CHESTER, Pa. – By the time the Philadelphia Union played in PPL Park for the first time last season, they were beaten down by the travails of travel, having lost eight of their first 10 games.
This season, however, the Union have no such baggage.
Heading into Saturday’s home opener against the expansion Vancouver Whitecaps (4 pm ET, MatchDay Live), the Union have an unbeaten record in the books and unlimited expectations for what it will be like opening their home schedule in a stadium they can call their own.
“Everyone on the team is looking forward to it,” Union midfielder Kyle Nakazawa told MLSsoccer.com. “Last year, we opened at [Lincoln Financial Field], so it’s nice this year to open at our actual stadium. We’re coming off a win in Houston, we have a lot momentum, and, like I always say, I think we have the best fans in the league.
“If you can’t get pumped up to play for them, then you shouldn’t be playing.”
[inline_node:331439]As PPL Park was being constructed at the beginning of last season, the club’s inaugural campaign, Philly struggled mightily on the road – a problem that, in the end, made its late-season climb toward the playoffs far too steep.
It’s too early, of course, to tell if they found the remedy for those road woes, but the early prognosis is good. The Union began their 2011 slate with a 1-0 win in Houston last weekend after winning just two of 14 games on the road last season.
The Whitecaps, though, also come into Saturday’s game with a perfect record after winning the first game in franchise history last Saturday against Toronto FC.
“We’ll have to be disciplined and focused,” Union manager Peter Nowak said. “The last thing we want is the guys in the locker room to think Vancouver is just an expansion team and it will be a walk in the park. It’s going to be a very difficult game for us.”
Making Philly’s task somewhat easier are the absences in Vancouver’s locker room. Captain Jay DeMerit is on national team duty and midfielder Shea Salinas won’t make the trip because of a sprained knee.
Salinas played for Philly last season but was swiped by Vancouver in the offseason Expansion Draft. Perhaps not coincidentally, injuries were a reason why the 24-year-old speedster couldn’t make a major impact for the Union and was subsequently left unprotected.
“Shea is a guy who brought a lot of good stuff to our team and to our fans,” Nowak said. “The fans liked him a lot and the decision to expose him in the Expansion Draft was not an easy one, but one we had to make. Shea is a guy you can rely on, and with his speed and understanding of the game, he’s a good value for any team in Major League Soccer.”
Salinas is one of 11 players from last year’s squad who are no longer in Philly, while 13 new faces came to town in the offseason. The revamped Union, however, still have most of their core back, including central defender Danny Califf, who scored the only goal in the team’s season-opening triumph.
Now, Califf is eager to help the team improve to 2-0 in front of the home fans.
“Last week was a great prelude to start the year,” Califf said, “but for a lot of us this is really the big start. The anticipation that this place will go off the rocker is palpable in the locker room.”
