Union seeks to end losing streak

LET'S FACE IT, it's time to stop sugarcoating the obvious: The Union needs a win.

With the playoffs looming, ties help little and even with games in hand, a loss still hurts.

The Union's last win over a league opponent came against tonight's opponent, New England, on July 17.

That's right - July.

Out of a possible 18 points in its last six matches, the Union has captured only three. In that time, the club added midfielder Freddy Adu, rid itself of top scorer Carlos Ruiz and was forced to insert backup goalkeeper Zac MacMath.

MacMath, this year's first round MLS SuperDraft selection for the Union, entered in the second half of Saturday's 2-1 loss to Real Salt Lake after first-string goalie Faryd Mondragon broke his right ring finger. According to the team's website, Mondragon is expected to miss 4 weeks after successful surgery yesterday at Crozer-Chester Hospital.

"I believe we played a good game," manager Peter Nowak said regarding Saturday's loss. "We missed a couple of chances that we should have put away . . . but in some capacity, we still missed far too many of the chances we created. Either the final pass didn't come or was missed by a yard or two, so we have to get better with anticipating these chances. We are still pushing the game . . . but looking forward to these two games at home right now."

Just replay any Nowak news conference over the last 6 weeks and the recording will be the same: missed opportunities. Because of missed opportunities, the Union, which spent weeks atop MLS' Eastern Conference standings, currently sits fourth in the East, chasing one of four wild-card playoff spots.

In New England (4-11-11), however, the Union faces a team that, through injuries, has struggled with consistency. New England earned three points from a win only four times this season.