Philadelphia Union fell to Vancouver Whitecaps 3-2 Saturday night at Talen Energy Stadium in front of 17,225 fans. The loss was the first time the Union dropped a decision at home since Sept. 12, 2015, snapping a 10-game home unbeaten streak. Philadelphia returns to action Wednesday night when they host New York Red Bulls in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 16. They return to MLS action on July 2 when they travel to Houston Dynamo.
Philadelphia opened up the scoring in the 14th minute thanks to a familiar face. Fresh off a hat trick Wednesday night against Chicago, Roland Alberg found the back of the net once again. The play was set up as Alberg took a pass from Barnetta and one-touched it to Fabian Herbers in the box. Herbers then sent a shot that rang off the post and after a deflection from Sebastien Le Toux, Alberg finished the job. His goal was his fifth in three MLS matches and seventh in his last four overall games.
Vancouver wasted little time in responding. Former Union midfielder Andrew Jacobson provided the equalizer off a corner. Philadelphia goalkeeper Andre Blake made an effort to catch the incoming attempt, but was unable to corral it. Jacobson found himself at the right place at the right time and had a wide open net for the header.
Kekuta Manneh was able to give the Whitecaps a 2-1 lead before the half. Manneh showed off his world-class speed, weaving in-an-out of the Union defense before firing a shot towards the net. The attempt rattled off the post and bounced in
The Whitecaps pushed their lead to 3-1 in the 84th minute when Christian Bolanos received a pass inside the box. Bolanos danced his way to into the box and sent a shot attempt that was partially blocked by Keegan Rosenberry. The deflected shot found its way past Blake and into the back of the net.
Philadelphia made a furious comeback attempt in stoppage time. Richie Marquez had a tremendous look, but pushed his shot wide. The Union were able to cut the deficit to one goal after Chris Pontius recorded his team-leading sixth goal of the season, but it was too little too late for the Union as they fell 3-2.
Philadelphia will look to bounce back Wednesday when they host Red Bulls in the U.S. Open Cup Round of 16. Kick-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. The Union return to MLS action next Saturday when they take on the Dynamo in Houston. Kick-off for that match is scheduled for 9 p.m.
MATCH RECAP
Vancouver Whitecaps 3, Philadelphia Union 2
Talen Energy Stadium
Chester, Pa.
POST MATCH AUDIO
Union head coach Jim Curtin
Union goalkeeper Andre Blake
Union defender Josh Yaro
Union midfielder Roland Alberg
Whitecaps head coach Carl Robinson
FINAL MATCH STATS
Shots: 21-10 Union
Shots on Target: 6-4 Vancouver
Possession: 53.4 - 46.6 Vancouver
Passing Accuracy: 84-79
Fouls: 14-7 Vancouver
Corners: 6-5 Union
Duels won: 55-48 Union
Tackles won: 19-16 Vancouver
SCORING SUMMARY
PHI – Roland Alberg (Sebastien Le Toux) 14’
[AUDIO:
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VAN – Andrew Jacobson 19’
VAN – Kekuta Manneh 41’
VAN – Christian Bolanos (Erik Hurtado) 84’
[AUDIO:
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PHI – Chris Pontius 90+4’
DISCIPLINE SUMMARY
PHI – Tranquillo Barnetta (Yellow) 36’
VAN – Kekuta Manneh (Yellow) 51’
PHILADELPHIA UNION STARTING XI
Andre Blake; Fabinho (Leo Fernandes 82’), Richie Marquez, Josh Yaro, Keegan Rosenberry; Brian Carroll ©; Tranquillo Barnetta; Sebastien Le Toux, Roland Alberg, Ilsinho (Chris Pontius 65’), Fabian Herbers (Walter Restrepo 76’)
Substitutes not used: John McCarthy, Ray Gaddis, Ken Tribbett, Warren Creavalle.
VANCOUVER WHITECAPS STARTING XI
David Ousted; Jordan Harvey, Jordan Smith, Tim Parker, Christian Bolanos; Nicolas Mezquida (Blas Perez 75’), Matias Laba; Andrew Jacobson, Pedro Morales © (Russell Teibert 65), Erik Hurtado; Kekuta Manneh (Cristian Techera 79’)
Substitutes not used: Cole Seiler, Paolo Tornaghi, Sam Adekugbe, Fraser Aird.
OFFICIALS
Armando Villarreal (referee). Daniel Belleau (assistant referee), Jose da Silva (assistant referee), Geoff Gamble (fourth)
ATTENDANCE
17,225
TEAM NOTES
- Philadelphia’s 10-game home unbeaten streak was snapped with their loss.
- Tonight was the first time the Union have lost at Talen Energy Stadium since Sept. 12, 2015.
- Chris Pontius recorded his sixth goal of the season tonight, making him the club leader.
- Roland Alberg has scored five goals in his last three MLS matches. He also has seven goals in his last four games overall, including his two-goal effort against City Islanders FC in the Fourth Round of the 2016 Lamar Hunt U.S Open Cup.
- Philadelphia recorded their highest passing accuracy percentage of the season tonight at 84 percent. Their previous high was 76.
- Sebastien Le Toux recorded his 50th career assist in a Union uniform, the most in franchise history.
- Le Toux also recorded his 150th career point in a Union uniform which is the most in franchise history.
- The Union started all three of their 2016 MLS SuperDraft First Round picks – Josh Yaro (No. 2), Keegan Rosenberry (No. 3) and Fabian Herbers (No. 6) – for the first time today.
