Ilsinho leads Union to third straight win
The midfielder helped set up the first goal and scored the second in a 2-0 victory over the Houston Dynamo.
It was a move made because of injury, but the Union may have stumbled onto something with the creative Ilsinho playing the No. 10 position as an attacking midfielder.
With Roland Alberg out for a second straight game with a quadriceps strain, Ilsinho was in the playmaking role, and his ability to break down defenders, or hold the ball until teammates got open, played a major role as the Union continued their recent surge.
Ilsinho helped set up the first goal and scored the second Wednesday in a 2-0 win over the Houston Dynamo before 15,234 at Talen Energy Stadium.
The Union (3-4-4) have not only won three in a row but are unbeaten in their last five games. It was also their fourth consecutive shutout.
Houston (6-4-1) is unbeaten at home but 0-4 on the road.
"I never played there [as an attacking midfielder], but I have more freedom," Ilsinho said. "I am just trying to help the team."
Ilsinho did not receive an assist on the first goal, but he set it up by finding Chris Pontius wide on the right side. Pontius sent a cross in the center of the box that Fafa Picault headed in, beating two defenders in the 17th minute.
Picault, who might be among the fastest players in Union history, has scored goals in consecutive games.
Ilsinho hit the left post on 30-yard blast in the 26th minute, but the 31-year-old Brazilian made amends later.
Pontius also set up the Union's second goal in one of the best passing combinations of the season. After C.J. Sapong stole the ball, he fed Pontuius on the right flank. Pontius sent a cross that Ilsinho one-timed from 10-yards out to increase the lead to 2-0 in the 38th minute. It was his first goal of the season and third in his second year with the Union.
"When he gets in space, it is very difficult for defenders and not one guy is going to stop him," Union coach Jim Curtin said of Ilsinho. ". . . He is playing confidently now and is putting in a lot of work defensively, too."
Pontius now has six assists, matching his career high set last year in 33 games during his first season with the Union. He and the rest of his teammates have high praise for the ability Ilsinho has to pressure a defense.
"He is very creative on the ball and always wants the ball in tough spots," Pontius said.
The Union kept attacking. In the 54th minute, Alejandro Bedoya sent Picault on a breakaway, but he shot just wide from beyond the six.
In the 77th minute, Union keeper Andre Blake slid out to make a save against his former teammate Andrew Wenger to preserve the shutout.
Notes
Union defender Auston Trusty has been added to the U.S. team for the U-20 World Cup, joining teammate Derrick Jones. Trusty has been with the team as an alternate in case of injury since the U.S. team departed for training camp in Japan on May 10. This season, Trusty has not appeared for the Union, but he has made six starts for their United Soccer League affiliate, the Bethlehem Steel. . . . The Union have a quick turnaround when they host Colorado on Saturday, their third game in an eight-day span.
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