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Sure, things were peachy once. Then the opening whistle blew . . . (David Myrie: Second from left, top row).

The unforgiving reality of professional soccer struck home for one Union player today. David Myrie, the former Costa Rican international who started in his first MLS game, played poorly, and left the field limping against the Seattle Sounders last Thursday, was released by the Philadelphia Union earlier today.

The move took many by surprise. Though Myrie started in the Union’s first game, most MLS commentators regarded him more as a prospect than a game-day contributor. Myrie signed with the Chicago Fire in 2009 but made no appearances for the club. He was one of the ten players the Union chose in the expansion draft last November.

This is what I had to say about Myrie last January:

Myrie is the biggest question mark on the back line. The former Costa Rican youth international did not make any appearances for the Fire last season. In a recent interview with Goal.com, Nowak gave some indication of how sees Myrie fitting in to the Union’s plans:

“Myrie, however, didn’t represent an unknown quantity to the Union. Hackworth had seen Myrie play during his days with the Costa Rica youth national teams – Myrie went to the 2005 U-17 World Championship and the 2007 U-20 World Cup with the Ticos – while he coached the U.S. U-17s and reported favorably on him. Add in Myrie’s lineage – his brother, Roy, is a defensive stalwart in the Costa Rican side who has made two appearances for KAA Gent in Belgium this season  – and the Union believed picking Myrie over more proven quantities was worth the risk.

That was good because nobody really knows about him,” Nowak said. ‘John was looking at him and he knows how he plays from his old days with the national team. We have a lot of good reports. His brother’s a high profile guy, so his background is important too. He wants to be better than his brother. His brother is a valuable member of a European team, so now he has all of the motivation to be the same. That’s one positive sign.’

That’s all well and good, but expect another defensive signing soon–don’t expect to see Myrie as a regular starter next season

Nowak likely cut the Costa Rican to make room for Cristian Arrieta, a 30-year-old defender for the Puerto Rico Islanders who, according to multiple reports, is on trial with the Union [update: Myrie’s dumping may also be related to Danny Szetela’s reported tryouts with the Union). It’s doubtful Myrie was cut to make room under the salary cap. He earned only $34,000 last season (and likely a similar amount this season), making him one of the cheaper players on the side.

Cristian Arrieta. Is he ready to make the leap to MLS?

When David Myrie limped off the field Thursday against Seattle, few expected to see him start a game again soon. Not due to injury (we still don’t know what it was, or it’s extent), but because Myrie had an absolutely awful game. The sky may be the limit for the 21-year-old right back, but, like many of Nowak’s other signings this year, his ability has yet to catch up to his potential. He’s just not MLS ready.

Enter Cristian Arrieta, The 30-year-old Puerto Rico Islanders right back is on trial with the Philadelphia Union, according to reports from American Soccer News and Soccer Insider.

In January, American Soccer News listed Arteta as the #1 “USL Buy to Ponder,” saying this about him:

At 30, Arrieta is not getting any younger but the fullback sure can play. An offensive threat as well as a defensive stalwart, the Florida-born defender who grew up in Italy and playing his way up the Italian league chain has scored 17 goals in a little over 50 appearances for the Puerto Rico Islanders. He started with “home-town” teams in Italy, all Serie C1 and C2 before latching on with Serie B’s Lecce (a former Danny Dichio club). After playing only 7 games with Lecce, a new challenge awaited in Puerto Rico where Arrieta has since been a part of two All-USL-1 Teams of the Year. He was also named USL-1 Defender of the Year in 2008.

What’s my take? I’ve been harping about the fullbacks for a while now. Myrie is not the answer, and will not be for at least another year or two. Nor is Jordan Harvey, who made some very questionable decisions on Thursday (especially his rec-league mistake on the Sounders’ second goal).

At 30, Arrieta is not a player for the future. But he would bring an important level of experience and (hopefully) leadership to the back line. His 17 goals in just two years for the Islanders speak to his potent scoring ability– something that Nowak certainly must be thinking about, considering the team’s recent goal drought (zero goals in the past three games).

