Rate the U: Andre Blake tops reader ratings

“Andre Blake made a huge save” is a statement that never gets old writing, even if it is usually followed by “but the Union still dropped points.”

That was the case yet again on Saturday night in the Union’s 1-1 draw from a game that felt like a must-win against a team with a poor road record playing three time zones away from home. Blake made a critical first half when Vako Qazaishvili broke free in the box.

San Jose would score seven minutes later through an unstoppable shot by Magnus Eriksson, but Blake stood out enough — he had four saves for the match — to earn the highest percentage of upvotes in our post-game reader poll. (Note: Rosenberry finished first on the Ranker site because he received the most amount of upvotes, but we’re basing it on highest percentage of upvotes).

This continues a bit of an alarming trend — the defenders get all the love, everybody else all the wrath — for a Union team that has only managed 5 points from four games, three of which have come at home (that’s four points dropped at home, three on the road).

While the attackers are way at the bottom of the list of reader ratings yet again — David Accam was last with only 13.7 percent upvotes while CJ Sapong was second to last at 15.2 percent — it’s the back line and Blake getting most of the love.

Keegan Rosenberry, who had the highest upvote percentage in the Colorado game was second with 81.3 percent, followed by Jack Elliott at 78.6 percent. Elliott was first in the ratings in the first two games of the season.

Fafà Picault’s performance in his return from a three-game suspension was good enough to earn him fourth with 75.6 percent. He did great to set up the Union’s lone goal, which busted a 261-minute drought, but the rust still showed a little bit.

Check out the full results below and check back on Saturday to vote on the performances following what (fingers crossed) will be a return to the win column for the boys in blue.

Matthew Ralph

Matthew Ralph is the managing editor of Philadelphia Soccer Now. He's covered soccer at all levels for a decade in the Philadelphia region and has also written for TheCup.us, NPSL, PrepSoccer and other publications. He lives with his wife and two young children in Broomall, Pa., but grew up in South Jersey and is originally from Kansas.

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