Brotherly Game: All Posts by Matthew Ralph

De Vries debut ushers in new homegrown era for Philadelphia Union

2020-07-12T09:47:00-04:00

Philadelphia Union, Andrew Zwarych

18-year-old’s rise a first for players recruited to the Union academy from outside the region

It wasn’t quite how Jack de Vries imagined it as a 13-year-old when he joined the Philadelphia Union Academy, but the first-year homegrown became the latest to make his senior team debut when he stepped on the field on Thursday.

“They were pretty strange circumstances with no fans and there wasn’t an external atmosphere but we were also trying to hold a lead so when I came on I knew I had to defend and stay compact,” de Vries said about his first MLS action. “I knew I had to step up and see out the game.”

De Vries played the final six minutes of the match, which the Union held on to win 1-0. He also became the eighth player whose dad also played in MLS to debut. Raimo de Vries made four appearances for the Colorado Rapids in 1996.

While Jack didn’t have a chance to showcase the attacking talent that has garnered regular invites to youth national team camps and serious interest from clubs like PSV Eindhoven he passed over to sign with the Union, he did demonstrate the confidence head coach Jim Curtin has in a player he has repeatedly commended since arriving in the bubble in Orlando.

“Sometimes I worry about singling a guy out in a press conference because they hear it and they think they’ve accomplished something, but Jack’s done just the opposite he’s kept pushing,” Curtin said recently.

Unlike most of the homegrowns who have come before him, Curtin doesn’t have stories to tell about working with de Vries as a wide-eyed 10-year-old but his rise since joining the academy five years ago is a window into the next wave of talent coming through the team’s development pipeline.

Photo by Matt Ralph

Jack de Vries playing for the Union U14s

While the identifying feature of homegrowns like Mark McKenzie, Brenden Aaronson, Matthew Real and others has been their Philly roots de Vries moved to the area from Virginia Beach with his family when he joined the academy after also living abroad in Belgium for several years and spending time in the world renown Anderlecht academy.

He was recruited in part via connections to the organization through his dad, who played at Wake Forest with former first team head coach John Hackworth and former academy coach Chris Brewer.

“He came here with a good pedigree, but he’s worked really hard to get to where he is,” Academy Director Tommy Wilson said, noting that like a lot of players his path was not linear and included a fair amount of struggle. “He kept at it and he kept at it and then hit a purple patch after Ernst Tanner got here.”

Since arriving as Sporting Director, Tanner has placed even more of an emphasis on bringing players like de Vries through at younger ages, recruiting top players from outside the area in addition to those locally who can prove themselves at the USL level and debut with the first team as teenagers.

While there are still plenty of local players with the potential to fit that bill, future homegrown prospects like Nathan Harriel (Florida), Jack McGlynn (New York), Issa Rayyan (Michigan) and others show how important the recruiting piece is.

“I was out at training for Union II the other day and there wasn’t an academy player in the group you didn’t think has that chance (to make the first team),” Wilson said. “That’s exciting.”

Bedoya ‘Captain Philadelphia’ t-shirt available for sale again

2020-07-11T09:27:00-04:00

BreakingT has re-released their Alejandro Bedoya shirt

The Alejandro Bedoya “Captain Philadelphia” t-shirt is back on sale from BreakingT.

A lock at this point to be a future Ring of Honor candidate, Bedoya showed yet again on Thursday how valuable he is to the team scoring a massive game-winning goal in a 1-0 win over NYCFC in the first game of the MLS is Back Tournament.

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Player Ratings: Philadelphia Union pick up win in MLS is Back breakfast match over NYCFC

2020-07-11T08:46:09-04:00

Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images

Weigh in on the individual performances from Thursday

The headline was that Andre Blake stood on his head to preserve a clean sheet and three points after Alejandro Bedoya scored a 63rd minute goal. But it took more than the performances of two of the Union’s biggest stars to keep NYCFC scoreless on Thursday.

The spine of the defense with Mark McKenzie, Jack Elliott on the back line and Jose Andres Martinez at the bottom of the diamond was mostly sharp on the day while Jamiro Monteiro and Brenden Aaronson did a lot of work on both sides of the ball.

