Rested and ready, Union youth, bobble heads and more

Union

What happens when you have an unexpected week off and all of the teams above you lose? Your power ranking improves. At MLSsoccer.com and  SBI, the Union moves from ninth to eighth place while at Soccer America they move two spots from tenth to eighth. At Goal.com, they hold steady at seventh. At ESPN, the Union drop from tenth to eleventh. Party poopers.

The Union feel rested and ready.

Dan Gelston has an insightful profile on Freddy Adu. “I wouldn’t change anything that has happened to me,” Adu says in the article. “It’s made me a much better person, a much better player.”

We all know the Union is a young squad. This article from the Union website shows it’s so young that it has enough players to stock a complete U-23 XI that, quite frankly, looks pretty damn good (even if the entire middle is made up of central midfielders). I wonder how Michael Farfan feels about being pegged as a defender?

One of the bench players on that Union U-23 squad is academy player Jimmy McLaughlin, now a freshman at Colgate University and he’s already earning honors. After scoring the game-winning goal in his first start, McLaughlin was named Patriot League Rookie of the Week. He plays again tonight when Colgate host Hartwick College.

Smiling Thorne Holder was surprised but excited to find himself back with the Union. Peter Nowak explains, “At some point, I knew he would come back with us. It’s good to have three ‘keepers for many technical standpoints. And he’s a good guy in the locker room. Everyone loves him.” That just made you smile, didn’t it.

Fun things to do with your kids in Delaware County? “I couldn’t believe it myself, but real professional soccer is happening in Chester.” What, no exclamation point?

I don’t know how long the Sebatien Le Toux bobble head has been available but it frightens me.

Independence

After shutting down WNY Flash’s Caroline Seger in the WPS Championship final, Sinead Farrelly is named the Philly Soccer News Player of the Week.

One of my favorite Independence players, Estelle Johnson, gets a profile.

ESPNW says the future of WPS is taking shape.

Hope Solo will be on the new season of Dancing with the Stars. Oh, goodie.

Local

Harrisburg City Islanders play Orlando City on Saturday for the USL PRO championship. Get to know midfielder/forward Morgan Langley here.

The men’s team at Temple is looking to improve.

The Drexel men will open their season this afternoon at Villanova.

Here’s a look at what the Chestnut Hill Academy soccer team has to offer for the fall season.

Portlanders are very excited to have a MLS team

MLS

Season-long attendance broke the 4 million mark over the weekend.

MLS Talk reflects upon the current playoff system and wonders if its critics have been proven wrong.

US Open Cup

Chicago Fire defeated USL PRO side Richmond Kickers 2–1 and Seattle defeated FC Dallas 1–0 to advance to the US Open Cup final.

One of the most appealing features of the US Open Cup is the egalitarian nature of the tournament—any club team in the country can register to compete to face the country’s elite teams. And so, USL PRO side Richmond Kickers found itself playing Chicago Fire in the semifinals. That egalitarianism doesn’t extend to who hosts the games though. US Soccer sells that right to the highest bidder. FC Dallas coach Schellas Hyndman agrees it is a bad system. Guess who’s hosting the final? Seattle.

Seattle will face Chicago Fire for a possible third Cup title in a row on October 4. Three teams have won the Cup three times in a row: Fall River Marksmen 1930, 1931 (as New York Yankees after merger with New York SC), and 1932 (as New Bedford Whalers after merger with Fall River FC);  Stix, Baer and Fuller FC in 1933, 1934 and 1935 (as  St. Louis Central Breweries FC); and Greek American AA in 1967, 68 and 69. Get your USOC history hat on here.

US

Michael Bradley has completed his move to Serie A side AC Chievo Verona.

Chris Pontius and Jonathan Spector have been added to the US roster that will face Costa Rica on Friday after injuries to Zach Loyd and Heath Pearce.

While Fabian Johnson is training with the USMNT team, he won’t be able to play against Costa Rica or Belgium. Paperwork delays with finalizing his one-time switch of allegiance will prevent the German-born midfielder from making his US debut. More on Johnson here.

Clint Dempsey will not be on the squad to face Costa Rica but will join the team in Europe for the match against Belgium. Will Dempsey be an Arsenal player at the end of today, transfer window deadline day?

Here’s a Q & A with Timothy Chandler and here’s one with Tim Howard.

Elsewhere

Wayne Rooney’s new season is off to a roaring start. Was it the hair transplant or not training in the off season? You decide.