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Union's Okugo stepped up in win over Red Bulls

Amobi Okugo never remembers entering a game so early, but the 20-year-old Union midfielder proved he was ready. Okugo saw his most extensive time this season when he entered last Saturday's 1-0 win over the visiting New York Red Bulls in the sixth minute after Brian Carroll strained a hamstring.

Amobi Okugo replaced Brian Carroll after he strained a hamstring against the Red Bulls. (H. Rumph Jr/AP file photo)
Amobi Okugo replaced Brian Carroll after he strained a hamstring against the Red Bulls. (H. Rumph Jr/AP file photo)Read more

Amobi Okugo never remembers entering a game so early, but the 20-year-old Union midfielder proved he was ready.

Okugo saw his most extensive time this season when he entered last Saturday's 1-0 win over the visiting New York Red Bulls in the sixth minute after Brian Carroll strained a hamstring.

Prior to that, he had played only five minutes in the opening, 1-0 win at Houston, but missed the next two MLS games while competing for the U.S. men's national team at the CONCACAF Under-20 championships in Guatemala. The United States was eliminated during a 2-1, quarterfinal loss to host Guatemala on April 6.

Three days later Okugo was playing in front of the largest-ever PPL Park crowd of 19,027 against the Red Bulls.

"I can't say enough about his performance," Union assistant coach John Hackworth said. "He came in off the bench cold, stepped in, and was invaluable."

Short turnaround

Union forward Danny Mwanga had the assist in Saturday's win over New York and a little over 12 hours later saw time in the Reserve League win over the Red Bulls.

Mwanga insists he wasn't overly tired at the double duty.

"It was a little tough early in the morning playing, but the game before I didn't play for more than 45 minutes," Mwanga said. "My body was capable, and the fitness was good for me."

Mwanga entered Saturday's game in the 59th minute for Justin Mapp. In the Reserve League game, he replaced Roger Torres (Saturday's goal scorer) in the 60th minute.

Mwanga insists that it wasn't a letdown after playing the previous evening in a sold-out stadium before a national television audience on ESPN2.

"It was fun," he said. "It was another chance to showcase your talents."

Union Match Rescheduled

The Union will play at Real Salt Lake on Sept. 3 at 9 p.m., in a match originally scheduled for April 23.

The teams agreed to move the match in support of Real Salt Lake's bid to win the CONCACAF Champions League Final, which will be played April 20 and 27.

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