The red-hot Philadelphia Union will look to continue their revival Saturday night when they host Orlando City in a key battle between Eastern Conference playoff contenders.
The Union (10-10-6, 36 points) sit in sixth place in the conference, but just three points behind the Chicago Fire for fifth, and are on one of the most impressive stretches in league play in recent memory. Philadelphia has won five consecutive matches and is unbeaten over its past 11 league contests, winning nine of those.
Orlando City (10-12-4, 34 points) are right behind the Union in seventh place and seeking to turn the page after a rough week that saw them eliminated from the U.S. Open Cup in the semifinals by Columbus and suffer a subsequent league loss to surging New England.
Philadelphia’s resurgence over the past four months has been keyed by Pennsylvania native and former Union draft pick Ryan Richter, who was named interim coach in late May after Bradley Carnell was fired.
The Union have been an offensive juggernaut, averaging 2.9 goals per game during that 11-match stretch led by Milan Iloski, who has 13 goals and three assists this season.
“I think the biggest thing was fixing the locker room,” Philadelphia defender Neil Pierre said while interviewed recently at the U.S. men’s national team’s camp outside Atlanta. “The first thing he came in with was, ‘Hey, we’re good enough. This is a whole new season.’ So I think that led us in the right way.”
Pierre is among five regular Philadelphia starters away on international duty, joining Cavan Sullivan, Frankie Westfield, Andre Blake and Danley Jean Jacques.
Orlando City were experiencing a resurgence until last week under their own interim coach, Martin Perelman. But the Lions find themselves in need of a quick turnaround with eight league matches remaining.
The 4-2 loss to New England, in which they allowed two goals in second-half stoppage time, was a squandered opportunity for Orlando City to solidify their potential playoff status.
“I think the process of the team is there, but something we need to improve is this,” Perelman said. “We need to close these kinds of games.”
Martin Ojeda leads Orlando City with 12 goals this season, but the Lions will be short-handed due to multiple players being called up for international duty, including first-time USMNT call-up Justin Ellis, who has six assists over his past 10 games. Orlando beat Philadelphia 4-3 at home in their previous matchup on May 13.
–Field Level Media
