CHESTER, Pa. — The only Philadelphia Union player who enjoyed a pleasant experience on the soccer field this past weekend was Zach Pfeffer.
Of course, the midfielder was more than 4,000 miles away at the time.
But now that he’s back from a productive stint with the United States U-20 national team in Austria, in which he had the only assist in the Americans’ 1-0 win over Croatia on Saturday, Pfeffer is ready to help his club team rebound from an awful 4-1 loss to Columbus.
“You never want to see your team lose, but I was watching to support the guys,” said Pfeffer, who watched Saturday’s loss to the Crew at 1:30 a.m. in Austria. “There are things we need to work on and improve on and we know that. We discuss it as a group but we’re very confident with all of the guys in the locker room and with the quality of the individuals that we have. So we’re just going to look at the video, discuss some things, and we’re confident that we can turn it around and get some good results.”
Pfeffer’s absence in Columbus turned out to be a costly one for the Union, who were also without playmaking midfielder Vincent Nogueira and leading scorer Fernando Aristeguieta.
Pfeffer will likely start Saturday vs. Toronto (4 p.m., 6ABC) if Nogueira remains out with an ankle injury.
“In our league, you can look to the teams who are kind of flying high right now -- Columbus, New England -- and they get goals from midfielders,” Union head coach Jim Curtin said. “They’re hard to find and Zach has that ability. He’s shown it now with the U-20s and he got pretty glowing reviews in his game there, so things are positive in that regard and are also a positive for us. He’s a guy who gives us a possibility to get a goal from the midfield.”
Philadelphia Union
Pfeffer, who was signed by the Union as a 15-year-old phenom all the way back in 2010, didn’t score his first MLS goal until the last game of the 2014 season as he struggled to get playing time during his teenage years. But the 20-year-old has since become an important player in Philly, finding his way into the rotation and scoring once in 247 minutes this year.
“I’m feeling very confident right now,” Pfeffer said. “I’m feeling sharp, fit, and a part of that has come down to the trust that the coaching staff has instilled in me. I’m very fortunate for that and I’m just trying to repay them every time I go on the field.”
Playing at a high level in MLS also helped Pfeffer get back into the U.S U-20 fold after he missed an important tournament earlier this year because of an injury. And following an impressive camp in Austria last week, the Union midfielder believes he’s in good position to make the U.S. roster for the U-20 World Cup from May 30-June 20.
“I felt sharp and I got some good indications from the coaching staff on my position in the group and where they see me going forward,” Pfeffer said. “Nothing’s set in stone yet but it looks positive, so we’ll probably find out sometime this week.”
Blake bides his time
Andre Blake has been out on the practice field this entire month, waiting for his chance to be called upon to start his first game of the season in net.
He’ll keep waiting.
During his weekly press conference, Curtin confirmed that John McCarthy will remain the team’s starter despite conceding four goals in Columbus last week, pointing to the fact that Blake is still not 100 percent after undergoing February knee surgery.
Following Wednesday’s practice, though, Blake told reporters he feels fine and is anxious to get in there and show what he can do after being picked first overall in the 2014 draft.
“It’s been pretty tough,” Blake said. “Whenever I see a game and I’m not able to play, that’s when I really appreciate the game. Over the past few months when I can’t play, I’ve realized that whenever I do get a shot to play, you just have to make the best of it.”
Blake hopes that chance will come soon – and will keep working hard in practice until it does.
“As a pro,” he said, “you have to deal with whatever the situation is and hang in there.”
Old friend McInerney scores in CCL final
In front of a capacity crowd at Olympic Stadium on Wednesday night, the Montreal Impact fell short of becoming the first MLS team to win a CONCACAF Champions League title, losing to Mexican giant Club América in the finals.
But it was still an exciting run for the Impact that caught the eye of the entire MLS community. That includes Philadelphia fans, many of who watched with keen interest as former Union defender Bakary Soumare started for Montreal and ex-Philly striker Jack McInerney came off the bench to score a late goal.
The Union will see their old friends in person when the Impact visit PPL Park on June 27.