Signing Arrieta would also force Myrie and Harvey to the bench. The back line would then most likely be:

Orozco—Thomas—Califf—Arrieta

I like the look of that.

Luciano Emilio driving fast and far from DC

The Washington Post’s Steven Goff reported yesterday that Philadelphia Union officials are chasing after former DC target man Luciano Emilio (h/t Philly Soccer Page via Twitter)

The Insider has learned that expansion Philadelphia is considering several options at striker, including Emilio . . .

Philadelphia “has a couple of things in the works,” one source said.

Emilio scored 20 regular season goals in 2007, 11 the following year and 10 last season.

While at DC, Emilio had a strike rate of about one goal every two games. Not shabby at all. True, the majority of those goals came in his 2007 season–but, even if Emilio only matched his tally from last season, he would still be a huge boon for the Union.

What else would Emilio’s signing mean for the team? First, Danny Mwanga would immediately move into a role as substitute–probably best for the extremely talented but vastly inexperienced youngster. Second, with Moreno, Emilio, and Fred in the attack, the Union would suddenly have a formidable front line of MLS veterans. Each of these veterans would, in turn, have a hungry young talent nipping at their heels, providing an option for Nowak if any of the starters show a drop in form or get fatigued as the season wears on.

So should the Union sign Emilio? Unfortunately, it depends entirely on what they’re willing to trade for him. The team, having just formed, needs more time to gel. A trade that involves multiple players could hurt the club in terms of both depth and morale. And let’s not even talk about trading Fred back to DC (bad, bad idea).

So until we know how Nowak and Co. plan to acquire Emilio, we’ll defer judgement at present–aside from saying, of course, that if the price is low, then the Union should BUY! BUY! BUY!

IF we learned anything from the Union’s first game it’s that Nowak’s lineup didn’t work. This has been discussed extensively here, here, here, and just about everywhere else.

So what should the starting lineup be against DCU on the 10th? Is it too early to start speculating? Hello no! I’m suffering from Union-on-TV-withdrawal and need to keep the posts going.

Below are my current best 11 (after the jump):

——————————–Mwanga—————————————

——————————–Moreno—————————————

Le Toux———————Fred——————————Torres
—————————- Miglioranzi————————————
Harvey————Thomas———-Califf————–Orozco

———————————-Seitz——————————————

This is a 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1, with Moreno pulling back behind Mwanga. The kid from Oregon State gets the start because not only is he potent threat up top, but Nowak also needs to bump up his confidence after playing him then an unnatural position and then pulling him off at half-time.

Myrie sees the bench because he did not look MLS-ready last night (and he certainly didn’t look Zakuani-ready). Thomas and Califf start together in the center of the defense, with Orozco taking Myrie’s place on the right. Harvey was questionable against Seattle but I’m willing to give him another shot against DC (and it’s not like we have a choice, right?).

Le Toux and Torres were impressive and get the nod here, but I’d like to see Le Toux pulled back to the midfield. The offense is overloaded with doubts already, and Le Toux can do just fine in midfield.

Subs:
McInerney
Zimmerman
Salinas

Obviously substitutions depend on the scoreline. Let’s assume it’s 0-0 at the half.

I would sub McInerney early (60′, 65′), possibly for Moreno, but more likely for Mwanga. McInerney is always hungry. He will score goals if he gets the minutes and the service.

I was not overly impressed with Jacobson and would like to see Salinas and Zimmerman get a shot in the next game.

Zimmerman for Torres (70′). Nowak needs to give Zimmerman minutes on this team.

Salinas could come on for Fred (65′) if the Brazilian is not producing. If so I would move things around a little, shifting Salinas to the left side (where he’s best) and putting Torres in Fred’s central role. Then I’d sub off Le Toux and put in Zimmerman on the right side. Salinas should come on relatively early. The kid has an engine and could quickly wear down a tired midfield and defense.

Salinas could also come on as a direct substitute for Le Toux.

***

What do you think?

Did Peter Nowak over-think the Union's lineup against Seattle?

