Jonathan Tannenwald

1 week ago | inquirer.com | Jonathan Tannenwald

Bradley Carnell knew how close the Union came to losing Saturday night at CF Montreal, a team so scarred by being winless this year that it looked afraid of its own shadow. But Carnell and his players weren‘t there to be nice. They came to win a soccer game. So when Montréal’s Prince Owusu broke one of soccer’s commandments in the 70th minute — thou shalt shoot when the chance is given to you, instead of waiting to pass to teammates — the Union knew it was time to pounce.

1 week ago | inquirer.com | Jonathan Tannenwald

FRISCO, Texas — This time, the task was different for Carli Lloyd. It wasn’t charging up the middle of the field through a gap in defenders, then blasting the ball to the far post. Or to sail a chip from midfield through shadows and over a goalkeeper’s head. No, this one was simpler: to say thanks. But that doesn’t mean it was easy. Lloyd was officially inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame on Saturday, adding American soccer’s greatest pantheon to the many where she already stands.

1 week ago | inquirer.com | Kerith Gabriel |Jonathan Tannenwald

For Jakob Glesnes, reflection doesn’t happen at the final whistle. It doesn’t happen in the locker room postgame or during the complimentary meal in the stadium club — one usually complete with family and friends in attendance and the distractions that coincide. The Union defender says whether it’s positively or negatively, reflection arrives during the car ride home from a matchday.

2 weeks ago | inquirer.com | Jonathan Tannenwald

After over a year of work, a statue of Dawn Staley at the South Carolina statehouse will be unveiled on Wednesday. The honor for the North Philadelphia native was announced in February of last year, with Staley revealing at the time that “it wasn’t anything that I politicked for.”Instead, the idea came from city officials in Columbia, S.C., the town in which the university campus is located.

2 weeks ago | inquirer.com | Jonathan Tannenwald

For the second Saturday in a row, the Union delivered a 3-0 win at home where the score line was better than the performance. This time, it was against a D.C. United team that wasn’t just bad, but also shorthanded. Star striker Christian Benteke and young attacking midfielder João Peglow were out injured, and either would have finished the chances their teammates botched in the first half. The Union also showed a growing flaw: a lack of scoring chance creation from their attacking midfielders.