CHAPTER 1 FIRST PLAYOFF PUSH Most expansion teams have to wait several years to make the Most expansion teams have to wait several years to make the playoffs In the case of the Philadelphia Union it took just playoffs In the case of the Philadelphia Union it took just two seasons Being a brand-new team presents unique challenges Being a brand-new team presents unique challenges The players have never competed together Often they The players have never competed together Often they are players other clubs didn’t want And the team has are players other clubs didn’t want And the team has to figure out lots of new challenges on the fly such as to figure out lots of new challenges on the fly such as how to replace injured players The Union faced all of these obstacles upon joining The Union faced all of these obstacles upon joining Major League Soccer MLS in 2010 They lost half of their Major League Soccer MLS in 2010 They lost half of their 30 games and won only eight However the next year was a 30 games and won only eight However the next year was a different story Goalkeeper Faryd Mondragón was a big Goalkeeper Faryd Mondragón was a big part of the Union’s success in 2011 part of the Union’s success in 2011 4
Brian Carroll right played strong midfield defense for the Union 6
With a year of experience the team began coming together The additions of goalkeeper Faryd Mondragón center back Carlos Valdés and defensive midfielder Brian Carroll proved key too That trio helped the Union cut their goals allowed from 49 in 2010 to just 36 in 2011 Through the 2019 season that remained the fewest in team history The improved defense didn’t lead to many more wins The Union still won just 11 of 34 games in 2011 But they rocketed into playoff contention on the strength of 15 draws The final draw came with a playoff berth on the line Understanding the importance of the game a team-record crowd of 19,178 fans packed the Union’s home stadium in Chester Pennsylvania The team and its fans were eager for a historic day But they were also hoping to avoid disaster against lowly Toronto FC As the 2011 regular season was nearing a close the Union found themselves standing in the middle of a seesaw There were six Eastern Conference teams in the hunt for just five playoff spots and Philadelphia was right in the middle of that pack Only a few points separated the teams A Union win in the second-to-last game of the regular season would not only clinch a playoff spot It would vault the team into first place in the 7 conference