Reader Stoehrst had this to say in the comment thread for my live blog last night:

I have to say, the most worrying thing for Philly is the way Nowak just seemed to totally misuse what was available to him. Stahl may be capable of playing CB but he’s a natural defensive mid. Conversely, Orozco may be capable of playing holding mid but he’s a natural center back. Why swap them? To me, that’s a massive gaffe on Nowak’s part. Instead of having two players in their comfort positions in a game where you’re starting a team full of rookies and teenagers, you contribute to the madness by playing them out of position. He did the same to Mwanga. Danny is a striker, and instead was being told to play in a creative midfield role. He looked lost for the entire 45 minutes he was on the pitch, like he wasn’t sure what his responsibilities were. Alejandro Moreno is a guy who’s not unused to playing in the hole behind the strikers, so why wouldn’t you have Mwanga partnering Le Toux up front with Moreno behind and Torres/Jacobson on the wings? I was disappointed to see such poor decision-making from Nowak in just their first match.

I thought it worth devoting an entire post to discuss this. Did the suspension of Fred and the injury to Shea Salinas cause Nowak to over-think the game against Seattle? This is certainly not an uncommon problem amongst managers (hello, Rafa Benitez).

Salinas has been playing on the left wing for the Union, while Fred has been playing his natural role up top as an attacking midfielder.  Torres has been on the right, with Miglioranzi or Stahl as the D-mid.

With the absence of Fred and Salinas, it seems that Nowak wanted to keep the structure of his lineup in tact. No Fred? Pop-in Mwanga. No Salinas? Replace him with Jacobson.

The problem was that, as Stoehrst points out, Mwanga was totally out of his element all game and, as a result, Moreno and Le Toux had little service to speak of.

As for the Orozco/Stahl switch, I’m not sure what that was about. It may have been that, with Fred out and Mwanga replacing him, Nowak wanted speed and strength in the D-mid role–an enforcer role better suited to Orozco than to Migil. So, if that was indeed his thinking, it was easy for him to move Orozco up because Stahl is a solid CB.

In the end, I’ll give Nowak the benefit of the doubt on this one. In retrospect it wasn’t the best line-up. But the team started out well. There were two, far more significant problems last night. 1) The team deflated after the first Sounders goal. 2) The team gets far too many yellow cards. Let’s not forget: if Stahl had not received his second yellow, the second half could have been a totally different story.

Philly Union v. Seattle Sounders live commentary after the jump.

Final: A hard loss but not a surprising loss. The Union came out of the gates well for a young expansion, holding possession for much of the first 12 minutes. The Sounders’ first goal came against the run of play. The Union’s worrisome yellow-card magnetism ultimately cost them, however. Once Toni Stahl received his second yellow the game was pretty much over.

Are there any postivies to be taken from the match? Absolutely. First, we got to see the Union play. What fans wanted was a team, and that’s we got today. That should be enough to make any Union fan happy with the day’s events.

But there are also other things to be happy with today. The Union’s youth contingent did well. Mwanga started fine but disappeared as the first half went on. Roger Torres was a revelation and never really seemed to tire–in fact, I’m a little surprsied Nowak took him off in the second half. McInerney and Okugo also looked good in their brief time.

Things to worry about? Aside from the yellow cards/red cards, we now have two vacancies in our back line for the next game (unless Myrie recovers from his injury). That is a tough, tough task for an expansion side that lacks depth. Orozco was OK in midfield but I’d rather see him as a CB or LB.

Le Toux was active up front but his final pass/touch failed him on multiple occasions. His partner, Moreno didn’t much all game. This team needs a franchise striker. In fact, I wouldn’t mind seeing McInerney starting up front next game. The kid scores goals.

Final thoughts? Keep your chin up, Union fans. It is a long, long season. The guys showed some real potenital on the pitch today. Once the opening match jitters get cleansed from the system–and Fred and Shea Salinas return in week two–we could be in store for some good soccer in the coming weeks.

***

92′: Game over. Seattle wins 2-0. Post-game analysis in a couple of minutes.

90′: McInerney was waiting for his first MLS goal at the top of the box but Le Toux didn’t see him, lost possession.