On paper, City had the statistical advantage in nearly every category but up until a couple of golden opportunities snuffed out by Blake late in the game, the Union was able to play their game even if it was slightly less frenzied in the Florida heat and humidity.

Injuries to Sergio Santos, Andrew Wooten and Michee Ngalina left Curtin with few options in the attack so it was already an odd start to the game with Ilsinho in the starting XI. Part of the problem with starting Ilsinho is he isn’t available to come off the bench and provide a spark against worn out opposing teams. Had he come in after the hour mark, he may have been able to leave more of an impression.

Anthony Fontana and Jack de Vries were the only attackers on the bench and Jim used both in the match while bunkering a bit by inserting Warren Creavalle and a third center back in Jakob Glesnes to see off the game.

Curtin deserves some credit for how well prepared the team looked even if some of the touches, the timing of runs and shot attempts showed some rust. Even with the game scoreless and NYCFC threatening, it never felt like the Union were in danger of falling behind. In the end, they just couldn’t be denied and showed that they have the mentality to handle the environment and unique circumstances in Orlando and be a legitimate contender in the competition.

What did you think of the individual performances on Thursday? Weigh in our first player rating poll of MLS is Back.

Player Ratings Poll

The Path: Raimo de Vries on his journey to the U.S. and stint with the Colorado Rapids in 1996

2020-07-09T15:39:57-04:00

Philadelphia Union

The father of Union homegrown Jack de Vries talks about his path to playing in MLS in 1996

Raimo de Vries didn’t play or live in Philadelphia during his soccer career but the city he now calls home factors in heavily in his history both on and off the soccer pitch.

De Vries came to the U.S. from the Netherlands to pursue an education and play college soccer at Wake Forest for Philly soccer legend Walt Chyzowych, who played at Temple and for the Philadelphia Ukrainian Nationals and coached at Philadelphia Textile (now Jefferson University) as well as the U.S. men’s national team.

“It would take a long time to describe my emotions and my gratitude for Walt,” Raimo said. “But he was such a passionate person about soccer. If you think of memories I ended up popping in in his office every day and just hearing his stories...He was a great father figure for me.”

While still helping out with the team as a pro playing for the Raleigh Flyers, de Vries was introduced to a field hockey coach named Kerry Horgan by another familiar name in Philadelphia soccer named John Hackworth. Hackworth, of course, would later go on to coach the Philadelphia Union and help launch the academy Raimo and Kerry’s son Jack de Vries would join years later in pursuit of a dream to follow his father’s footsteps into Major League Soccer.

“It’s interesting how with soccer there is a red thread running through our lives,” he said.

De Vries talks about his journey and “passing the baton” onto his 18-year-old son in the latest episode of The Path Podcast.

Listen to The Path Soccer Podcast Episode #11

Blake saves, Bedoya goal leads Philadelphia Union to first win of 2020

2020-07-09T12:12:30-04:00

Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images

Bedoya got the goal and Blake did the rest to preserve the team’s first win and shut out of 2020 in a 1-0 win over NYCFC

ORLANDO, Fla. — Alejandro Bedoya came up with yet another timely goal and Andre Blake robbed NYCFC of two enticing bites of the apple late to preserve the Philadelphia Union’s first win of 2020 in their MLS is Back Tournament opener Thursday morning.

With both teams returning to play for the first time in four months and playing at 9 a.m. in Florida, neither team looked their sharpest — particularly in the final third — but as the game wore on and legs began to tire in the heat it was the Union that grabbed the advantage with a well-taken angled shot from Bedoya in the box that Sean Johnson wasn’t able to keep out of the net.

Brenden Aaronson, who was one of the stars of the day in the attack, set up the play with a smart run into the box and shot attempt on a cut back from Bedoya that was deflected right back to Bedoya’s feet. Jamiro Monteiro started the sequence with a long ball to Bedoya in the box.

“I don’t score often but I’m glad we got the win from the goal,” Bedoya said. “Brenden made a great run, I fed it to him initially and I’m not sure exactly what happened whether it was a save or the defender but it came back to me and I took a touch and just cut inside and hit it with my left foot that close and I hit it hard enough for it to go in in the corner so I’m happy for that.”

