Happy Monday, aka Pachuca Game Day Eve. There were plenty of talking points from Saturday night in my home state of Kansas but that’s all mostly behind us now that Pachuca is coming to town in less than 48 hours. Let’s get into it.

In the email today:

1. 🏟️ A Point in Kansas with Pachuca Coming to Town

It was far from pretty but part of “surviving and advancing” in Concacaf competition is also surviving the early league slate. So far through two games the Union haven’t won in league play but they haven’t lost either.

SKC created a lot of their own problems dropping points in their home opener on Saturday night but shoddy refereeing (on both sides) and a resiliency the 2024 edition of the Union has shown in spades led to the 1-1 draw.

Now the attention turns back again fully to a tricky home test against CF Pachuca. Pachuca won 3-2 on Saturday night after overcoming a 1-0 deficit early in the second half to lowly Juárez to keep pace with Monterrey and Cruz Azul at the top of the table through 10 games.

It will be the Union’s first game against a Liga MX side since they beat a rotated Monterrey squad 3-0 in the third place game of the Leagues Cup. That win secured the Union’s third berth into Concacaf inter-continental competition.

2. 📈 Union Player Ratings vs SKC

By Evan Cohen

Oliver Semmle - B
Semmle has looked more and more confident in each of his three showings, and last night was very good from him. 6 saves, highlighted by two or three really impressive stops. His poor distribution on the night keeps him out of the A range.

Nathan Harriel - B-
Nate did alright for the situation he was in. A lackluster outing but not his worst by any means. Tons of credit for playing on both sides of the field in the same game.

Damion Lowe - B+
Fantastic on the ball, which is becoming a theme early on this season for Lowe. Solid defensively and even a few attacking contributions via balls over the top. A clean sheet would have had him at an A.

Jack Elliott - B
After a nightmare on Tuesday, it was comforting to see Jack back to at least the mean. Also very good on the ball, with a solid defensive shift to match. No unnecessary studs-up challenges, so no complaints from me.

Olivier Mbaizo - D+
45 rough minutes from Olivier. Didn't look comfortable defending the wing and failed to find any involvement on the ball. Harriel looked much better on the left in the second half.

José Martínez - D
A really bad half from Brujo. Clearly wasn't 100%, but he was simply a liability. His slip on the ball cost the Union a goal. Just sloppy all-around, likely due to health.

Jack McGlynn - C-
After three excellent performances, Jack struggled last night. With the ball, he looked slow and unsure, which is the direct opposite of what he has shown through the opening games. Chalking this one up to a lot of minutes in a short time.

Jesús Bueno - C
Not much to say about Bueno's night. Nothing special by any stretch of the imagination, but he did well to cover two midfield positions and was solid with the ball. Looked a bit sloppy for the second match in a row, which slightly concerns me.

Jeremy Rafanello - C-
Hardly even touched the ball. Did absolutely nothing productive in his few seconds of involvement. Not a disaster since first-team minutes will only help him grow, but little to say.

Chris Donovan - C
Dono was also practically invisible. Pressed well, didn't really see the ball at all, blew the one half-chance he saw. Lackluster, but not horrible.

Quinn Sullivan - B-
Quinn struggled to get involved, much like the other young attackers, but looked lively on the ball. Did way too much with the ball a couple of times, which, again, isn't the worst problem ever.

(SUB) Kai Wagner - A
Kai came on and did everything asked of him. Stabilized the back line with one of the league's elite wingers on his side. Sent in a few excellent balls that caused more problems than anything else all night. Technically awarded an assist for the goal, too.

(SUB) Dániel Gazdag - B-
Didn't really do much of anything on the ball but was simply a threat when we had nothing else of the sort. Caused a few minor problems for the KC defense in transition, which gets him a boost on a night of few chances.

(SUB) Alejandro Bedoya - A-
Covered so much ground, made some really nice passes, and scored the late equalizer on a well-taken shot. He ran around like a 20-year-old with the composure of his 36-year-old self.

(SUB) Mikael Uhre - C+
Came on to just be fresh legs running at the back line, and did nothing but that. I enjoyed how he stretched the back four a bit, but his lack of touches on the ball keeps his grade low.

(SUB) Markus Anderson - No Grade
With just 2 touches on the ball, any grade would be inaccurate, quite frankly.

Share your Player Ratings and Thoughts

3. 🙆‍♂️Tweet of the Day: SKC Reactions

4. 💧 Water Cooler: Open Cup Results

5. 🔗 Link Roundup

• Our friends at KC Soccer Journal reacted to Saturday night’s draw.

• Matt McClain writes about how the Union got lucky to get a point while also rotating a squad to prep for another short turn around.

• The USWNT rebounded from their rare loss to Mexico with a 3-0 win over Colombia to advance to the semifinal of the Concacaf W Gold Cup.

• Tickets are on sale for Starfinder Foundation’s Cocktails with Cleats event on March 14.

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