Union eliminated from postseason; earn 1-1 draw with Houston

By John McMullen

Chester, PA (The Phanatic Magazine) - Sebastien Le Toux's latest magic act wasn't enough as Philadelphia played Houston to a 1-1 draw, on Saturday and the Union were officially eliminated from the MLS postseason hunt.

Philadelphia (7-13-7) was still mathematically alive in its inaugural season when it took to the pitch at PPL Park on Saturday afternoon but Peter Nowak's club needed to run the table in its final four games and get a ton of help elsewhere.

Any hope of a miracle actually ended about 30 minutes before the Union's match with the Dynamo (7-14-6) came to a close when Seattle topped Toronto FC, 3-2, and jettisoned Philadelphia from playoff competition.

With the postseason a distant dream, Nowak made a number of changes in his starting lineup with the intent of looking at some younger talent.  Juan Diego Gonzalez got the call ahead of team captain Danny Califf on the back line, while Kyle Nakazawa, Andrew Jacobson and Roger Torres all started at MF, and Nick Zimmerman got a look at forward. Meanwhile, Califf and fellow veterans Fred, Justin Mapp and Stefani Miglioranzi didn't even dress.

Houston took the lead in 12th minute off a Brad Davis corner kick. Nakazawa went down after some contact in the box opening up the right side in front of goalkeeper Brad Knighton. The netminder was able to stone an entry shot but gave up a clean rebound to Andrew Hainault, who promptly blasted it by Knighton.

Le Toux then evened things in the 40th minute when Torres hit the MVP candidate in stride with a long serve into the box. The All-Star plucked it out of the air with his left foot before crossing it over to his right side and beating Dynamo netminder Pat Onstad for his 13th goal of the season.

Houston really dominated the action from there, firing off 15 shots in the match to just seven for the Union, and compiling chance after chance thanks in large part to 13 corner kicks. Knighton stood tall, however, en route to helping the Union salvage a point in front of 16,115 on the Delaware Riverfront.

Philadelphia is back in action on Thursday at PPL Park when it hosts the Los Angeles Galaxy,  MLS' top team this season.

State of the UNION:

*The Union beat the Dynamo 3-2 on rookie star Danny Mwanga's stoppage time goal in Houston back on May 29.

*Le Toux's 13 markers are tied for second in MLS, one behind leader Edson Buddle of Los Angeles.

*Veteran midfielder Eduardo Coudet missed his sixth straight game with a strained right calf, while Mwanga came in as a substitution in the 59th minute for Zimmerman. Mwanga sat out last Wednesday's ugly 4-1 loss in Colorado with a balky shoulder.

*The Union's other substitutions were Shea Salinas for Torres in the 77th minute and Jack McInerney getting Jordan Harvey in the 84th minute.

*Striker Alejandro Moreno, who served as team captain today, is a former member of the Dynamo, winning an MLS Cup with the club back in 2006. The veteran has three goals and six assists in 30 starts with Houston that season and added another assist in four playoff appearances.

*Union defender Cristian Arrieta is with the Puerto Rican National Team to compete in the qualifying round of the 2010 Caribbean Championship, which starts today and runs through Oct. 6. The 31-year-old is scheduled to remain in Puerto Rico through Oct. 7 and it's touch-and-go on whether he will be back in time for the team's next match against the Galaxy that night.

*The crowd of 16,115 was the smallest at PPL Park this season.