Up a goal, head coach Jim Curtin subbed in center back Jakob Glesnes to add to the back line and try to secure the team’s first clean sheet in almost a calendar year since a 2-0 win over Chicago Fire on July 20, 2019.

Blake had to pull off a pair of highlight-reel saves to do it. One was a fingertip stop after Heber collected a deflected cross and was all alone at the far post and another when he jumped off his line to cut down a shot from a charging Gary Mackay-Steven in the box. He finished with seven saves on the day.

The win puts the Union level at 1-1-1 on the season with four points but more importantly even with Orlando City at the top of the Group A standings. Orlando got a late goal from Nani to beat Inter Miami in the tournament opener on Wednesday night.

While the game was an important one for a Union team full of confidence coming into the tournament and considered by some one of the favorites to win it all, an even bigger story was the names the players wore in place of their own on their jerseys. Each player in the lineup had the name of a black victim of police brutality.

Post-game, Curtin said it was a case of “action over permission.”

“I hope that the league understands and I hope that everybody can embrace that and wrap their head around it,” Curtin said. “It was done to show respect, to learn, to grow and to make our country better so from the standpoint of that I’m really proud of our players again for everything they did on the field and off the field.”

On the day, NYCFC had an edge in nearly every statistical category except — 17-8 advantage on shots, 8-3 on corners, 27-9 on crosses, 59.5 percent possession, etc. — but the one that matters most on the scoreboard.

“It really came down to mindset and focus to push through on a really hot day,” Curtin said.

Jack de Vries came off the bench to make his MLS debut in the second half, replacing Ilsinho who was inserted into the starting lineup due to injuries to Sergio Santos, Andrew Wooten and Michee Ngalina. Curtin used four of five available subs with Anthony Fontana, Warren Creavalle and Jakob Glesnes also coming off the bench.

Game Thread: Philadelphia Union 1 NYCFC 0 Full Time

2020-07-09T11:12:10-04:00

Philadelphia Union

Bedoya’s goal and Andre Blake’s heroics secure three points

Full Time - the Philadelphia Union pick up their first win of 2020 thanks to a masterful performance from Andre Blake and a timely goal from Captain Alejandro Bedoya

90’+5 Blake with another big save coming off his line to cut down another chance. Man of the Match performance from him today.

90’+1 Six minutes of stoppage to go

89’ Glesnes goes into the book for a professional foul to stop the NYCFC counter. Free kick leads to a looping header Blake isn’t trouble by.

86’ Wide open shot in the box for Heber on the back post after a deflection but Andre Blake is there with a huge finger tip save to keep it 1-0. Huge huge play there by the Jamaican international.

83’ Two more subs for the Union and it’s Jack de Vries making his MLS debut and Jakob Glesnes. In for Aaronson and Bedoya.

73’ Warren Creavalle subs in for Martinez in a like-for-like substitution. Curtin still has three subs left.

67’ Kacper puts the ball in the net but he was offsides on the play. Union need to snatch another goal here.

The captain delivers!@AleBedoya17 finds the opener for #DOOP. #NYCvPHI pic.twitter.com/XosAflTmp0
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) July 9, 2020

63’ GOAAAAAL! Alejandro Bedoya with a left-footed shot in the box that beats Sean Johnson to his right.

61’ Blake forced into a diving save. It looks like there are goals in this one if anyone can get that final ball right.

58’ First sub off the bench is Anthony Fontana in for Ilsinho. He’ll take up the Brazilian’s spot down the right side of the pitch.

48’ NYCFC with a big chance but fortunately Castellanos’ shot is an easy save for Blake

46’ Second half underway.

Halftime - Missed this earlier but apparently Taylor Twellman commented on the broadcast that Celtic is interested in Mark McKenzie. The Union have plenty of ties to Scotland through Rangers (Alejandro Bedoya and Maurice Edu played there, academy director Tommy Wilson came to the Union from there).

