# 2018 Philadelphia Union season

The 2018 Philadelphia Union season was the club's ninth season in Major League Soccer, the top flight of American soccer. The team was managed by Jim Curtin, his fifth season with the club. The Union reached the MLS Cup Playoffs as the bottom seed in the MLS Eastern Conference. The club also reached the 2018 U.S. Open Cup final for the third time in club history, but finished runners-up to Houston Dynamo. The 2018 season was the Union's most successful to date, earning the highest points total (50) and most wins (15). Additionally, the 2018 season transitioned Sporting Directors with Earnie Stewart accepting a general manager position with the United States Soccer Federation, and the Union hiring Ernst Tanner; former academy manager for Red Bull Salzburg.

## Background
### MLS SuperDraft

The Union selected three players from the third and fourth rounds of the 2018 SuperDraft
| Round | Pick | Name | Position | Nationality | School |
| 3 | 54 | Mike Catalano | Midfielder | United States | Wisconsin |
| 55 | Aidan Apodaca | Forward | United States | California Baptist University |
| 4 | 77 | Matt Danilack | Forward | United States | Dartmouth |

## Personnel
### Roster

| No. | Name | Position | Date of birth (age) | Signed from |
| Goalkeepers ||||||
| 1 | John McCarthy | GK | (1992-07-04) July 4, 1992 (age 32) | Rochester Rhinos |
| 18 | Andre Blake (INT) | GK | (1990-11-21) November 21, 1990 (age 34) | UConn |
| 29 | Jake McGuire | GK | (1994-09-03) September 3, 1994 (age 30) | University of Tulsa |
| Defenders ||||||
| 3 | Jack Elliott (INT) | CB | (1995-08-24) August 24, 1995 (age 29) | West Virginia University |
| 4 | Mark McKenzie (HGP) | CB | (1998-08-12) August 12, 1998 (age 26) | Bethlehem Steel FC |
| 5 | Olivier Mbaizo | DF | (1997-08-15) August 15, 1997 (age 27) | Bethlehem Steel FC |
| 12 | Keegan Rosenberry | RB | (1993-12-11) December 11, 1993 (age 31) | Georgetown University |
| 15 | Joshua Yaro (GA) | LB/CB | (1994-03-07) March 7, 1994 (age 30) | Georgetown University |
| 16 | Richie Marquez | CB | (1992-05-26) May 26, 1992 (age 32) | University of Redlands |
| 26 | Auston Trusty (HGP) | CB | (1998-08-12) August 12, 1998 (age 26) | Bethlehem Steel FC |
| 28 | Ray Gaddis | RB | (1990-01-13) January 13, 1990 (age 35) | West Virginia University |
| 32 | Matthew Real (HGP) | LB | (1999-07-10) July 10, 1999 (age 25) | Bethlehem Steel FC |
| 33 | Fabinho | LB | (1985-03-16) March 16, 1985 (age 39) | Sydney FC |
| Midfielders ||||||
| 2 | Warren Creavalle | DM | (1990-08-14) August 14, 1990 (age 34) | Toronto FC |
| 6 | Haris Medunjanin (INT) | CM | (1985-03-08) March 8, 1985 (age 39) | Maccabi Tel Aviv |
| 7 | David Accam | MF | (1990-09-28) September 28, 1990 (age 34) | Chicago Fire |
| 8 | Derrick Jones (HGP) | MF | (1997-03-03) March 3, 1997 (age 27) | Bethlehem Steel FC |
| 9 | Fafà Picault | MF | (1991-02-23) February 23, 1991 (age 33) | FC St. Pauli |
| 10 | Bořek Dočkal (DP) (INT) | ACM | (1988-09-30) September 30, 1988 (age 36) | Henan Jianye |
| 11 | Alejandro Bedoya (DP) | CM/RM | (1987-04-29) April 29, 1987 (age 37) | FC Nantes |
| 14 | Fabian Herbers | CF | (1993-08-17) August 17, 1993 (age 31) | Creighton University |
| 20 | Marcus Epps | CF | (1995-01-16) January 16, 1995 (age 30) | South Florida |
| 21 | Anthony Fontana (HGP) | MF | (1999-10-14) October 14, 1999 (age 25) | Bethlehem Steel FC |
| 24 | Adam Najem | MF | (1995-01-19) January 19, 1995 (age 30) | Akron |
| 25 | Ilsinho (INT) | CM/RM | (1985-10-12) October 12, 1985 (age 39) | Shakhtar Donetsk |
| Forwards ||||||
| 17 | C.J. Sapong | CF | (1988-12-27) December 27, 1988 (age 36) | Sporting Kansas City |
| 19 | Cory Burke (INT) | CF | (1991-12-28) December 28, 1991 (age 33) | Bethlehem Steel FC |
| 27 | Jay Simpson (INT) | CF | (1988-12-01) December 1, 1988 (age 36) | Leyton Orient |
Last updated: May 30, 2018. Source: Philadelphia Union Roster
Last updated: May 30, 2018. Source: MLS Designations
DP indicates Designated Player GA indicates Generation Adidas Player HGP indicates Home Grown Player INT indicates MLS International Player and qualifies for an international roster spot

