SEATTLE - The Philadelphia Union moved into first place in the Eastern Conference with a 2-0 win against the Seattle Sounders on Saturday night at CenturyLink Field. Freddy Adu and Brian Carroll each tallied for the Union, who are now unbeaten in their last seven contests and on the verge of clinching their first-ever playoff berth.
The match started slow, with each side struggling to create quality chances in the first 30 minutes. The best look of the first half fell to Sounders midfielder Brad Evans in the 35th minute after he latched onto a pass from Lamar Neagle and skied his shot over Zac MacMath's net.
The game opened up in the second half, however, with both sides threatening to score early. The first chance again came through Evans, who found room at the top of the box and tried to chip MacMath. The 'keeper was beaten, but the ball struck woodwork and stayed out of the net.
Philadelphia came right back down the other end of the field and conjured up a great chance thanks to some clever work from Justin Mapp. The midfielder laid a ball off to Sébastien Le Toux in the area, but the Frenchman scuffed his shot making for an easy save by Keller.
Minutes later, however, Philly would finally find the opener courtesy of Gabriel Farfan and Adu.
The play started with a quick switch from Sheannon Williams, who found Farfan along the left flank. The defender managed to beat defender James Riley along the endline, then pulled it back to Adu who was waiting at the corner of the six-yard box. Adu made no mistake, smashing a left-footed blast into the roof of the net past a helpless Keller.
10 minutes later the Union were at it again. After enduring wave after wave of Sounders' attacks, Le Toux got loose on a counter and was off to the races. Carroll went with him, and was rewarded for his hustle when Le Toux slipped a pass through the retreating Seattle defense to put the defensive midfielder in on Keller. Carroll finished clinically, firing low and hard to the back post for his first goal of the season.
With the win, Philadelphia (11-7-14, 47 points) move two points clear of Sporting KC in the East. They return to action on Saturday, October 15 when they host Toronto FC (4:00pm, Comcast SportsNet).
Scoring Summary:
PHI -- Freddy Adu 2 (Gabriel Farfan 2) 60
PHI -- Brian Carroll 1 (Sebastien Le Toux 9) 70
Philadelphia Union -- Zac MacMath, Sheanon Williams, Carlos Valdes, Danny Califf, Gabriel Farfan, Michael Farfan, Brian Carroll, Justin Mapp (Jack McInerney 86), Freddy Adu (Amobi Okugo 75), Sebastien Le Toux, Veljko Paunovic (Stefani Miglioranzi 89).
Substitutes Not Used: Danny Mwanga, Kyle Nakazawa, Roger Torres, Chase Harrison.
Seattle Sounders -- Kasey Keller, James Riley, Jeff Parke (Patrick Ianni 46), Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Tyson Wahl, Brad Evans, Osvaldo Alonso, Erik Friberg, Lamar Neagle, Mike Fucito (Nate Jaqua 68), Pat Noonan (Sammy Ochoa 62).
Substitutes Not Used: Alvaro Fernandez, Roger Levesque, Zach Scott, Josh Ford.
Misconduct Summary:
SEA -- Lamar Neagle (caution; Reckless Foul) 63
Referee: Baldomero Toledo
Referee's Assistants: -George Gansner; Ian Anderson
4th Official: Ramon Hernandez
Time of Game: 1:51
Weather: Partly Cloudy-and-62-degrees
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