86′: Another yellow, this one for Moreno.

81′: Myrie was the sub for McInerney. Not sure yet what the formation is.

78′: Jack McInerney on! Here come the goals. Let’s get one from midfield Baby Jack.

76′: No sub for Myrie yet. Union playing 9 v 11.

75′: Myrie down. Holding his knee.

71′: Okugo on for Torres

70′: Okugo preparing to come on.

65′: AmI the only one who’s been totally unimpressed by Moreno? Has he done much at all? Le Toux has been all over the place, but Moreno just hardly seems to be on the pitch.

63′: Wow. Myrie takes out Zakuani. That was a”stop running so damn fast!” tackle. Yellow card for Myrie. Big surprise.

58′: My bold prediction: if Jack McInerney sees the field, he will score a goal. Also, Ljungberg looks hurt. Will likely come off.

55′: Seitz comes crashing out of the box. Risky but it works. Zakuani misses the open net from 30 yards out.

50′: Migli on for Mwanga. I expected it to be Le Toux, but not surprised. Mwanga looked a little out of his element after the first ten minutes or so. He needs to adapt to the speed of MLS.

49′: The Sons of Ben are still singing loud and proud. Good to see and hear.

45′: Here we go again. Long, long road back if the Union are to salvage anything here.

Halftime: What have we learned so far from the first ever half of Philadelphia Union soccer? Cards, cards, cards. We got too many of them in the presason, and we’ve gotten too many of them in the first half of this game. Stahl needed to be more careful–the ref showed early that he was more than happy to dispense with cards.The defense has been disappointing, and unable to keep up with the speed of Seattle’s counter attack (and regular attack). Part of this can be blamed on first game jitters, part of it on inexperience playing together, and part of it on mistakes. Both goals have come from David Myrie’s side of the field. I’ll be keeping a close eye on his play in the second half.

But there are positives. Roger Torres looks phenomenal for an 18-year-old. Mwanga has shown skill, but hasn’t gotten into the rythm of the game, and more-or-less disappeared as the half continued. Le Toux looks dangerous, but his final touch, or pass, has failed him on multiple occasions. What impressed me most, however, was the first 12 minutes or so. The team clearly can play. We all knew the first game in Seattle, against one of the best teams in the league, would be difficult. But there is definitely potential in what we’ve seen.

Things to look for? I think the defense will stay the same. Expect Migli on for Le Toux, and eventually McInerney on for Moreno. But…then again, Nowak likes to read my mind, and then do the opposite. So maybe we’ll see JT Noone come on for Califf.

44′: Goal Montero: Alonso’s awkward shot just reaches Montero at the far post. Seitz cleared the corner but not far enough.

41′: Orozco drops back to CB. I assume Le Toux will pull back to right mid and Torres will pull inside. Moreno will stay alone up top.

40′: Stahl’s second yellow for a foul on Moreno. Just erased the good he had been doing. Remember my presason warning about red cards?

39′: Our man Nowak is no sweat suit Brandley. Our man has style. And he’s a mean SOB.

38′: Le Toux scores! . . .  but is offside.

33′: Torres looks good.

32′: SAVE Seitz! Montero hits one right to him off a Ljungberg corner. That was close

28′: Just to be clear (I don’t think I’ve mentioned it yet): Orozco is starting at d-mid, Stahl is at CB.

25′: Stahl with a sliding save. The rookie is looking good so far.

24′: Ljungberg gets crunched. Yellow card for Stahl. We are winning on yellow cards. Ljungberg’s holding his back, but no contact made. <–let me correct that, his back wasn’t hit in the tackle. Just his legs.

20′: Jacobson with a big miss. Whoops. They get one, we get one. Er, they miss one, we miss one.

19′: Le Toux almost sneaks one in but can’t get the final shot off.

16‘: Big wiff from Levesque. The Union has to ride out this wave of Seattle pressure if they’re going to have a chance in this game.

Myrie looked suspect on that one to me. Did not close down the ball fast enough.