45’+6 El Brujo gets taken down with a hard elbow to the chest. Appeared to have the wind knocked out of him but he’ll continue. This game is getting chippy now as you would expect. Jamiro Monteiro slides in and gets a yellow moments after play resumes.

45’ The Union the better team in the first half with some bright attacking moments but it’s showing a bit that this is their first game in four months.

34’ El Brujo goes in the book for a foul in a dangerous spot that Moralez made an absolute meal out of.

25’ Castellanos with his first attempt to draw a penalty. It certainly won’t be the last.

20’ First corner of the game for the U and it ends up with Kacper getting a chance that doesn’t trouble Johnson. Today would be a great day for the Union to end their draught dating back to 2018.

17’ The first part of this game is about what you would expect. Both teams feeling each other out.

1’ We have Philadelphia Union soccer at 9:11 a.m.

In place of their own names, the Philadelphia Union are wearing the names of victims of police brutality on their jerseys. Wow. What a powerful statement.

Our players stand together. One name too many. pic.twitter.com/tPoR8DWveN
— PhilaUnion (@PhilaUnion) July 9, 2020

Starting Lineups

The big news in the starting lineup is that all three of the attackers head coach Jim Curtin said picked up knocks in training are out. The graphic has the team in a 4-4-2 formation with Ilsinho pairing up top with Kacper Przybylko but it will be interesting to see if it ends up being more of a 4-2-3-1 with Ilsinho out wide and Brenden Aaronson filling that space on the left side. This almost guarantees that Jack de Vries and Anthony Fontana will get minutes today since they are the only attackers on the bench.

Jack Elliott and Mark McKenzie pair for the first time in 2020 with Jakob Glesnes on the bench. Glesnes spent some time back in Norway so he had some catching up to do when he rejoined the group so it’s not entirely a surprise that he isn’t starting today.

Counting.
Down.
The.
Seconds.

https://t.co/jz2XsAso21 #MLSisBack | #DOOP | #NYCvPHI pic.twitter.com/xK2ZGHq6Vb
— PhilaUnion (@PhilaUnion) July 9, 2020

| #NYCFC XI @PhilaUnion #MLSisBack pic.twitter.com/NBRlfnWah4
— New York City FC (@NYCFC) July 9, 2020

How to Watch

Where: ESPN Wide World of Sports, Orlando, Florida
When: 9 a.m. ET, Thursday July 9
TV: ESPN
Streaming: WatchESPN App
Radio: 102.5 FM, 105.3 HD2, 1480 AM
Audio Stream: iHeart App

Injury Report

NYC
Questionable: Sebastien Ibeagha (D) - calf injury, Tony Rocha (M) - hamstring injury
Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: None
International duty: None

Union
Questionable: Sérgio Santos (F) - upper leg strain, Michee Ngalina (F) - upper leg strain, Andrew Wooten (F) - upper leg strain
Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: None
International duty: None

Series Matchup

NYCFC: 7 wins, 20 goals
Union: 3 wins, 15 goals
1 draw

Officials

Referee: Armando Villarreal
Assistant Referees: Eduardo Mariscal;, Matthew Nelson
Fourth Official: Robert Sibiga
VAR: Tim Ford

Philadelphia Union MLS is Back jerseys feature Subaru and Thomas logos on sleeves

2020-07-09T08:57:15-04:00

Union will wear secondary whites today

When the Philadelphia Union take the field today they’ll be sporting two additional sponsor logos on their sleeves.

It was revealed Thursday morning that their jerseys for the MLS is Back Tournament in Orlando will have a Subaru logo on one sleeve and a Thomas logo on the other. Thomas is one of the many brands under the Bimbo Bakeries company that is the team’s jersey sponsor. Their secondary jerseys this season feature the Artesano brand while the home blues still have the Bimbo logo.

Philadelphia Union

Jack de Vries in line to become eighth second generation player to make MLS debut

2020-07-09T08:07:30-04:00

Union homegrown’s father played for the Colorado Rapids in the first season of MLS

Philadelphia Union homegrown Jack de Vries is in line to make a little history today against New York City FC.

