Chris Seitz

Union G: Chris Seitz D: Jordan Harvey D: Danny Califf D: Michael Orozco D: Shavar Thomas M: Stefani Miglioranzi M: Amobi Okugo M: Roger Torres F: Sebastien Le Toux F: Alejandro Moreno F: Nick Zimmerman Seattle Sounders G: Kasey Keller D: Brad Evans D: Jhon Kennedy Hurtado D: Tyrone Marshall D: Leo Gonzalez M: Sanna Nyassi M: Peter Vagenas M: Osvaldo Alonso...

With veteran international goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon on the roster, the Union yesterday waived Brad Knighton, who started eight games last season. With Knighton and Chris Seitz, last year's regulars, both gone, the Union is effectively starting from scratch in the keeper position. Knighton's first start last season ended quickly when he was red-carded after 21 minutes of a game in Dallas on Aug. 8. He took over from Seitz as the starter against Chicago on Sept. 11, shutting out the Fire, 1-0. He finished the season with the team's only two shutouts.

One of the off-season priorities for the Union was to change their goaltending, and that process is guaranteed after goalie Chris Seitz was one of two players selected in Stage 2 of Major League Soccer's reentry process. Seitz was selected by the Seattle Sounders FC with the ninth selection of the first round, while Union midfielder Fred was taken with the fourth pick in the second round by the New England Revolution. The players became available for the draft after the Union didn't pick up their contract options.

Manchester United, the New York Yankees of soccer, will come to Philadelphia to face the Union. The defending English Premier League champion will play the Major League Soccer team on July 21 at Lincoln Financial Field. The Union's MLS match at Colorado, originally scheduled for that date, will be moved to Sept. 29. The game will be the second stop on a four-city tour for Manchester United. The team will play Celtic FC on July 16 in Toronto and MLS' Wizards on July 25 in Kansas City.

The Union continued a season-long pattern over the weekend of experiencing difficulty on the road. They also continued a penchant for making costly mistakes in the defensive end. With Saturday's 3-0 loss in Utah to Real Salt Lake, the Union are 1-5 in Major League Soccer games - 0-5 on the road. The defending MLS champions, Real Salt Lake are now 3-3-1. Defender Cristian Arrieta's giveaway led to Real Salt Lake's first goal by Kyle Beckerman. The second score came in the 51st minute when goalkeeper Chris Seitz bobbled a free kick by Javier Morales, allowing Jamison Olave to score on the rebound.

Nearly a month since they last won a match, the Union welcomed defending MLS champion Real Salt Lake to PPL Park on Wednesday night. The visiting team, second in the Western Conference standings, can offer opposing teams a boost of confidence on rare off nights. Although Real Salt Lake didn't have one of its usual outings, the Union could not take full advantage. So a one-goal lead was reduced to a tie in the first half, and nothing much changed after that as the Union accepted a 1-1 draw in front of 16,128.

The Union hope to take the momentum from what team manager Peter Nowak called their best Major League Soccer performance of the season when they resume action on Wednesday in Colorado against the Rapids. On Saturday, the Union improved to 7-12-6 with a 3-0 win over Chivas USA at PPL Park. The Union meet a Colorado team that is 10-7-8 with 38 points. Colorado holds the eighth and final playoff position. With 27 points and five games remaining, the Union are still mathematically alive for the postseason, but it would take a serious collapse by teams in front of them and a near perfect ending by the Union for them to qualify.

The Union continued a season-long pattern over the weekend of experiencing difficulty on the road. They also continued a penchant for making costly mistakes in the defensive end. With Saturday's 3-0 loss in Utah to Real Salt Lake, the Union are 1-5 in Major League Soccer games - 0-5 on the road. The defending MLS champions, Real Salt Lake are now 3-3-1. Defender Cristian Arrieta's giveaway led to Real Salt Lake's first goal by Kyle Beckerman. The second score came in the 51st minute when goalkeeper Chris Seitz bobbled a free kick by Javier Morales, allowing Jamison Olave to score on the rebound.

Exiled ex-Union goalkeeper Chris Seitz will have a familiar partner at his new home with FC Dallas. Yesterday, the Union traded midfielder Andrew Jacobson to Dallas for a second-round pick in the 2013 Major League Soccer SuperDraft. Jacobson was one of 10 original Union players acquired during the 2009 MLS Expansion Draft. He appeared in 25 games last season, earning a start in 13.   MLS, Fox Soccer re-up   Fox Soccer has agreed to a 1-year extension with MLS at a reported $8 million to broadcast 31 regular-season games, four of which will feature the Union.

