Union’s Uhre has been in position for points
CHESTER — With his Nordic courtesy, Mikael Uhre apologized for not being able to explain exactly what he meant Saturday night.
There’s something about being a striker, about getting yourself in the right place at the right time, that Uhre has built a career on. It’s part instinct, part preparation, part luck, but also a little part mystery, emergent from the game’s flow.
“It’s something, I wouldn’t say you’re born with but it’s something that’s come to me quite naturally when I do my thing in the games,” Uhre explained. “I often end up in good situations. Sometimes the work you do as a striker isn’t noticed because you don’t get the goal.”
In three games this season, the Union striker has found himself in position for two goals. Most importantithow—bothofUhre’sgoalshave been one-timed shots. Sixteen of his 26 goals in all competitions with the Union have come that way. It’s a salient barometer for Uhre’s form, and indication that he’s getting into the right positions and done the hard yards before the ball arrives to score.
“The majority of all goals I’ve ever scored in my career are one-touch goals,” Uhre said. “I feel like a good striker knows that it’s one touch, is all you need.”
Simplicity is a hallmark of Uhre’s game, and it figures prominently in how the Union want to play. The counterattacking ethos is all about winning possession high up the field for quick actions to goal. “Quick” means fewer passes and fewer touches. It means reacting quicker that the opponent, especially one that thought it had possession but has to scramble for shape and numbers after a turnover.
Uhre fits that perfectly. He isn’t the forward to dribble at defenders. He’s more of an old-school poacher. And economy of movement is an indicator of when he’s on his game.
Union manager Jim Curtin praised Uhre as coming in to the preseason as fit as he’s been. That’s occasionally been a challenge. Uhre was injured when he started the 2022 season before hitting his stride. He didn’t log a full 90 minutes in 2022, only three times stretching past the 80th minute. He went 90 six times in 2023.
This year, he’s been more purposeful. Against Chicago, he made the hard run across a center back in the 55th minute to meet Quinn Sullivan’s service. He nearly won the game off a set piece but hit the crossbar in stoppage time. Even before those chances, Uhre made a number of good runs that went unrewarded.
“Sometimes your movement to get a one-touch fitness is more valuable or a better way to work than receiving a ball and dribbling and beating five or six guys,” Curtin said. “The movement is with the brain, and if you have that down and the timing can be right and the weight of the pass and the cross can be right, it’s a great way to score goals.”
Uhre’s game equalizer/two-leg tie winner against Deportivo Saprissa on Tuesday was more opportunistic, charging in at the back post to bash home a Kai Wagner corner that filtered to the back post. The finish was unsentimental, and where some might take a touch to settle, Uhre favors the “hit the target and hope” method, which is usually effective.