.

Projected starters, up-to-date injury reports and assorted notes after the jump...

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Setting: Saturday, September 10 at PPL Park in Chester; kickoff scheduled for 7:36:30 PM Eastern

Broadcast Information: The Comcast Network (JP Dellacamera, Taylor Twellman, Bob Rigby), coverage beginning at 7:00 PM Eastern with a pre-game show / ROOT Sports Northwest (Glenn Davis, Robbie Earle), NewsRadio 101.1 KXL-FM (Andy McNamara) and La Pantera 940 KWBY-AM (Fernando Sobrevilla, Ricardo Rodriguez) in Portland / MLS Direct Kick, MatchDay Live (ROOT Sports Northwest feed)

Portland's Record: 9-12-5, sixth in West

Portland's Last Match: W, 1-0 vs. Chivas USA

Philadelphia vs. Portland This Season: 0-1-0 (Philadelphia 0 @ Portland 1 on May 6)

For the Portland Perspective, Visit Stumptown Footy

Philadelphia Union fans have had a little bit time to breathe and try and digest exactly what happened as the team took an incredible, come from behind 4-4 draw at home against the New England Revolution, but it still seems like no one is quite sure what they saw on Wednesday night. There were wheelbarrows full of poor defensive plays on both sides, but the feeling wasn't one of a high-paced "last shot wins" contest -- it was one of overall weirdness. The Union trailed 3-0 and 4-1, but they never seemed like they were truly out of the match, thanks to continued defensive breakdowns from New England and a Philadelphia side that smelled blood in the water after Roger Torres's goal and knew that they were not out of reach. It was the first time the team had scored more than four goals in an MLS match since May 28 in Toronto, and the first time that they had given up four goals in over eleven months. In the end, though, they only took a point from a critical home match in hand against the teams above them in the Eastern Conference, and they did it facing a team towards the very bottom of the Major League Soccer standings. In other words, New England giving up four goals -- even in the fashion that they did -- wasn't all that surprising or unexpected. Philadelphia, however, is supposed to be (and has to be) so much better than that.

Now in come the Portland Timbers, making their first ever visit to PPL Park. Thanks to a late-summer push, their playoff hopes are still well alive, sitting only three points out of a wild card spot with a match or so in hand against many of the teams above them in the standings. And as the Union play in their third match in eight nights, Portland is playing in its first MLS match since August 24, meaning that, like this past Saturday, a tired Philadelphia side will take on a well-rested opponent. The Revs jumped all over this opportunity, and instead of appearing rusty, took it to Philadelphia in the finishing department in the first half, although the overall run of play seemed to be in the Union's favor. Perhaps John Spencer's side will start out a bit rusty and in a bit of a tentative form, and if that's the case, the Union will need to take advantage. Whatever momentum they took out of Wednesday must be funneled into tomorrow night's match, or they'll continue to find themselves in an increasingly tight playoff picture.

Zac MacMath certainly didn't play poorly in his first-ever MLS start, and the four goals he allowed did not reflect his effort properly, but he'll continue to be the centerpiece of holding down the fort for the Union while Faryd Mondragon tries to race back from injury. He has to make sure his players are better organized and more aware of their surroundings as they try to shut down Jack Jewsbury, Kenny Cooper and Jorge Perlaza. And if the last couple of weeks are any indication, Sebastien Le Toux looks to be finally back on track -- he was all over the pitch against the Revs right from the opening whistle, and his penalty kick for Union goal number three and added time equalizer were obviously critical to the Union's comeback. Given these two teams' positioning in the standings and the Union's prolonged slide (which may have been halted on Wednesday), perhaps Le Toux can lead the team to three points in what is undoubtedly a 'must-win' match.

Projected starters, up-to-date injury reports and assorted notes after the jump...

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Setting: Wednesday, September 7 at PPL Park in Chester; kickoff scheduled for 8:08:00 PM Eastern

Broadcast Information: The Comcast Network (JP Dellacamera, Taylor Twellman, Bob Rigby), coverage beginning at 7:30 PM Eastern with a pre-game show / Comcast SportsNet New England and 98.5 The Sports Hub WBZ-FM (Brad Feldman, Jay Heaps) in New England / Galavisión (Jorge Perez-Navarro, Diego Balado) nationally in Spanish / MLS Direct Kick, MatchDay Live (Canada only)

New England's Record: 4-11-11, ninth in East

New England's Last Match: T, 2-2 vs. New York Red Bulls

Philadelphia vs. New England This Season: 1-0-0 (Philadelphia 3 @ New England 0 on July 17, the Union's last MLS win to date)

For the New England Perspective, Visit The Bent Musket

After another disappointing result for the Philadelphia Union that saw them take no points at Rio Tinto Stadium against Real Salt Lake, the team returns to PPL Park for their second of three matches in eight nights. The team was dealt an even more crippling blow, though, than the individual result: All-Star keeper Faryd Mondragon had fractured a finger, and is expected to be kept off the pitch between two and four weeks. Rookie Zac MacMath played exceptionally well in his MLS debut in the second half in Utah as Mondragon was taken out for X-rays, and the US Men's National Team prospect is expected to be right back between the pipes tomorrow as Philadelphia hosts the New England Revolution.