SEATTLE - The Union's Major League Soccer debut last night went down in a sea of green. Green-clad fans filled Qwest Field, but the bigger obstacle was the opponent in green that gave the Union the blues. Beginning their second season in the same fashion as their first, the Seattle Sounders scored a 2-0 win over the Union in the Philadelphia franchise's opening game. It also was the first game of the MLS season. This one was decided in the first half, when the Sounders jumped to a 2-0 lead.

David de Gea. Joe Hart. Zac MacMath. OK, now before you go telling me to pump the brakes on the last goalkeeper, the Union variety does have something in common with the other two. All three are quietly debunking the myth that to be a successful goalkeeper you need to be older and more experienced. The days of the Peter Schmeichels, Oliver Kahns and Kasey Kellers of the soccer world are not a thing of the past in fact, quite the contrary. Older keepers are still proving that experience over the long haul is better between the posts.

The Union's Faryd Mondragon has had a franchise-altering season that resulted in his selection to Wednesday's Major League Soccer All-Star Game. Along every step, the 40-year-old multilingual goalkeeper has gone out of his way to show his appreciation to people working at all levels of the organization. Even the equipment manager drew high praise. "I thank everybody, from ownership to front office to technical staff - especially my lads I call my players who make my job very easy," Mondragon said last week.

"The whole is more than the sum of its parts. " - Aristotle   IN THE CASE OF the defensive corps of the Union, it has been the sum of many parts making up a whole that has been virtually unstoppable. Faryd Mondragon, Danny Califf, Carlos Valdes, Jordan Harvey and Sheanon Williams have allowed just two goals in five MLS games. Mondragon has been near perfect; his 0.40 goals-against average sits just behind Real Salt Lake's Nick Rimando (0.33 GAA) for best in the league.

The Union were more than respectable in going 8-15-7 during their inaugural Major League Soccer season. Close observers, however, said they would have achieved a better record if they had had steady goaltending. While the defense was also inconsistent, especially early in the season, goalie Chris Seitz, who was supposed to be the hope of the franchise, didn't come through. After the season, the 23-year-old Seitz was claimed by Seattle in the reentry draft and later traded to FC Dallas.

IN MANY WAYS, last season was the ultimate litmus test. The Union. A team built from scratch with high expectations of what it wanted to become but still trying to figure out what it really is. So the pieces believed to make an inaugural run at a Major League Soccer championship were put in place. It's not as if it hadn't been done before. Seattle nearly did it in 2009, and Chicago, led by current Union boss Peter Nowak, won the title as an expansion team in 1998. With Nowak at the helm at Philadelphia, aspirations were raised even higher that soccer's rebirth in the City of Brotherly Love would be a success.

Exiled ex-Union goalkeeper Chris Seitz will have a familiar partner at his new home with FC Dallas. Yesterday, the Union traded midfielder Andrew Jacobson to Dallas for a second-round pick in the 2013 Major League Soccer SuperDraft. Jacobson was one of 10 original Union players acquired during the 2009 MLS Expansion Draft. He appeared in 25 games last season, earning a start in 13.   MLS, Fox Soccer re-up   Fox Soccer has agreed to a 1-year extension with MLS at a reported $8 million to broadcast 31 regular-season games, four of which will feature the Union.

With veteran international goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon on the roster, the Union yesterday waived Brad Knighton, who started eight games last season. With Knighton and Chris Seitz, last year's regulars, both gone, the Union is effectively starting from scratch in the keeper position. Knighton's first start last season ended quickly when he was red-carded after 21 minutes of a game in Dallas on Aug. 8. He took over from Seitz as the starter against Chicago on Sept. 11, shutting out the Fire, 1-0. He finished the season with the team's only two shutouts.

One of the off-season priorities for the Union was to change their goaltending, and that process is guaranteed after goalie Chris Seitz was one of two players selected in Stage 2 of Major League Soccer's reentry process. Seitz was selected by the Seattle Sounders FC with the ninth selection of the first round, while Union midfielder Fred was taken with the fourth pick in the second round by the New England Revolution. The players became available for the draft after the Union didn't pick up their contract options.

It appears the rumor regarding Colombian goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon joining the Union is true. The Daily News has learned from a source close to the situation that Mondragon has agreed to a contract with the Union that awaits approval from Major League Soccer. It was first reported in German magazine Kicker that the Union had struck a deal with the 39-year-old. Mondragon currently plays for FC Koln (Cologne) in the German Bundesliga and would arrive via a free transfer. Union officials would not comment.