Red Bulls trip should add motivation

The Philadelphia Union’s race is run in 2015, even if there are a few more miles to slog through.

That doesn’t mean, however, that Jim Curtin and his staff are prepping a team to simply go through the motions over the final two weeks, starting with Sunday’s trip to Red Bull Arena (3 p.m., TCN). Though the Red Bulls (1610-6, 54 points) are flying high and can go a long way Sunday toward solidifying a second straight Supporters’ Shield for best regular-season record, there is a hint of fortuitousness in this meeting for the Union. The keyword around the team is “gutted” after losing at home in penalty kicks to Sporting Kansas City in the Sept. 30 U.S. Open Cup final and being officially eliminated from playoff contention Oct. 3 with a 3-1 loss in Toronto. A little boiling blood against a rival, no matter how daunting, could be the trick to shake them from their doldrums.

“Usually, when you say ‘Red Bull,’ I think naturally the guys are going to be motivated,” Curtin said in his weekly press conference Wednesday. “It is a little unique that we have been eliminated. Obviously a tough environment to go to Red Bull Arena. They’re a team that’s playing as well as anybody.”

The Red Bulls present an undeniable challenge. They won two straight games before dropping a 2-1 decision to Toronto midweek. They’re slightly shorthanded, missing defenders Matt Miazga (red card) and Roy Miller (knee) and reserve forward Anatole Abang (hamstring). Curtin spoke glowingly of Red Bulls coach Jesse Marsch, who Curtin said he nominated for coach of the year in MLS and who is widely tabbed as the front-runner for the prize.

But through all the Union’s issues this year, one of the brightest silver linings is the fact that they’re twice escaped Red Bull Arena with results despite entering the season without a win there. Marsch was incensed when the Union, thoroughly against the run of play, grabbed a 2-0 win May 24. And a Conor Casey red card added to the intrigue and malice in their matinee Open Cup quarterfinal July 21, a game that was tied after 120 minutes, but from which the Union prevailed in PKs, 4-3.

The Union (9-16-7, 34 points), meanwhile, retain certain goals for the trip. With a draw or a win, they would avoid equaling the franchise record of 18 losses in a season. Denting the Red Bulls’ charge for the Supporters’ Shield would also be a decent consolation prize.

“We’ll look to come in fresh on Sunday, obviously very well rested, and put a lineup on the field to get three points,” Curtin said. “Again, it’s a rivalry game, so everyone will be up for it, our fans will be up for it. It’ll be still a good game and a great chance as professionals to test yourself against a top team in our league.”

The individual goals are paramount in this situation, and Curtin will use the Red Bulls games — as well as next week’s visit from an Orlando City team potentially still in the playoff reckoning — as a rubric to apply to personnel decisions. Will Andre Blake continue to grab hold of the starting goalkeepers’ gloves? Could Andrew Wenger as a fullback be a viable option moving forward? Is there enough time left for Steven Vitoria and/ or Fernando Aristeguieta to prove themselves worthy of staying on after their loans expire?

Those aren’t the questions Curtin would’ve hoped to be left for him at this point of the season, but they’re ones he hopes to tackle nonetheless.

GENE WALSH — 21ST CENTURY MEDIA Andre Blake is expected to start in goal for the Union today against the Red Bulls.