Union play to scoreless draw with Portland

Chester – After playing to a 4-4 draw on Wednesday, the Philadelphia Union earned a single point again on Saturday, playing to a scoreless draw with the visiting Portland Timbers in front of a sellout crowd of 18,504 at PPL Park.

Rookie goalkeeper Zac MacMath, making his second career start, earned his first shutout as a professional.

The Union's best chance of the match came in the 88th minute, but Kyle Nakazawa struck woodwork off a cross from Justin Mapp. Philadelphia had another golden opportunity in the 28th minute when Roger Torres found Sebastien Le Toux in the area with a perfectly-placed ball, but after chesting the ball down, the Frenchman sent a volley just wide of the far post.

With the result, the Union move to 8-7-12, good for third place in the Eastern Conference.

Manager Peter Nowak sent out an attacking lineup that featured Freddy Adu, Roger Torres, Sébastien Le Toux, Veljko Paunovic and Danny Mwanga, but the Timbers stayed compact in their defensive third and kept the Union off the board.

MacMath's best save of the night came in first half stoppage time when Jorge Perlaza broke free in the area. The rookie came off his line to stone the Columbian striker and preserve the 0-0 scoreline going into the locker room.

Early in the second half, Portland’s Kalif Alhassan sprung Sal Zizzo free, but Zizzo's attempted chip was cleared by Sheanon Williams.

Portland's had one final chance to earn three road points the 85th minute, but Kenny Cooper couldn’t convert on a Timbers counter-attack.

The Union will return to action next Saturday, their third straight home game, when they welcome the Columbus Crew. The 7:30pm match will be broadcast on The Comcast Network.

Scoring Summary:

None  

Portland Timbers -- Troy Perkins, Lovel Palmer, Eric Brunner, David Horst, Mike Chabala, Sal Zizzo (Darlington Nagbe 81), Jack Jewsbury, Diego Chara, Kalif Alhassan (Rodney Wallace 72), Kenny Cooper, Jorge Perlaza (Bright Dike 60).

Substitutes Not Used: Eric Alexander, James Marcelin, Steve Purdy, Jake Gleeson.

Philadelphia Union -- Zac MacMath, Sheanon Williams, Danny Califf, Carlos Valdes, Michael Farfan, Sebastien Le Toux, Freddy Adu (Jack McInerney 63), Brian Carroll, Roger Torres (Justin Mapp 56), Veljko Paunovic (Kyle Nakazawa 77), Danny Mwanga.

 Substitutes Not Used: Gabriel Farfan, Stefani Miglioranzi, Amobi Okugo, Thorne Holder.

 Misconduct Summary:

 POR -- Kalif Alhassan (caution; Reckless Tackle) 46+

POR -- Jack Jewsbury (caution; Reckless Tackle) 80

PHI -- Carlos Valdes (caution; Handball) 82

 Referee: Chris Penso
Referee's Assistants: Adam Wienckowski; Matthew Kreitzer
4th Official: Daniel Fitzgerald

Time of Game: 1:53

Attendance: 18,504