Union look to soar vs. struggling D.C. United
The Philadelphia Union will be searching for their third consecutive victory when they visit struggling D.C. United on Wednesday.
The Union (10-3-4, 34 points) can pull even with Toronto FC for first place in the Eastern Conference with another win.
Despite some injuries to key players such as right back Ray Gaddis, the Union continue to pile up points. Their most recent performance was a 2-1 home win over the Montreal Impact last Sunday.
"This entire group, no matter who's called upon, the next man always has stepped up," Union head coach Jim Curtin said. "Guys have been asked to play out of position, guys have been asked to go above and beyond for the team. Every week, these guys don't want to let each other down and that's something that's powerful."
Goalkeeper Andre Blake has already recorded seven shutouts and the stingy defense has surrendered only 14 goals in 17 games.
"We take a lot of pride in our defense this year," Blake said. "All the guys are committed. Jim always says, 'All 11 guys defend and all 11 guys attack' and I think the guys have all bought in."
For D.C. United, the 2020 season has been rather forgettable.
Not only has D.C. United lost five games in a row, they fired their longtime head coach Ben Olsen and replaced him on an interim basis with Chad Ashton.
D.C. United will enter this game with a 2-10-5 record (11 points). Mixed in with two draws and another loss, the last time D.C. United won came all the way back on Sept. 2 when they defeated the New York Red Bulls, 1-0.
D.C. United has scored only 13 goals all season while allowing 30.
As a result, wins have been scarce.
"You know you have to start and end halves and winning teams do that well," Ashton said. "Teams that are struggling don't do that well. There's just no moral victories in this. You've got to find a way to get results."
This will be Ashton's second game as the interim head coach. D.C. United dropped a 2-1 decision to the Chicago Fire in his first game.
--Field Level Media