### Staff

    As of February 4, 2018
| Position | Staff | Nationality |
| Head coach | Jim Curtin | United States |
| Technical director and assistant coach | Chris Albright | United States |
| Assistant coach | B.J. Callaghan | United States |
| Assistant coach | Pat Noonan | United States |
| Goalkeeping coach | Tim Hanley | United States |
| Head athletic trainer | Paul Rushing | United States |
| Team coordinator | Josh Gros | United States |
| Sporting director | Earnie Stewart | United States |
| Academy director | Tommy Wilson | Scotland |

## Standings
### Eastern Conference

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | New York Red Bulls | 34 | 22 | 7 | 5 | 62 | 33 | +29 | 71 | MLS Cup Conference Semifinals |
| 2 | Atlanta United FC | 34 | 21 | 7 | 6 | 70 | 44 | +26 | 69 | MLS Cup Conference Semifinals |
| 3 | New York City FC | 34 | 16 | 10 | 8 | 59 | 45 | +14 | 56 | MLS Cup Knockout Round |
| 4 | D.C. United | 34 | 14 | 11 | 9 | 60 | 50 | +10 | 51 | MLS Cup Knockout Round |
| 5 | Columbus Crew | 34 | 14 | 11 | 9 | 43 | 45 | −2 | 51 | MLS Cup Knockout Round |
| 6 | Philadelphia Union | 34 | 15 | 14 | 5 | 49 | 50 | −1 | 50 | MLS Cup Knockout Round |
| 7 | Montreal Impact | 34 | 14 | 16 | 4 | 47 | 53 | −6 | 46 | |
| 8 | New England Revolution | 34 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 49 | 55 | −6 | 41 | |
| 9 | Toronto FC | 34 | 10 | 18 | 6 | 59 | 64 | −5 | 36 | |
| 10 | Chicago Fire | 34 | 8 | 18 | 8 | 48 | 61 | −13 | 32 | |
| 11 | Orlando City SC | 34 | 8 | 22 | 4 | 43 | 74 | −31 | 28 | |

### League standings

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 8 | Portland Timbers | 34 | 15 | 10 | 9 | 54 | 48 | +6 | 54 |
| 9 | D.C. United | 34 | 14 | 11 | 9 | 60 | 50 | +10 | 51 |
| 10 | Columbus Crew | 34 | 14 | 11 | 9 | 43 | 45 | −2 | 51 |
| 11 | Philadelphia Union | 34 | 15 | 14 | 5 | 49 | 50 | −1 | 50 |
| 12 | Real Salt Lake | 34 | 14 | 13 | 7 | 55 | 58 | −3 | 49 |
| 13 | LA Galaxy | 34 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 66 | 64 | +2 | 48 |
| 14 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 34 | 13 | 13 | 8 | 54 | 67 | −13 | 47 |

### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: July 31, 2018. Source: MLS
| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 |
| Stadium | H | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A |
| Result | W | T | L | T | L | L | W | L | L | W | W | T | W | L | L | W | L | L | W | L | W | L | W | W | W | W | T | L | W | W | T | W | L | L |
Position references Eastern Conference standings.

## Statistics
### Appearances and goals

    As of May 31, 2018
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | MLS | MLS | MLS Cup | MLS Cup | U.S. Open Cup | U.S. Open Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Defenders ||||||||||||
| 3 | DF | ENG | Jack Elliot | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | USA | Mark McKenzie | 7 | 0 | 6+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | USA | Olivier Mbaizo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | DF | USA | Keegan Rosenberry | 14 | 1 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | GHA | Joshua Yaro | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | DF | USA | Richie Marquez | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | USA | Auston Trusty | 14 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | DF | USA | Ray Gaddis | 11 | 0 | 8+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | DF | USA | Matthew Real | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | DF | BRA | Fabinho | 4 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||
| 2 | MF | GUY | Warren Creavalle | 2 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | BIH | Haris Medunjanin | 14 | 1 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | GHA | David Accam | 14 | 0 | 11+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | USA | Derrick Jones | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | MF | USA | Fafa Picault | 9 | 0 | 6+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | CZE | Bořek Dočkal | 13 | 3 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | USA | Alejandro Bedoya | 14 | 1 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | GER | Fabian Herbers | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | USA | Marcus Epps | 6 | 1 | 3+3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | USA | Anthony Fontana | 4 | 1 | 1+3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | USA | Adam Najem | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | BRA | Ilsinho | 11 | 3 | 5+6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | MF | CMR | Eric Ayuk Mbu | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||
| 17 | FW | USA | C.J. Sapong | 12 | 2 | 11+1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | JAM | Cory Burke | 11 | 2 | 3+8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | FW | ENG | Jay Simpson | 2 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Statistics are from all matches as documented by Soccerway.com.

