By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher
CHESTER, PA — The Philadelphia Union fell to the Orlando City SC on Saturday. The visiting Orlando City SC won the contest 3-2 at Subaru Park.
The Union have dropped three straight home games. The team is currently on a five-game winless streak.
Philadelphia has dropped games to Real Salt Lake, Seattle Sounders FC, and Orlando City SC.
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They also have two draws during this time. On April 14th, they had a 2-2 draw against the Atlanta United FC on the road at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.
Then, on May 4th, the team also had a 2-2 draw against the D.C. United at Audi Field in Washington, D.C.
The Union fell to 3-3-5 on the season. They have 14 points on the season.
The team will hope to end this skid on Wednesday night. That’s when their rivals, NYCFC, come to Subaru Park.
Orlando City SC picked up their third win of the season. They are now 3-5-3 overall and have 12 points.
This win snapped their three-game winless streak. Their last win came in a 3-2 win over D.C. United on April 13th.
One has to go back even further to find the Union’s last win. Their last win came in a 2-1 win over Nashville SC on April 6th at Geodis Park in Nashville, Tennessee.
Orlando SC forward Luis Muriel had his first Major League Soccer brace. He had two goals in the contest.
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He first scored in the 42nd minute. Then, Muriel, who signed with Orlando City SC on February 15th, 2024, as a designated player to a 3-year deal, scored in the 46th minute.
These were Muriel’s first two MLS goals in his 10th game.
This was his first brace in his career since December 14th, 2023, when he last played for Serie A in Italy with Atalanta.
He scored two of his team’s four goals over RKS Raków in the UEFA Europa League at ArcelorMittal Park in Sosnowiec, Poland.
Muriel scored in the 14th minute. Then, he also scored in the 72nd minute.
Duncan McGuire also scored for Orlando City SC in the 21st minute.
Mikael Uhre scored in the 12th minute to put the Union on the board with a 1-0 lead.
After three straight Orlando City SC goals, the Union fans had to wait longer to be able to strike back.
Following a video review, the Union was given a golden opportunity.
That’s when Daniel Gazdag was awarded a penalty kick. He was able to make it 3-2, as he got the ball past Orlando City SC keeper Pedro Gallese in the 66th minute.
In the waning minutes of the contest, Gazdag was awarded another penalty kick. It was the Union’s all-time leading goal scorer and Gallese.
However, this time around, Gallese was able to stop the Hungarian. The Peruvian keeper did not get full control of the ball as it bounced away from him.
The Union had another chance. Yet, the ball was kicked away, not close to scoring behind the net.
Union head coach Jim Curtin will have to decide on Wednesday’s goalkeeper. He said Andre Blake is still nursing an injury. But he is also not happy with the franchise.
Curtin said it would be a stretch to put Andrew Rick in the net.
This has left the veteran coach with two inexperienced MLS keepers Oliver Semmle and Rick. Both players are in their first MLS season.
Rick was recently signed to an MLS contract after several short-term deals with the Union II keeper. He signed on May 4th through 2028 with an option for 2029.
Semmle has been the keeper since Blake went out against Real Salt Lake. The veteran keeper, who was their 2014 MLS SuperDraft first overall pick, then posted on social media that he was not happy with the franchise.
At moments in these past several games, Semmle has appeared to be overwhelmed. And has let goals in the net that Blake would have stopped.
The 26-year-old German was acquired by the Union in January in a transfer with Louisville City FC. This was after they acquired his college rights in a trade with the Colorado Rapids. The Louisville City FC play in the USL Championship.
As the Union’s substitute keeper, he has three wins. He also has four draws and two losses.
Semmle also allowed three goals in the loss to the Seattle Sounders FC.
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