Epps seizes opportunity in Open Cup win
So pressing was Jim Curtin’s desire to get minutes for Marcus Epps in the U.S. Open Cup this week that he offered a tongue-in-cheek teaser the day before.
Everyone he’d deploy against Harrisburg City in the fourth round of the Open Cup, Curtin had said, would be a previous starter for the Union in MLS, save for one player so obvious that Curtin needn’t identify him. The tacit understanding was that anyone could deduce that as Epps.
The rookie winger’s performance backed the manager’s confidence, such that Curtin pointed out that the player making his first start of the season was “one of the best performers.”
“It’s great to get the 70 min-
utes that I played,” Epps said. “It was great to go out there with the guys who do it every weekend and learn from them and the coaching staff and learn from a full-on game with the Union as well.”
Epps repaid that faith with a goal, the final tally to decisively shift momentum back toward the Union in a comfortable 3-1 decision, and made a potent case for more action in the not-too-distant future.
Much of Epps’ permanence on the bench owes to the Union’s depth out wide, with Chris Pontius an unquestioned starter from Day 1 and Fafa Picault playing his way into minutes with three goals in his last five starts. Add in Ilsinho, who projects as a winger when No. 10 Roland Alberg is fit, and Epps’ path to the lineup is blocked in a beneficial way for the Union’s larger pursuits.
That level of competition has forced the second-round pick in January’s SuperDraft to remain patient and ready to learn.
“It’s been tough, but it’s been a great experience,” Epps said. “There’s a lot of great guys in the wing position, and I’ve had a wonderful time learning from them and working hard trying hard to learn what I can and do what I can. It’s been a good experience and I’m happy to get a break tonight.”
Epps rose to a challenge that is near and dear to Curtin’s heart: A young player who not only grafts lessons from the training field onto the game, but one who seizes an in-game opportunity.
“We see it in training every day so we get excited by what we see in training,” Curtin said. “He does it against MLS defenders in practice, and that’s not a knock on USL, but sometimes when you get better players around you, especially for attacking players, you see more pop. And that was something that happened tonight.”
Epps, who has played well with Bethlehem Steel this season, took a feed from Haris Medunjanin on the right wing in the 47th minute and toasted Harrisburg defender Leo Nishanian. As another defender and goalie Sean Lewis closed in, Epps calmly and confidently toepoked a shot through a narrow opening that dribbled home.
“It was tough,” Epps said of the goal. “The keeper did well, but I saw the little gap so a slow roller I thought would work best.”
“We’ve seen the things in training that Marcus can do,” Curtin said. “He’s a player that we’re very high on. He’s young still and has a ton of potential, but he’s pushing now for minutes with the first team, and that is clear. He made a statement tonight and that’s what you want young players to do. When they get their opportunity, you want them to make it hard to take them off the field, and he did that tonight.”
Epps’ outing feeds the larger narrative that Curtin hoped the Open Cup would progress. From Wednesday to July 6, the Union face six games in 21 days, two in the Open Cup and three at home against Eastern Conference opposition that will prove vital to their playoff hopes. Players like Epps will be integral in keeping first-choice vets fresh, and the shallower the drop off when reinforcement are inserted to the lineup, the hardier the Union’s chances of competing on two fronts.