After guiding the Philadelphia Union to its fourth-straight win to continue its push for the Supporters' Shield, Jim Curtin has been named the MLS Coach of the Week.
Curtin took a confident team up the New Jersey Turnpike to take on rivals New York Red Bulls and had to weather a last-minute change to the lineup after Jose Martinez informed the coach he wasn't 100%. Curtin smoothly adjusted the lineup to feature a midfielder of Leon Flach at the 6 and homegrowns Matt Real and Jack McGlynn on the sides of the diamond. You couldn't tell it was a gametime decision as the Union clogged up the middle of the park and forced the Red Bulls to play long balls against the top defense in the league.
Coupled with another strong offensive performance from the Terrific Trio of Julian Carranza, Mikael Uhre and Daniel Gazdag that netted two goals and an assist, it was no doubt who the Coach of the Week would be.
Curtin has once again guided the club to another recording-breaking season with new club highs in goals scored, points, wins and a fifth-straight Audi MLS Cup Playoff appearance. Atop the conference by eights points and just three behind LAFC for the Supporters' Shield, Curtin has his squad primed for another spectacular postseason run at the right time.
The Boys in Blue are back at Subaru Park on Saturday night as they look to secure a home match in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs when they take on Orlando City SC. Saturday night marks the Union's annual Kick Childhood Cancer Night with our Fearless 43 being celebrated and honored. The match will also see the birthday celebration of everyone's favorite mascot, Phang with fun activities planned on Subaru Plaza and around the stadium. The match presented by Subaru will see kick off from Chester is set for 7:30 p.m. ET with coverage on PHL17 and PhiladelphiaUnion.com.
