Unplayable pitch postpones Union’s match with Seattle
As the Union and Seattle Sounders entered Saturday night, the field at Subaru Park was sodden but resilient. By the 10-minute mark on the clock, it had become a quagmire, and unplayably so.
Match official Erick Lezama Pavon halted play in the 14th minute and the game was postponed less than an hour later. The game will be made up at a later date.
The teams played just over 10 minutes, with the Union launching the only shot, which was blocked. The field conditions had stopped several promising attacks in their path, the ball unable to roll over the grass surface. The delay for unplayable field conditions was called for by Pavon, one of MLS’ replacement refs, at an initial 30-minute delay that was extended several times.
Both teams were motivated to allow the game to play out. A postponement to Sunday was untenable for the Union, who have a game Tuesday in Mexico against Pachuca in the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup. They drew the first leg in Chester, 0-0, last Tuesday. The club would need at least two days off between games, and moving a game across international leagues is complicated.
Seattle would’ve preferred not to suffer through a second cross-country flight to play in Chester, incentivizing the Sounders to wait as long as possible.
Union manager Jim Curtin prioritized the Pachuca match with several changes in his starting lineup. Both Kai Wagner and Jakob Glesnes were rested, as was Jack McGlynn. Markus Anderson started, with Julian Carranza’s thigh injury preventing him from making the matchday squad. Michael Uhre started up top next to Anderson.