John McCarthy will start in goal for Union vs. Fire
There will be no suspense until game day. Union coach Jim Curtin said Wednesday at his news conference that John McCarthy would start in goal Saturday in the team's Major League Soccer game against the host Chicago Fire.
There will be no suspense until game day.
Union coach Jim Curtin said Wednesday at his news conference that John McCarthy would start in goal Saturday in the team's Major League Soccer game against the host Chicago Fire.
Matt Jones, who just returned from a knee injury, will be the reserve.
The Union's starting goalkeeper, Andre Blake, will miss his second game of the season while he plays for Jamaica in World Cup qualifiers.
"He is a guy I trust a great deal," Curtin said of McCarthy, a product of North Catholic High and La Salle University. "He is a winner and won us big games last year and I expect him to do the same in Chicago."
McCarthy played in a U.S. Open Cup game this year, a 3-2 victory over the Harrisburg Islanders, and he appeared in the first half of a friendly against Crystal Palace of the English Premier League.
Last year, he appeared in five U.S. Open Cup games and 11 MLS contests. In MLS action, he was 3-5-3 with a 1.64 goals against average.
Jones started the previous game in goal when Blake was gone, but he has been training for only about a week. On Tuesday, Jones played for the Union's United Soccer League affiliate, the Bethlehem Steel.
"Even [playing] in the game last night was a little bit rushed, but it also was an effort to get [Jones] minutes and prove he could be available to be a backup," Curtin said.
Also on the injury front, designated player Maurice Edu, a midfielder who has been out all season with a stress fracture in his left leg, will go though testing on Thursday. If Edu gets favorable results, Curtin said he could play this weekend for the Steel.
According to Curtin, midfielders Ilsinho and Brian Carroll, who have missed time with foot injuries, "are on track to be up for selection," Saturday.
Carroll has been out since Aug. 6. Ilsinho has been sidelined the last two games.
The Union (11-9-7) are in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, where the top six make the playoffs. Chicago (5-12-8, 23 points) has the lowest point total in MLS.
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