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A Philadelphia Union blog hosted by Christopher A. Vito and Matthew De George

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Super second act: Union's options in final two SuperDraft rounds

The consensus from several sources was that the Philadelphia Union did well in the first two rounds of the MLS SuperDraft held last week, plucking two assets in Dzenan Catic and Eric Bird that flew under the radar and that the club was fortunate to see remaining on the board at picks 31 and 41.

But the draft isn’t over yet, with rounds three and four of the SuperDraft – or rounds 1 and 2 of the Supplemental Draft, depending on MLS’ nomenclature preference du jour – coming Tuesday afternoon.

Thanks to the topsy-turvy first two rounds that featured plenty of surprises, there are a number of known commodities still out there, including two of the 15 players who already signed with MLS (and the presence of forward Andy Craven and defender Ramon Martin Del Campo could help buy time for the Union to allow a player they want to slip). That means that the Union could expect to net quality selections at Nos. 51 and 71, their natural selections in both rounds, maybe even someone with sticking power beyond the postseason.

A few options to ponder:

Andrew Wolverton. The local tie to the Penn State goalkeeper is there. The physicality (kid is 6-6) is there. Some outlets projected him as high as a first-rounder. The Union clearly need a goalkeeper, and while Wolverton may not be ready to serve as a backup immediately if the club’s intention is to loan out Andre Blake to get games, he’s an intriguing piece to stash on a roster that has flexibility to add minimum players. If Wolverton isn’t there, it’s possible that Washington’s Spencer Richey, is another GK option.
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Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Union release 2015 schedule

Below are the dates for the Union's 2015 matches, the first two of which we already know. Included are eight national television dates, including three by the middle of April. I'll break down the schedule more in depth later.

March 7: Colorado, 4
March 14: at Real Salt Lake, 9:30
March 20: Dallas, 7
March 29: at Chicago, 5 (ESPN2)
April 5: at Sporting KC, 7 (FS1)
April 11: New York City FC, TBD
April 16: at New York City FC, TBD
April 19: New England, 5 (ESPN2)
April 25: at Columbus, 7:30
May 2: Toronto, 7
May 9: at Vancouver, TBD
May 17: D.C. United, 7 (FS1)
May 24: at New York Red Bulls, 5 (FS1)
May 30: at D.C. United, 7
June 3: Columbus, 7
June 6: New York City FC, 7
June 20: at L.A. Galaxy, 10:30
June 24: Seattle, 7
June 27: Montreal, 7
July 11: Portland, 7
July 18: at Toronto, TBD
July 26: at D.C. United, 5 (ESPN2)
Aug. 1: New York Red Bulls, 7
Aug. 8: at Orlando City, 7:30
Aug. 16: Chicago, 7 (FS1)
Aug. 22: at Montreal, TBD
Aug. 29: New England, 7
Sept. 5: at San Jose, 10:30
Sept. 12: Columbus, 7
Sept. 20: Houston, 7 (FS1)
Sept. 26: at New England, 7:30
Oct. 3: at Toronto, TBD
Oct. 18: at New York Red Bulls, TBD
Oct. 25: Orlando City, TBD

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