Union Suffer First Loss Of Preseason To Orlando City 1-0

The Philadelphia Union were defeated on Saturday night by Orlando City S.C. by a score of 1-0. It was the Union's first loss of the 2011 preseason, after having tied the U.S. U-17 national team and having defeated the universities of South Florida and Central Florida in previous preseason matches.

The Union played nearly the entire match with just 10 men after a red card was issued to Colombian defender Carlos Valdes in the 19th minute. Orlando’s Lewis Neal scored on the ensuing free kick.

For Orlando, the match was the first in their history, albeit an unofficial friendly. They are an expansion side and will join the USL-Pro league for this year, which is now considered the third division on the American soccer pyramid.

For the third straight preseason match, the Union did not release lineups for either team. A photo in the article linked above reveals that besides Valdes, Brian Carroll, Amobi Okugo, Danny Califf, Danny Mwanga, and Justin Mapp each took the field for the Union, and Faryd Mondragon is also seen in goal. Another photo from Orlando City’s recap of the game shows that Roger Torres was also on the pitch for the Union. The team has yet to release photos on its official Facebook page, but some could be on the way soon. Stay tuned for updates.

With the loss to Orlando, the Union conclude the second phase of their preseason and will return to Philadelphia on Sunday morning. On February 23rd, the team will head to Greece for the final leg of their preparations for the 2011 season. They will face off against first-division Ergotelis FC on Monday, February 28 and also against third-division Hersonissos FC on Wednesday, March 2 ahead of their opening 2011 regular season match on March 19 in Houston.