12′: Goal Evans. Seattle scores against the run of play. Bad luck for the Union, good play up front by Seattle. The guys need to keep their head in the game. They’ve been playing well and need to keep it up.

10′: Torres looks good on the ball too. I’m liking what I see from the youngsters.

6′: Great shot from Orozco! Impressive opening from the Union. Good possession game. The d is doing well to support the offense and add pressure up front.

5′: The boys are passing well early. Orozco coming forward well.

3′: Mwanga has a sweet touch. Early on you can see why he can play in the middle of the field.

2′: Seattle free kick blocked.

1′:Yellow card for Califf for a foul on Montero. We’re living up to the pre-season so far!

0′: And we’re off! ESPN has Mwanga in the midfield. Whaaaat???

Pre-game: No big names Alexi? Califf, Orozco, Seitz?

Pre-game: Soccernet fail! The main story on Soccernet is not Philly v. Seattle. C’mon guys. Nothing else is happening right now!

Pre-game: Loving the Charlie Davies vids.

Pre-game: Ives had this to say:

“Looking at Philly’s lineup, I really do think they’re a DP away from being able to move past a few teams in the East. Their defense should be strong and if Seitz lives up to the hype, they will be tough to score on.”

Totally agree (as I mentioned–more or less–in my predictions earlier today). My guess is that the team is planning on getting a big name DP over the summer–in particular a striker.

Pre-game: Alexi Lalas thinks the league would have survived a strike. Ha.

Pre-game: Seattle’s lineup:

————-Montero———Levesque————-

Zakuani————-Ljungberg—————-Evans

———————–Alonso————————-

Gonzalez——Hurtado—–Marshall———Scott

———————–Keller————————-

It will be a rough day for the Union’s midfield today. Can Stahl and Jacobson contain Ljungberg and Alonso?

Pre-game: And we’re live! Well, I was already live. Now ESPN2 is.

Pre-game: A very interesting lineup for Nowak. I can almost guarantee that is nothing at all what Sigi Schmid was expecting. A lot of pressure on the two 18-year-olds, Mwanga and Torres, tonight. I’ll add that the absence of Shea Salinas and Fred is probably a big part of why that midfield is so surprising. In the preseason Salinas often played on the left, with Torres (or Le Toux…) on the right.

Pre-game: The Union’s lineup:

————–Mwanga———-Moreno—————

Torres——————————————LeToux

——————Stahl—–Jacobson——————

Harvey——–Califf——-Orozco————Myrie

———————-Seitz—————————–

Surprises? Lots. Stahl and Jacobson as D-Mids in a 4-4-2, Mwanga starting up front, Myrie starting at right back, no Migli, no Thomas.

Pre-game: Q: When Peter Nowak realizes his players will no longer be anonymous, will he force all his players to wear bags over their heads?

Pre-game: The leaked line-up for the Union was:

———————————-Seitz———————————–

Orozco————Thomas———-Califf————–Harvey

———-R. Torres———Okugo——–Miglioranzi———-

Zimmerman———————————————Le Toux

——————————–Moreno——————————–

I’m not sure about Okugo starting in the middle. An 18-year-old? I’d rather see Migli and Stahl.

Pre-game: Watching Syracuse lose right now. That’s a pre-game bummer. Let’s hope the Union (and Cornell) make me feel better.

Our discussion of the Philadelphia Union’s 2010 season continues below.

What will be the most under-reported storyline this season?

Brian: The effect of the World Cup on the MLS season. From May 16 to June 11, all World Cup player will be gone from the MLS as the season continues. That means a month without players like Landon Donovan, Brian Ching, Connor Casey, Robbie Findley, Robbie Rogers, Sacha Kljestan, Jonathan Bornstein, Heath Pearce, Simon Elliott, Andrew Boyens, Duncan Oughton, Roger Espinoza, and Marvin Chavez. Unless every centerback in the USA system gets hurt, I doubt we’ll see any Union players gone for that break. We could see some of the teams less hurt by absences make some major gains during the period, so I’m looking for the Union to make a move during the month.

