Rolling along on a three match unbeaten streak, Philadelphia Union head coach Jim Curtin had praise for his defense and spoke of a roster crowded with talent. "It was our best performance on the road in terms of expected goals against, I think the lowest number we’ve ever had in club history so it tells you that we really limited their attack," Curtin began. 
Continuing on the theme of defensive strength, the head coach pointed to his stable of central defenders and Haris Medunjanin as part of the strong defensive foundation the club has established recently. " I think we have four of the best ones in the league and they are part of the reason for our success," he said. " I could use all four of them right now and I’d be totally comfortable. They can all still improve on little things and we’ve talked about: Auston with the amount of space that [Cincinnati] gave him being a little more aggressive, driving into it and connecting a pass."
In front of the back line, Medunjanin has acted as shield and attack-starter, fulfilling the role at a high level after many questioned him early in the year. “A lot was made of the red zone defending early and some people maybe pointed fingers at Haris but he is the same player," Curtin said, dismissing criticism of his central hub. "He was never a concern of mine or anyway but he’s a guy that has ramped it up a little bit defensively but is the guy that makes us unique because our attacks start from a deeper spot sometimes. 
"He’s done a really good job of being in passing lanes, intercepting balls and again he is never going to be a Diego Chara who is running around and winning balls that way but he can with his intelligence and experience of playing at the highest level be great for us on the field. What you guys don’t see is off the field, he rooms with Brenden Aaronson and gives him such valuable advice with all the hotel time we spend together. He is a true professional and it’s no secret that he is one of my favorite players to have ever worked with and does a real important job for the team and does a lot of little things that go unseen.”
Medunjanin's strong play has allowed Curtin to feel comfortable using Brenden Aaronson as a No. 8 behind Marco Fabián. The young homegrown has impressed, but much like in defense, the head coach knows he will need to use his full set of midfield options before the season is out. 
The newest of those options is Jamiro Monteiro. After debuting last weekend, Monteiro has continued to take strides forward in training this week. "It's always difficult to change a winning team," Curtin admitted. "But also Jamiro is making it very difficult because he has shown certainly starter talent in his ability in training.  His ability to close down on the ball to not just win the ball but connect the first pass, the speed at which he closes the ball down is very quick and something that pops to the eye."
Monteiro is new to the Union, but FC Dallas' young star Paxton Pomykal isn't. At only 19 years of age, Pomykal has finally assumed the playmaker's mantle for the Texas-based club, and he's growing into it more every game. "Paxton is one of the key guys that we are scouting and game planning for," Philly's head man said. "Trying to disrupt him and his ability to start their attack and go box-to-box and finish off plays."
Pomykal and Aaronson have both taken the league by storm this season, but while Curtin readily agrees their minutes are "earned and deserved," he also believes in seeing a full season of work before making a final assessment of a player. 
"I think it’s important to have the 34 games, put together full seasons and then do again and then you can start to talk about greatness and moving on to Europe and playing at the highest level," Curtin continued. "Both of them have great starting points and are dominating games right now against really good competition."
On the injury front, the head coach said he had nearly everyone available, with Sergio Santos slated to make a trip out to Kansas City with Bethlehem Steel to rehab. " Warren had a little bit of a knock and stayed in today and went through the warmup but it’s great to have Sergio back out there, Kacper back out there and Fabinho back out there," he enthused. 
Curtin and his side welcome FC Dallas to Talen Energy Stadium at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 6.

Tickets are available here.