And it might be very fitting that the Union host the Revs, considering that the team's last MLS win to date came in a 3-0 victory at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough on July 17. As Boston-native Sheanon Williams scored on a virtual breakaway in the match's final minutes to put a cherry on top of the Philadelphia shell shock, all Union fans could think about was how different this year's team was from last year's -- there was a true level of consistency in their game, and mistakes in the back had been minimized (and, really, almost eliminated entirely). Oh, how things change. Perhaps it's a coincidence, and perhaps it's not, but that night saw Carlos Ruiz play his final minutes, and score his final goal, in a Union uniform. Regardless, the team has has taken the pitch since then looks much more like the 2010 Union than what was thought to be the 2011 Union. Well, in reality, it's been sort of the worst of both sides: the defense has become shaky (2010) and the offense tends to sputter until the team's backs are too far against the wall to recover due to time or the score (2011). Now the only thing all Union fans can do is ask whether the team is just in a poor stretch, hurt somewhat by injuries and a suspension, or is this the new reality? The team has already made its path towards a potential playoff berth much more difficult following the results it has accumulated over the last six weeks, and losing the goalkeeper that has started every single league match for the team this season surely can't help.

The team and the media (including us) have made a good-sized fuss as each match day has arrived over the last month and a half about how important the points at stake were, how the team was approaching must-draw or must-win situations, etc. It's probably fair to say that the team has arrived at that point. They host hapless New England tomorrow, and the wildly inconsistent Portland Timbers this Saturday. For the team to remain with the playoff pack, and to regain a somewhat comfortable footing, six points are likely to be necessary after these two matches are concluded. Before worrying about Saturday, though, the Union need to take three points at PPL Park tomorrow night -- and that's not really an option. Philadelphia is making up another one of its crucial matches in hand, and they need three points. No ifs, ands or buts. The team needs to regain a sense of urgency in its form before they're trailing by one or two goals, and it needs to listen to and support the rookie goalkeeper making the start tomorrow. Otherwise, the Union will be chasing the playoffs instead of chasing the top seed.

Projected starters, up-to-date injury reports and assorted match notes after the jump...

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Setting: Saturday, September 3 at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah; kickoff scheduled for 9:06:30 PM Eastern

Broadcast Information: The Comcast Network (JP Dellacamera, Taylor Twellman) with coverage beginning at 8:30 PM Eastern with Union Pre-Game Live / ESPN 700 KALL-AM (Bill Riley, Brian Kamler) and Juan 106.1 KBMG-FM/ESPN Deportes 1600 KEPN-AM (Nelson Moran, Fernando Hortal) with no local television in Salt Lake City / MLS Direct Kick, MatchDay Live (The Comcast Network feed)

RSL's Record: 11-7-6, fifth in West

RSL's Last Match: W, 2-1 at Chivas USA

Philadelphia vs. RSL This Season: 0-0-1 (RSL 1 @ Philadelphia 1 on June 11)

For the RSL Perspective, Visit RSL Soapbox

The Philadelphia Union got an unexpected week off thanks to Hurricane Irene, and, fortunately, they did not lose any more ground in the standings despite the three teams ahead of them in the Eastern Conference being in action. They now have played fewer matches than anyone else in the league except for Real Salt Lake, who happens to be their opponent this week. Remember that this match was originally scheduled for April 23rd, but the Union agreed to move the match to this Saturday so Real Salt Lake could have additional time to prepare and rest for the second leg of their CONCACAF Champions League Finals series against Monterrey (the first leg took place on April 20th, and the second was scheduled for April 27th, so it certainly would have been a major disruption to have a league match in between). This particular week was picked because, well, it was the only convenient week to pick in which both teams were free, thanks to its designation by FIFA as an international match week. No teams in MLS were originally scheduled to be in league action from September 2nd through the 6th in anticipation of various national team call ups.

This means that this rescheduled match is the only one on the MLS docket for the week, and both Philadelphia and RSL will be making up one of their crucial matches in hand as the two teams attempt to jump back up in the standings after some tough runs of play. Due to the aforementioned national team call ups, RSL is missing a number of their key players: Will Johnson, Arturo Alvarez, Alvaro Saborio and Jean Alexander are all away with their national teams, while Philadelphia is missing Trinidad and Tobago national Keon Daniel. In addition, RSL's Nat Borchers and Philadelphia's Carlos Valdes will both be unavailable due to one match suspensions. Borchers saw red last week at the Home Depot Center against Chivas USA, while Valdes was finally bitten for yellow card accumulation. All of these missing players add up to two teams that are playing rather shorthanded, but despite the massive importance of Valdes to Philadelphia's stringent defense, the Union have been hit much less, and must take advantage of Real Salt Lake's missing pieces.