Kevin: This one is hard. There will probably be something that happens midseason that’s not covered and then ends up being a huge deal. But obviously I can’t predict that now. So I’ll go with this: 2010 will be the biggest season in MLS. Not necessarily in turns of turnout, or media coverage. But I really think this is the year—thanks to the World Cup, and a generally more soccer-friendly media environment—that soccer will be cemented as legitimate, important sport in the mind of the casual American sports fan. It will be subtle, it will happen under our noses—but it will happen, this year.

What will be the most overblown storyline?

Brian: Labor stoppages. The new deal has been signed, all is good in the MLS, the World Cup is around the corner. This should be a cracking season.

Kevin: I think all that whining and moaning about a potential strike (including mine) was probably a good thing, in that it put more and more pressure on the league and players. I think Beckham’s absence will be completely inconsequential to the league and the Galaxy. So for me that has already and will continue to be overblown.

Who will be the team’s breakout star?

Brian: Sebastien Le Toux took a lot of criticism from Sounders fans last season, but I think in his second year in the league he’s really going to shine.

Kevin: Jack McInerney. He may not get a starting role, but he will score some impressive goals off the bench. It’s just what the kid does.

How will the Union finish the season?

Brian: I’m not too optimistic for this first season, quite frankly. This team is built for the future, so I think patience will be key this season. The Sounders have raised expectations dramatically for a first year team, but the Sounders were built much more to compete immediately. I see a sixth place finish for the Union.

Kevin: I agree. The Union will place fifth or sixth in the Eastern conference. That’s an optimistic finish for an expansion side. If they end up higher, then that’s just gravy.

Who will win the East, West, and MLS Cup?

Brian: In the regular season, I see the Columbus winning the East and Real Salt Lake the West. MLS Cup 2010 I see being a Western Conference affair, with Seattle and RSL facing off, with Seattle taking home the cup in just their 2^nd year.

Kevin: Columbus in the East, LA in the West. And I hate to say it, but I see LA winning the whole thing this year. David Beckham’s absence, like I said above, will not hurt them that much. And they remain a very good team.

Below, new contributor Brian and I try our hand at predicting how the Philadelphia Union’s first season will go. Who will shine? Who will be a dud? Will the Union escape the expansion side curse like Seattle did?

Two is pretty small for a roundtable, so if you agree/disagree feel free to weigh-in in the comments.

What will be the Union’s greatest strength?

Brian: I’m going to say goalkeeping, with defense right behind. I think Chris Seitz is really a franchise goaltender, and Brad Knighton makes for a pretty fantastic back-up. Having shaky goaltending puts such doubt in a team, so I think Nowak did a really smart job to solidify the position from day one.

Kevin: I’m going to agree with Brian here, and just lump goalkeeping and defense together. I’ve already mentioned I think the defense could be one of the best in MLS this season, but what makes things even better is the team’s defensive midfielders. Miglioranzi is solid, as is Stahl. Salinas, if he starts, is an engine and tracks back well. So, I have little doubt that the back line will be hard to get through this year. The question will be—how much will the offense turn the ball over? How much possession will the other team have? Even the best defense can only do so much if the ball never leaves their half.

Greatest Weakness?

Brian: A lot of people would say strikers, but I think Moreno is an experienced, quality finisher, and the rookies Mwanga and McInerney have such raw talent that I think they won’t be the main problem. I am much more worried about creativity and distribution in the midfield. The Union is going to lean heavily on two veteran Brazilians: Stefani Miglioranzi and Fred. They’ve yet to prove in their careers yet that they can lead and organize their sides, so they are either going to have to step up or hold the fort until the kids like Okugo, Torres, and Nakazawa are ready to lead.

Kevin: On this one I disagree with Brian. Strikers will be a huge problem unless McInerney turns into some kind of wonder kid—which he won’t. The talent is there (as it is with Mwanga), but not enough to overcome the lack of experience.

The question is: why didn’t Nowak try to recruit strikers more aggressively? Could the answer be: the Union already has a big signing lined up, who’s just waiting for the European season to finish?

