Philadelphia Union squares off against the Colorado Rapids on Saturday night with the action starting at 9:30PM ET on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
Saturday night's contest marks the 18th match of the Union's schedule in 2023 which for most teams means the start of the second half of the regular season. It's only the second week of May however with the Union having competed in a variety of competitions between Concacaf Champions League, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and Major League Soccer. Since April 1, the Union's air miles will total up to nearly 18,000 after they return home from Colorado.
Despite the amount of time crisscrossing North America, the Union are fully focused on league play after a penalty kick shootout loss to Minnesota United in the Round of 32 of the U.S. Open Cup. While the loss was the ultimate result, the contest saw the Union's depth battle a Western Conference playoff team from 2022 and overcome a two-goal deficit in the late stages of the match to for extra time and PKs. Kai Wagner stole the show with memorable goals on the final play of each frame, scoring off a Joaquin Torres volley at 90+4'. The left back then ripped another goal from a free kick chance in the 120th minute.
Head Coach Jim Curtin laid out the goal of 10 points from the club's April 22 to May 20 stretch and so far they have passed with flying colors with six points already secured via a home win against Toronto FC and a gritty 1-0 road performance at rival Red Bulls. After yet another midweek match, the Union could again have some roster rotation as they head to Colorado for another tough contest but will also be facing the altitude. One piece that might be available is midfielder Jose Martinez who has been recovering from a hamstring injury suffered on April 26, with Curtin saying the Venezuelan is pushing to get back fast with to goal to "have him available for selection for Colorado, maybe not to start but hopefully off the bench".
Depth will be called upon as homegrowns Quinn Sullivan and Brandan Craig have departed for the FIFA U-20 World Cup later this month and following the Rapids match, Jack McGlynn will join the squad as well.
Robin Fraser's Western Conference side comes in as one of the hottest teams in the league with a 9-game unbeaten streak across all competitions. The streak that started in mid March has seen the Rapids rack up four wins including two in Open Cup to see them through to the Round of 16. While Colorado will have wanted more points from their current form, they find themselves right on the edge of a higher placement in the conference table with six points separating them from third place.
Fans can expect a tight contest between the Philly and Colorado with the Rapids having seen all but two of their MLS matches decided by a single goal. The Rapids have notched only nine goals in 11 league matches but are starting to hit their stride perhaps with 10 goals in their last four matches (7 in Open Cup). They enter after knocking off the USOC finalists from 2022 via a 4-2 win over Sacramento Republic which came days after a 3-1 road win at LA Galaxy.