If the 18-year-old midfielder makes an appearance — as head coach Jim Curtin’s comments in recent weeks clearly suggest he will — he’ll become the eighth second generation player in MLS history and the first to play for the Union.

“I wish it was in front of 18,000 in Subaru Park but that might have to wait a little bit,” Curtin said last week. “He’s going to get an opportunity to show his talent and show people what he’s about.”

Other father-son combos in MLS have included Alex Bunbury (1999-2000 KC) and Teal Bunbury (2010-13 KC; 2014-16 NE); David Ferreira (2009-13 DAL) and Jesus Ferreira (2017 DAL); John Harkes (1996-98 DC; 1999-2001 NE; 2001-02 CLB) and Ian Harkes (2017-18 DC); Roy Lassiter (1996-98 TB; 1998-99, 2002 DC; 2000 MIA; 2001-02 KC) and Ariel Lassiter (2015-16 LA); Onandi Lowe (2001 KC) and Damion Lowe (2014-15 SEA); Robert Warzycha (1996-2002 CLB) and Konrad Warzycha (2011-12 KC; 2013 CLB); and Adolfo Valencia (2000-01 MET) and Jose Adolfo Valencia (2012-13 POR).

Raimo de Vries came to the U.S. from the Netherlands to play soccer and get his degree at Wake Forest. He went on to play professionally for the Raleigh Flyers and through the club’s affiliation with the Colorado Rapids joined the team at the end of the 1996 season. He made his MLS debut in the starting lineup on August 29, 2025 against D.C. United and started the final three games of what ended up being his lone season in MLS.

“My dad has really taught me everything I know about soccer,” Jack de Vries said in an interview in preseason. “He just told me it’s not really all about how good you are and how talented you are, it’s about how hard you work and how much you want it.”

Jack’s journey started off in Akron, Ohio, but it was when he lived in Belgium with his family that he fell in love with the game. He moved back to the U.S. to Virginia Beach prior to joining the Union Academy when he was 13 and moving to the are with his family.

Raimo credited his son’s work ethic with getting him to where he is in a recent interview for The Path Soccer Podcast.

“As a dad, I’m sure it’s gonna be a fantastic experience seeing him out there and so to speak passing the baton to the next generation,” Raimo de Vries said. “I think if I had a small role to play on that by passing on that passion you know that’s a good feeling.”

Zoom Roundtable: Talking NYCFC, Philadelphia Union and MLS is Back

2020-07-08T19:54:50-04:00

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

I invited some contributors to Brotherly Game to talk about the return of Philadelphia Union soccer

I hopped on Zoom with Doopy Brothers co-host AJ McClung, photographer Morgan Tencza, writer Mickey Jreissati and new contributor Greg Oldfield to talk actual Philadelphia Union soccer for the first time since March.

University of Pennsylvania, Princeton and rest of Ivy League cancels soccer and other fall sports

2020-07-08T18:34:41-04:00

Penn becomes the first D1 program locally to cancel their soccer seasons

Rhodes Field, one of the finest venues for soccer in Philadelphia, won’t be hosting home soccer games this fall for the University of Pennsylvania.

The Ivy League on Wednesday announced a decision to cancel all sports competing “prior to the end of the fall semester.”

“With the information available to us today regarding the continued spread of the virus, we simply do not believe we can create and maintain an environment for intercollegiate athletic competition that meets our requirements for safety and acceptable levels of risk, consistent with the policies that each of our schools is adopting as part of its reopening plans this fall,” a statement from the Ivy League presidents released on Wednesday reads. “We are entrusted to create and maintain an educational environment that is guided by health and safety considerations. There can be no greater responsibility — and that is the basis for this difficult decision.”

Practice and other athletic training opportunities for enrolled student-athletes will be permitted consistent with procedures and applicable state regulations. Fall athletes will not use a season of eligibility for the fall.

Penn and Princeton’s men’s and women’s teams are the first Division 1 programs in greater Philadelphia to see their fall seasons canceled. Programs at Lehigh Carbon Community College (NJCAA) and NCAA Division III programs at TCNJ, Swarthmore College and Haverford College have also had their seasons canceled due to ongoing concerns with the coronavirus pandemic.