The day has finally come. For the first time since the Philadelphia Union became a franchise, they are playing the Pittsburgh Riverhounds in a competitive game. Yes, Union II had a budding rivalry in the Keystone Derby when they were still in the USL Championship and the Harrisburg City Islanders rivalry with the ‘Hounds was significant enough to write a book about but tonight the Union’s MLS squad will face their Keystone rivals in Pittsburgh in a Round of 16 match. See you at the Soob!

In the email today:

1. 🏆 Pride At Stake in Round of 16

It’s taken 15 years to have a proper competitive match-up between the Philadelphia Union and the Pittsburgh Riverhounds so there isn’t yet any history between the two Pennsylvania teams a 4+ hour trip on the turnpike away from each other. But tonight’s game in Chester is a first step in establishing a new Keystone Derby and a chance for the second division team from the west to prove themselves.

“I think there's a little bit of pride at stake, and they've got a lot to prove,” Union head coach Bradley Carnell said. “We want to continue our journey. It's always the massive game for them. They are the furthest non-MLS team that's got to this point now so they've had a great run.”

Though Pittsburgh hasn’t exactly been blowing the doors off USL Championship this season and they’ve struggled to find the back of the net, their upset over NYCFC setup the cross state trip. The Union, meanwhile, had their hands full knocking out an Indy Eleven team that was the last non-MLS team left standing last year.

Tonight’s game is coming amidst a hectic stretch of games but Carnell’s smart rotation, the team’s resilience and a little bit of luck have kept the Union rolling and at the top of both the Eastern Conference and Supporters’ Shield standings under their first year coach. Carnell of course has experience with both the Open Cup and derby matches having coached St. Louis in their rivalry matches against Sporting Kansas City and in his playing days in Germany.

Carnell’s opposing manager Bob Lilley is rooted in soccer in Pennsylvania. A Carlisle native who played professionally for indoor teams Harrisburg Heat and Pittsburgh Spirit and had his first head coaching gig leading the Hershey Wildcats in the old A-League, Lilley has been at the helm with the ‘Hounds since 2018.

“To stay in a position as long as he has he’s obviously a good coach, and gets the buy-in of his team over longevity,” Carnell said. “That's a great mark of a good coach who's able to adapt through the different years and the different seasons and credit to him what he's done with this team now is be very competitive.”

The game is slated for a 7:30 kick-off and will be broadcast live on Paramount+.

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2. 🤝 Pittsburgh Soccer Now/Philadelphia Soccer Now

I first met John Krysinsky at the NCAA Division II men’s soccer final in 2018 at Highmark Stadium (the one West Chester University made it to) and we’ve been talking ever since about how cool it would be to have the Union and the Riverhounds play in a competitive game.

That day has finally come and earlier this week John and I caught up to talk about it.

3. 🐍 Social Post of the Day: River Snake

3. 💧 Water Cooler: Players Ratings Poll Results

Andrew Rick had a rare 5/5 in our player ratings poll following his standout performance in Atlanta. Still not sure what the broadcast team was thinking picking Tai Baribo over him in that one but our readers didn’t miss.

Some comments:

“We won, seriously though: wish we had scored from some of the chances. Content that we won away, at ATL in this grueling stretch.”

“Camera work in Atlanta was very suspect.”

Biggest Play of the Match: “Rick’s second save.”

4. 🔗 Link Roundup

• Be sure to follow Pittsburgh Soccer Now for their coverage of tonight’s match. And if you’re looking for a USL Championship team to follow, why not the only other pro team in the commonwealth (just not tonight)?

• Four current Philadelphia Union players - Nathan Harriel, Quinn Sullivan, Andre Blake and Danley Jean Jacques - and several others with local ties are on preliminary rosters for the upcoming Concacaf Gold Cup.

• Owen Boyle takes a look at where former Union players are at overseas as several league seasons wrap up.

• The WPSL season is underway and an early marquee match-up is happening Friday night at Rowan University between SJEB FC and Philadelphia Ukrainian Nationals Liberty. Admission is free. Wear red if you are supporting the home team.

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