Real Salt Lake still have Fabian Espindola, though, and the Union must be wary of him, Kyle Beckerman, Luis Gil and Paulo Jr., all of whom are expected to start tomorrow. After another sluggish performance in Columbus, Piotr Nowak can only hope that his side has taken the unexpected break to rest up and continue to work on integrating Freddy Adu into the roster, as tomorrow's match begins yet another stretch of three matches in eight nights, and Philadelphia's slip over the past month has made points that much more important as the team attempts to make the MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time in their history. If the season ended right now, both Real Salt Lake and the Union would find themselves in wild card spots and, as a matter of fact, would be facing each other at Rio Tinto Stadium in a postseason play-in match. Both Nowak and Jason Kreis want to see their teams well clear of the wild card slots in the standings, so don't expect either side to come out of the locker rooms tomorrow looking to play to a draw; these are two teams that need three points, not just one.

Projected starters, up-to-date injury reports and assorted notes after the jump...

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Setting: Saturday, August 20 at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio; kickoff scheduled for 7:36:30 PM Eastern

Broadcast Information: The Comcast Network (JP Dellacamera, Taylor Twellman, Bob Rigby) with coverage beginning at 7:00 PM Eastern with a pre-game show / ONN (Dwight Burgess, Dante Washington, Katie Witham), News Talk 610 WTVN-AM (Neil Sika, John Bluem) and La Mega 103.1 WVKO-FM (Carlos Cordova, Benny Pietrangelo) in Columbus / MLS Direct Kick, MatchDay Live (ONN feed)

Columbus's Record: 10-7-7, first in East

Columbus's Last Match: W, 3-1 vs. New England

Philadelphia vs. Columbus Last Season: 0-2-0 (Columbus 2 @ Philadelphia 1 on August 5; Philadelphia 1 @ Columbus 3 in the Union's 2010 regular season finale)

After overcoming two deficits to hold FC Dallas to a 2-2 draw last weekend at PPL Park, the second-place Philadelphia Union are in Columbus to take on the first-place Crew in what many are calling the biggest match in the Union's brief history. There's no beating around the bush on this one: entering tomorrow night's match, the Crew lead Philadelphia by three points with one match in hand. For the Union to reclaim first place and stay clear of the oncoming Sporting Kansas City and Houston Dynamo in the standings, Philadelphia needs three points. Save for last year's home openers at Lincoln Financial Field and PPL Park, they would be the biggest three points this team has ever accrued.

Columbus, much like Philadelphia, was not expected to be where they are in the standings. This was expected to be more of a rebuilding year for them as they transitioned from the side that won MLS Cup in 2008, was first in the East the following year, and finished second last year (thus the jettisoning of Brian Carroll to the Union this past offseason). Guillermo Barros Schelotto, arguably the face of the team during his four year tenure with the team, is gone. Frankie Hejduk, who spent eight years in Columbus, serving as their captain, is gone as well. Columbus is now led in the offense department by Andres Mendoza, while Chad Marshall has taken over the reigns as captain. Emilio Renteria and Hamilton, NJ native Eddie Gaven link with Mendoza to score enough to get by, while Will Hesmer performs superbly in goal.

The Union come into Columbus having now had a full week's worth of training with Freddy Adu. Against Dallas, Adu showed flashes of brilliance, but there's only so much one can do on literally one training session, which is all Adu had to learn his teammates' tendencies and manager Piotr Nowak's system before suiting up. His fitness has likely worked its way back up towards match form, too, so expect him to become an immediate fixture on the pitch for Philadelphia. The aforementioned Carroll, who has been the stalwart in midfield that the Union were hoping for when acquiring him from Columbus, will miss tomorrow's match with a right knee contusion. Expect Stefani Miglioranzi or Amobi Okugo to be slotted in his place. This will be a good one -- these two teams are very similar to one another, and if Philadelphia can put the finishing touches on one chance in the run of play, one suspects that the floodgates might open for Le Toux, Mwanga and Adu.

Projected starters, up-to-date injury reports and assorted notes after the jump...

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We're only about 36 hours from the Union kicking off in Columbus against the Crew (7:30 PM Eastern, The Comcast Network) in a matchup of the two top teams in Major League Soccer's Eastern Conference. We'll have our preview up later today, but this one's going to be a big deal. Today's open thread for all things Union and MLS.

Union gearing up for pivotal showdown against Crew [Nick Iuele, philadelphiaunion.com] - Nick (and others) are calling tomorrow's match the most vital match in club history. Admittedly that's not saying too much given that this is only the team's second-ever season, but do you agree?

Big test for Union in Columbus [Frank Bertucci, Philadelphia Daily News] - "It's the most important game of the season so far," Danny Califf said. "It's not too early enough in the season to be saying it. We're approaching it in that manner."

Carroll, Union Ready For Critical Matchup with Columbus [Matt Leon, KYW Newsradio 1060] - "While it is your old club and you have memories and friends there, once you cross the lines it all business and guys just want to win," former Crew player Brian Carroll tells KYW Newsradio.

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