Team MVP

Brian: I’m going to say Shavar Thomas is going to prove himself the true defensive leader of this team and be the lockdown defender. Shavar was the guy who elicited the most sadness from his departing side during the expansion draft, and I think he’s going to make Chivas miss him even more with his performance this year.

Kevin: Interesting choice, Brian and I hope you’re right. But I’m going to go with the easy choice: Chris Seitz. You’re absolutely right that he’s franchise keeper, and with Brad Knighton and Brian Perk breathing down his neck, he’ll have an extra bit of motivation this season. For a new team, the goalkeeper is huge.

What will be the team’s biggest disappointment?

Brian: Hate to say it, but I see Alejandro Moreno not scoring at the rate we would all hope. He scored 9 in ’08 and 4 in ’09, and I’m betting him on being closer to last year’s form. I’m sure he’ll play the whole year if he stays healthy, but on this developing team I wouldn’t be too surprised if we’re yelling for Mwanga and/or McInerney to start over Moreno halfway through the year.

Kevin: This is really hard to call. I agree that Moreno will not be enough to depend on up front. But I think the bigger disappointment may be something that we (mostly) all already suspect—the Union will not be that good this year. It’s what you know will happen with an expansion side, but that doesn’t wean we don’t hope the Union will be different. And that’s why we’ll be disappointed at the end of the season.

Who will be rookie of the year?

Brian: Tough call with such a strong rookie class. I’m going to cheat a little bit and say that Mwanga will win Rookie of the Year, as forwards usually seem to benefit in these sorts of things, but I think Okugo will have the highest quality season. Realistically though, I look for Okugo, Mwanga, McInerney and Stahl to all contribute greatly this season.

Kevin: Stahl. He might not be a franchise or even standout player, but he will provide a level of stability that you usually don’t get in a rookie. That’s huge for an expansion side.

Roger Torres typifies the youth, uncertainty, and great potential in the Union's roster this season.

Now that we’ve finished our preseason recap, let’s take a look at some things that worry us and excite us going into Thursday’s opener against Seattle.

Things to worry about:

Red cards: The Union received six total red cards in the pre-season, including three in the game versus Dallas. Much of this has been attributed to card-happy referees, but it’s still troublesome. A hard-working and hard-fighting team is my kind of team. But the players need to straddle the line between hard-tackle and foul very carefully during the regular season–especially with the lack of depth on the roster.

Youth: We’re excited about Roger Torres, but at just 18 this kid is young. With Mwanga (18), Okugo (18), and McInerny (17), one has to worry about the lack of veterans on the team—especially in the midfield. Speaking of which . . .

Midfield: Stefan Miglioranzi and Fred are the only players with extensive MLS experience. Of these two, Miglioranzi is injury prone, and Fred has been inconsistent in recent seasons. A big international signing for the midfield—especially on the wings—would have been a big help.

Offense: We’re big fans of Sebastien Le Toux, but surprised to see him starting so many games in the preseason. Le Toux played the super sub role for the Sounders last season, so his recent starts are probably more an indication of just how thin the Union’s offense is, rather than his own improvement. Again, the team has a lot of talent at the position in Mwanga and McInerney, but really lack a quality, experienced striker. Moreno is OK but with only one goal for every five MLS appearances, he’s not somebody on whom we can depend up front.

Designated Player: Where is he?

Things to be happy about:

Red cards: All those red signs are a good sign of the team’s fighting spirit. Let’s just hope the players channel it in the right direction.

Youth: The Union may have the best youth contingent in MLS. So, yes, this will frustrate us in season one, but will pay off huge in the future. And I will say again that I think Baby Jack McInerney will dominate MLS scoreboards in two or three years.

Defense: The Union’s back line in Orozco, Califf, Thomas, and Harvey is solid, experienced—and just may be one of the best in MLS this season.

Roger Torres: As a trialist, El Cid elbowed his way into the lineup pretty quickly. That’s saying something for an 18-year-old. And the fact that, at such a young age, he’s already started in 15 games for America de Cali (his team in Colombia) isn’t anything to sneeze at. We’re crossing our fingers in the hope that Torres is the real deal, and can contribute even at such a young age.