The standings indicate that Saturday’s game between the Philadelphia Union and FC Cincinnati will be significant in determining the winner of the Eastern Conference.
That’s enough for coach Bradley Carnell, who isn’t interested in foisting any extra intrigue onto the visit to TQL Stadium (7:30 p.m., APPLETV).
Yes, FC Cincinnati ended the Union’s season on Decision Day last year — or more accurately, were in Chester as the Union ended their own season — and eliminated them from the playoffs in 2023. They’ve had heated affairs in the recent past, including a 4-3 loss in this fixture last year settled by a penalty in the 10th minute of second-half stoppage time.
But the 1-vs.-2 standing in the Eastern Conference needs no extra billing at this juncture of the regular season.
“Emotions are part of the game, and the question is, how you react to the emotions and what’s your next action?” Carnell said Thursday. “We have a style of play that brings a lot of emotion, and I think that’s just natural. So we’re going to start the game in the way that we do. We can’t change who we are. We don’t have different spots, like a leopard. We have one, clear coat, and that’s who we are. And we stick by that, and make sure we live and die by that.”
The Union (16-6-6, 54 points) venture to Ohio leading the MLS table.
San Diego is second with 53 points, with Cincinnati on 52. Also lurking in the Supporters’ Shield race are Inter Miami (46 points from 25 games, or 1.84 points per game to the Union’s 1.93) and Vancouver (49 in 27 games). The Union visit Vancouver out of the international break.
With a gap of two points back to Nashville in third place, the Union and Cincinnati might well decide the East.
Carnell, though, isn’t interested in inflating the hype. His team has had a handful of meetings of top teams already this summer, and Carnell pointed to the season’s first three games and an undefeated stretch through May as just as worthy of the “biggest of the year” designations at the time.
One of those games came March 1 at Subaru Park against Cincinnati, the visitors thrashed 4-1 between legs of their CONCACAF Champions Cup tie.
Carnell isn’t taking much from that game, short of a glance at structure and style that remains true but has been refined over the six months since.
None of the Eastern contenders are in great form at the moment, with six games left in the season.
The Union are 4-3-2 over their last nine. Cincinnati is 3-3-1 in its last seven, including a home loss to New York City FC last week, while Nashville just shook off a three-game skid. By taking care of business at home last week, the Union are positioned such that a draw in Cincinnati looks much better for them than for the hosts.
The Union go into the weekend with a question mark on the status of Indiana Vassilev. He missed last week’s 4-0 blowout of Chicago with a concussion suffered Aug. 13. He returned to training Thursday, but it’s unlikely the team will rush him back.
Andre Blake (hamstring) returned to the field for light work — “minimally moving, testing the waters,” Carnell put it — on Thursday. That gives Andrew Rick another start in Cincinnati.
After Union II emergency callup Pierce Holbrook suffered an apparent leg injury pregame last Saturday, leaving the Union without a reserve goalkeeper, the club signed George Marks this week. That Louisiana native played at Clemson, was drafted in the third round of the 2022 SuperDraft by Charlotte FC and had been with its reserve team, Crown Legacy.
Carnell feels his team has been in plenty of big games already. The early wins set a tone, allowing the Union to pursue trophies while leading from the front.
That doesn’t yet constitute an accomplishment, but it gives them a deserved platform to launch.
“Credit to the group, and credit to the way we’ve clawed our way when we’ve hit a stretch where it doesn’t go our way, we bounce right back,” he said. “The group’s pretty resilient right now and, I don’t want to say confident in the way that things happen automatically. We have to grind, we have to work for everything we get, we know that as a group. But I think we’re learning how to deal with these moments a lot better.”
