Kerith Gabriel: Debating need for MLS preseason competition

It may be nit-picking, but it's a question that needs asking.

With so many new players on this year's Union roster - 13 to be exact - most under the age of 25 and with no MLS experience, one has to wonder . . .

Why would the technical staff find it wise not to play any preseason exhibitions against MLS competition?

Now, I know soccer is soccer. You either know how to ball or you don't. But don't tell me there aren't varying styles of the game. I'm sure Gabriel Farfan, groomed in the youth system for Club America of the Mexican first division, can attest that the styles of soccer in Mexico and in MLS are night and day.

Gabriel Gomez implied this when asked Wednesday in the aftermath of Monday's 3-1 loss in season opener.

"It is completely different from the preseason," said Gomez on playing against MLS competition. "You play for points, it's a lot more serious. And to play as the visiting team in Portland in a beautiful stadium with really loyal fans, I was very shocked by everything I saw."

Fortunately for Gomez, if there was a deer-in-headlights moment, it appeared short-lived. Credit the Panamanian with the Union's first goal of the season off a free kick. But Gomez, along with three other newcomers (Lionard Pajoy, Josue Martinez and Porfirio Lopez), didn't get a chance to experience what game day might be like until Monday, under the lights, in the pouring rain, on turf in front of 20,000 crazed supporters - on the other side of the country.

"But even if you go to Arizona or you go to [Los Angeles], you're going to play in front of what? 20 people?," Peter Nowak retorted when asked about the lack of preseason MLS opponents. Arizona and Los Angeles were the sites of preseason camps, where MLS teams routinely played friendlies against each other last month. "You're going to play on the grass and on the beautiful sunny pitch with palm trees. I don't think [our not playing against MLS teams has anything to with Monday's loss]. We went to Costa Rica, just because we knew the referees were going to be bad, the pitch was going to not be great and we knew that the environment was going to be very competitive like it was. I think we've had this taste already during the preseason."

The only thing Costa Rican competition might have had in common with MLS is poor officiating, but for the most part all MLS teams play on lush fields, and even without mass fanfare, opponents would have been competitive. Not to mention there was no reason for the Union to travel across country to scrimmage MLS competition. In Orlando, less than 5 miles from where the Union opened the second phase of its preseason camp, was the Disney Pro Soccer Classic, which featured Sporting Kansas City. Surely, the organizers at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, where the event was held, would have welcomed the Union, especially if there was a chance for a preseason Eastern Conference clash on their soil.

Instead, the Union played a pair of college teams and USL-1 champion Orlando City before heading to Costa Rica to play a trio of clubs few have ever heard of. On the flip side, Portland played seven preseason matches against MLS clubs, including defending MLS champion Los Angeles.

And while I don't believe it ultimately helped Portland in its defeat of a revamped Union, you wonder if it maybe provided some insight for new players.

GOMEZ GOT GAME:

Union fans, the club finally may have found the free-kick specialist you've been yearning for. In Gabriel Gomez, versatility meets veracity in one of the most crucial parts of the game. We caught up with Gomez after practice this week to pick his brain about the goal, his game and how he sees this season shaping up.

Daily News: Did you know your goal was going in after it left your foot?

Gabriel Gomez: When I took that free kick, my intention was to pass it to one of my teammates because those kicks are hard to block for the opposing team's defense and goalkeeper. Generally, nobody touches the ball and it ends up being a goal. The moment was gratifying as we were winning 1-0 during a difficult match. Unfortunately, we lost, but right now we are lifting our moods to win Sunday.

DN: How are you settling into your new club and Philadelphia?

GG: I'm adapting well. I'm a player that has adapted easily to all the teams I've been part of. I try to get along with my teammates. It's a process that takes time, but once we're working with each other and start understanding each other, our relationship as a team improves.

DN: Gameplan going into Sunday's match against Colorado?

GG: I hope to continue the hard work we are performing as a team and to win Sunday. Right now, we just have to focus on winning. We lost in Portland and we now have the opportunity to change and improve, starting at home.

PARTING SHOT:

The debate has been on since it hit the back of the net on whether Monday's clincher from Portland's Kalif Alhassan was deliberate. The footage makes it appear as if it was a back-post cross turned goal, but Alhassan told The Oregonian that it was a legit attempt to score.

"I was trying to score," said Alhassan. "The goalie was expecting me to [make] a cross, so I was just trying to chip it."

But ESPN analyst Adrian Healy isn't as sure.

"My instinct as a commentator - having seen many similar instances - it was a cross," Healy said. "It looked to me like he was trying to dink it into that soft spot at the far post and hope someone would finish it off. As it turned out, he didn't need anyone to finish it."

The debate rages on, but Portland fullback Rodney Wallace may have found a potential happy medium.

"It was a 'shross,' let's just call it that," Wallace joked as he combined the two possibilities. "Whatever it was, it went in."

UPCOMING GAME:

Colorado (1-0-0, 3 points) at Union (0-1-0, 0 points)

When: Sunday, 4 p.m.

Where: PPL Park, Chester

TV: NBC Sports Network

On the web: Streaming video on MLSSoccer.com

Last time out: Colorado won 2-1 at PPL Park (July 21)

For kicks: Colorado comes to Chester on the heels of a 2-0 season opening win over Columbus. The key thing to note is that Colorado did so without 2011 top scorer Conor Casey out indefinitely with a Achilles' tear . . . Drew Moor and Quincy Amarikwa tallied in the win, but the Rapids premier threat up top is the speedy Omar Cummings . . . Goalkeeper Matt Pickens was impressive against the Crew, making two big saves and was a runner-up for MLS' Save of the Week award . . . Oscar Pareja, the stalwart midfielder for MLS' Dallas franchise (1998-2005), is now the coach of Colorado and preaches "keeping possession and quick on transition," according to Union manager Peter Nowak . . . Expect Union midfielder Roger Torres (ankle) to be on the roster this week. Torres did not make the trip to Portland for the season opener for unspecified reasons.

INJURY REPORT (AS OF TUESDAY):

Questionalb for the Union: Chris Albright, DF (left groin strain)

Out for the Rapids: Conor Casey, FW (left Achilles' tear); Jamie Smith, MF (right ACL tear); Anthony Wallace, DF (left Achilles' tear)

Probable: Hunter Freeman , DF (right ankle arthroscopy); Pablo Mastroeni, MF (head contusion)

BY THE NUMBERS:

12: The number of combined goals scored in games against Colorado.

4: The total number of goals the Union has contributed in the series. The last came from Roger Torres in the 92nd minute of a 2-1 loss last July.

0: The number of times the Union has defeated the Rapids. The Union is 0-2-2 all-time with the draws (both 1-1 results) split between PPL Park (2010) and Dick Sporting Goods Park (2011).