Frisco – The Philadelphia Union traveled to Toyota Stadium on Saturday night looking for their first-ever win in Frisco, Texas, after a grueling nine-match month of May. While neither side managed to score, the Union maintained a clean sheet and carried momentum into the month of June.

Philadelphia Union head coach Bradley Carnell employed a bit of rotation when the starting lineups were announced. Jakob Glesnes was given a break from the starting lineup, with Olwethu Makhanya and Nathan Harriel starting in the center back spots. Recent Union signee Ben Bender made his first start of the season for his new club, alongside Jesús Bueno and Ale Bedoya. Indiana Vassilev, Quinn Sullivan, and Jovan Lukic began on the bench to get some rest. Up top, Chris Donovan started alongside Mikael Uhre, while Tai Baribo and Bruno Damiani—who Carnell said picked up a bit of a knock—also started on the bench.

The biggest surprise was not so much Andrew Rick getting the start in net, but the absence of Andre Blake from the bench. Oliver Semmle served as backup for the evening. Carnell said it was a family situation that kept the Union keeper from participating.

Chris Donovan had the opportunity to give the Union an early lead off a throw-in from Frankie Westfield; however, the forward’s header sailed high over the net in the 8th minute. FC Dallas countered moments later with a long-range chance that caught Union keeper Andrew Rick off his line, but the shot went wide. Anderson Julio had a great opportunity inside the box around the 10th minute but missed wide.

Lalas Abubakar picked up a yellow card in the 31st minute for a foul on Uhre. On the ensuing free kick from Wagner, Ale Bedoya made a near-post run but was unable to put his shot on net, missing a great chance. While Dallas arguably had the more dangerous opportunities, the Union had their fair share, though FC Dallas’s defense kept the ball out of the net.

In the 39th minute, Lalas Abubakar fouled Chris Donovan on a breakaway, prompting Sergii Boiko to issue his second yellow card and a subsequent red, forcing FC Dallas to play with 10 men. The Union had another chance moments later when Westfield’s cross found the head of Bruno Damiani—who had just come on for Uhre—but the chance went wide.

On Uhre’s first-half departure, Carnell had this to say:

“I’m no doctor, but it looked like he tweaked his groin. To what extent? Not sure. I’m not sure if it was on a sprint or in a tackle where there was a bit of resistance,. I’m not sure, but he signaled something very early, and he’s got a good gauge of when something’s bothering him. So you know, he felt something immediately, and that’s when we knew we had to change, because Mika doesn’t take any chances with his body, on his health, so we still have to evaluate and assess.”

With seven minutes of stoppage time, Danley Jean Jacques had another chance, but his shot went just wide from outside the box. The half ended with a Kai Wagner corner, but nothing came of it. Despite outshooting their opponent 10–4 in the first half, neither side recorded a shot on target.

Jovan Lukic replaced Jesús Bueno at halftime as both teams resumed play. The Union had another set-piece chance through Damiani, but his shot sailed over the crossbar. Moments later, Damiani had another chance, but his header struck the post and bounced out, keeping the match scoreless. Dallas countered with Julio again after a turnover, beating Nathan Harriel to put the first shot on target of the match. Rick stood firm and made the save.

The Union made a double substitution, bringing in Indiana Vassilev for Danley Jean Jacques and Tai Baribo for Chris Donovan. In the 67th minute, Jovan Lukic forced Martin Paes into a diving save, registering the Union’s first shot on target. Quinn Sullivan then entered the match, replacing Alejandro Bedoya.

Damiani had two more chances in the next ten minutes, neither of which found the net. He continued to be active but couldn’t finish on the night.

As the final whistle blew, frustration was understandable given the Union played up a man for over 45 minutes. However, earning a point on the road against FC Dallas is impressive, especially considering the Union went undefeated in a nine-match month.

Bradley Carnell shared the sentiment:

“What a month. I mean, obviously disappointed tonight- not disappointed, I would say. But yeah, we would have loved to have got all three points on a road trip that’s been pretty grueling for the last couple of days and been, you know, yeah, credit to the boys for going through this month unbeaten. I don’t know if any of the guys have ever experienced that. I’m not sure if I have too, as a player or a coach, in the most grueling, challenging times to get through unscathed and end off on a clean sheet that they get the red card. Sometimes that’s the most difficult games to play.

“They’re just waiting for one moment. They’ve got great transition players… Kamungo, Julio, so, you know, we mitigated that for most of the game, and happy to get out of here with with a point at the end of the month, for sure, if we were different, if we were stronger in terms of fitness wise and health wise, we could have pushed a little bit more at the end there. But proud of the boys, super proud.”

The Union now head into June, where they will play a friendly next Saturday at Subaru Park against Liga MX side Atlas—a match likely to feature many reserve players. After that, the Union have just three MLS league matches for the remainder of the month. They’ll go from a packed May with nine matches to a more manageable June with only four total.

Saturday’s friendly against Atlas at Subaru Park is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Main Photo Article Courtesy of the Philadelphia Union