Match Day #28 Game Thread: San Jose Earthquakes vs. Philadelphia Union

Game Information: San Jose Earthquakes vs. Philadelphia Union

Where: Buck Shaw Stadium, Santa Clara, CA

When: 11:00 PM ET

Channel: ESPN2

Commentators: Adrian Healey and Julie Foudy

Meet the Opposition: Quake, Rattle and Goal

Officials: Fotis Bazakos. Assistants: Peter Manikowski and Adam Garner. 4th: Tyler Ploeger.
Bazakos MLS Career: 20 games; FC/game: 25; Y/game: 3.1; R: 1; penalties: 5

SUSPENDED: PHI: Amobi Okugo (through September 8)

WARNINGS:
SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: PHI: Sheanon Williams; SJ: Stephen Lenhart, Chris Wondolowski

HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME: 1-3-1 with 3 goals

AT BUCK SHAW STADIUM: 0-1-1 with 0 goals

Injury Report: PHI: No injuries to report. SJ: Out: Nana Attakora, Mehdi Ballouchy, Ty Harden, Tommy Muller, Marcus Tracy; Questionable: Mike Fucito (R ankle fracture

Philadelphia Union starting XI: (4-4-2) Zac MacMath; Fabinho, Jeff Parke, Sheanon Williams, Raymon Gaddis; Brian Carroll, Keon Daniel, Sebastien Le Toux, Danny Cruz; Jack McInerney, Conor Casey

Philadelphia Union bench: Oka Nikolov, Kleberson, Matt Kassel, Michael Farfan, Antoine Hoppenot, Aaron Wheeler, Leonardo Fernandes

San Jose Earthquakes starting XI: (4-4-2) Jon Busch; Jordan Stewart, Justin Morrow, Jason Hernandez, Steven Beitashour; Sam Cronin, Rafael Baca, Shea Salinas, Cordell Cato; Chris Wondolowski, Alan Gordon

San Jose Earthquakes bench: Ramiro Corrales, Dan Gargan, Steven Lenhart, Walter Martinez, David Bingham, Jaime Alas, Adam Jahn

The teams are meeting for the first and only time this season.

The San Jose Earthquakes are currently 9-11-7 with a grand total of 34 points in the Western Conference. This puts them in 8th place, ahead of only Chivas USA. Last week, the Earthquakes suffered a rough 3-0 defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Galaxy.

The Philadelphia Union continue to fight for their playoff lives. Last week they got a painful yet pleasant 0-0 draw at home against Montreal, and thus far tonight, they have seen good fortune around the league. Sporting Kansas City defeated 8th place Columbus Crew 3-0. New York Red Bulls defeated 6th place Houston Dynamo 4-1. Montreal Impact defeated 5th place New England Revolution 4-2. And Seattle Sounders beat 7th place Chicago Fire 2-1. While these results greatly hamper the Union's chances at climbing to the top of the standings, it gives them a chance at some separation from some of the mid-level teams fighting just to get into the playoffs.

Use the thread below as a place to discuss the game and please remember to follow @brotherlygameand @tbglive on Twitter for updates.