### Top scorers

    As of May 31, 2018
| Place | Position | Name | MLS | MLS Cup | Open Cup | Total |
| 1 | MF | Ilsinho | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 1 | MF | Bořek Dočkal | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 2 | FW | C.J. Sapong | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2 | FW | Cory Burke | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 | DF | Keegan Rosenberry | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | MF | Haris Medunjanin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | MF | Alejandro Bedoya | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | MF | Marcus Epps | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | MF | Anthony Fontana | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | Total | Total | 15 | 0 | 0 | 15 |

### Goalkeepers

    As of May 31, 2018
| Nat. | No. | Player | Apps | Starts | Record | GA | GAA | SO | | |
| | 1 | BlakeAndre Blake | 14 | 14 | 5–5–3 | 16 | 1.07 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| | 27 | McCarthyJohn McCarthy | 0 | 0 | 0–0–0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | 29 | McCarthyJake McGuire | 0 | 0 | 0–0–0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 5-5-3 | 15 | 1.07 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
    Record = W-L-D

## Transfers
### In

| Date | No. | Pos. | Player | Transferred from | Fee/notes |
| December 20, 2017 | 14 | MF | Fabian Herbers | Philadelphia Union | Signed new contract |
| December 20, 2017 | 25 | MF | Ilsinho | Philadelphia Union | Signed new contract |
| December 20, 2017 | 33 | DF | Fabinho | Philadelphia Union | Signed new contract |
| December 21, 2017 | 21 | FW | Cory Burke | Bethlehem Steel FC | Signed |
| January 18, 2018 | 32 | DF | Matthew Real | Bethlehem Steel FC | Signed as Homegrown Player |
| January 18, 2018 | 4 | DF | Mark McKenzie | Bethlehem Steel FC | Signed as Homegrown Player |
| January 19, 2018 | 7 | MF | David Accam | Chicago Fire | $1,200,000 allocation money |
| April 17, 2018 | 5 | DF | Olivier Mbaizo | Bethlehem Steel FC | Signed |

### Out

| Date | No. | Pos. | Player | Transferred to | Fee/notes |
| November 1, 2017 | 4 | DF | Ken Tribbett | Penn FC | Declined contract option |
| November 1, 2017 | 5 | DF | Oguchi Onyewu | | Declined contract option |
| November 1, 2017 | 8 | MF | Maurice Edu | | Declined contract option |
| November 1, 2017 | 9 | FW | Charlie Davies | Retired | Declined contract option |
| November 1, 2017 | 10 | MF | Roland Alberg | CSKA Sofia | Declined contract option |
| November 1, 2017 | 13 | MF | Chris Pontius | LA Galaxy | End of contract |
| November 1, 2017 | 14 | MF | Fabian Herbers | Philadelphia Union | Declined contract option, re-signed new contract |
| November 1, 2017 | 19 | DF | Aaron Jones | | Declined contract option |
| November 1, 2017 | 25 | MF | Ilsinho | Philadelphia Union | Declined contract option, re-signed new contract |
| November 1, 2017 | 32 | DF | Giliano Wijnaldum | Williem II | Declined contract option |
| November 1, 2017 | 33 | DF | Fabinho | Philadelphia Union | End of contract, re-signed new contract |

### Loan in

| Date | No. | Pos. | Player | Transferred from | Fee/notes | Source |
| February 28, 2018 | 10 | MF | Bořek Dočkal | Henan Jianye F.C. | Loan for 2018 season | |

## Honors and awards
### Retirement

In May 2018, long time Philadelphia Union forward Sebastian Le Toux announced his retirement from professional soccer. Making a name for himself as a top player for the Philadelphia Union, Le Toux signed a ceremonial one-day contract to retire as a Philadelphia player. His retirement ceremony was held on June 23, 2018, during a home match against Vancouver Whitecaps FC, where he was the first inductee into the Union's Ring of Honor.