Philadelphia Union

What: Union (3-9-2, 11 points) at Los Angeles Galaxy (6-9-2, 20 points) When: Wednesday, 10:30 p.m. Where: The Home Depot Center, Carson, Calif. TV: CSN Outlook: The Union are 0-3-1 against the Galaxy and have never earned a win at the Home Depot Center in two attempts. . . . Lionard Pajoy and Gabriel Gomez lead the Union with four goals each. . . . Goalie Zac MacMath has 31 saves. . . . The Union are coming off a 2-1 loss to Houston.

After allowing 49 goals, tied for the second-highest total in Major League Soccer during their inaugural season, the Union addressed the back line with last week's signing of two Colombian national team members, goalie Faryd Mondragon and central defender Carlos Valdes. All of a sudden, the team's biggest weakness appears to be a strength, and now it presents a pleasant problem for team manager Peter Nowak during training camp: who to play on defense. It could have an impact on team captain Danny Califf, who started 28 of 30 games last season as a central defender.

WASHINGTON - Danny Califf knew the outcome the minute the ball left his boot. It's why he laid face down on the pitch at RFK Stadium yesterday for a good 20 seconds while D.C. United forward Danny Allsopp celebrated at his expense. In a 2-0 Union defeat, Allsopp netted his third and fourth goals of the season to become the second player in August to double his total goal count at the expense of the Union (Columbus' Steven Lenhart scored a pair in a 2-1 Crew win at PPL Park on Aug. 5)

Here are two words that should erase last week's insulting comments from former Union possibility Robert Pires. Fabio Cannavaro. Recent reports in the Italian press have the 36-year-old defender entertaining offers from teams in Major League Soccer. Namely, the Los Angeles Galaxy, Red Bull New York and the Union are said to be vying for the service of Cannavaro, Italy's all-time caps leader (132), its captain during the World Cup championship run of the Azzurri in Germany 2006 and its captain yet again at the upcoming World Cup in South Africa.

In front of a sold-out crowd of 18,591, the Philadelphia Union defeated the Vancouver Whitecaps, 1-0, in the Union's home opener at PPL Park in Chester on Saturday. The Union's Carlos Ruiz scored the game's only goal in the 77th minute, assisted by Sebastien Le Toux, and the defense held the rest of the way with a man advantage following a red card on striker Eric Hassli. The second straight 1-0 victory marks the first winning streak in franchise history for the Union.

Aston Villa at Union What: Aston Villa vs. Union in an international friendly. When: Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. Where: PPL Park, Chester TV: None Outlook: English striker Darren Bent and U.S. internationals Brad Guzan and Eric Lichaj highlight Aston Villa's roster for the English Premier League team's three-match American tour. . . . Based in Birmingham, Aston Villa is owned by Randy Lerner, who also owns the NFL's Cleveland Browns. - Inquirer staff

Although getting permission to show the game wasn't exactly a free kick, Saturday's U.S.-England World Cup match will be telecast at the Philadelphia Union's brand-new Chester stadium as part of an open house for season ticket-holders. About a month ago, the Union applied for the OK to televise the game on the day when soccer fans would be getting their first peek inside the riverfront stadium, said Tom Veit, the Union's president. The World Cup governing body, the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA)

For the first time since joining Major League Soccer in 2010, the Union will open a season at home. MLS announced home openers for all teams on Tuesday and the Union will open Saturday, March 2 against Sporting Kansas City at PPL Park. MLS teams will still play 34 games, but the season continues to get longer. For instance in the Union's first season in 2010, their opener was March 25 at Seattle. In 2011, the Union opened the season in Houston on March 19 and last season they had their first game in Portland on March 12. The Union's first road game is the following week, March 9 in Colorado.

The Union continue to show improvement, earning a point on the road over the weekend as they get ready for a steady diet of games at PPL Park. Saturday's 1-1 tie against Chivas USA at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., improved the Union's Major League Soccer record to 3-7-2. The road record is now 1-7-1, but the next four MLS home games will be at PPL Park. The Union were coming off a 3-1 win June 27 in the opening of PPL Park, which was their best performance of the season.

The "trialist" tag on journeyman midfielder Eduardo Coudet is just a temporary formality. In the Union's 1-0 defeat of a sluggish Celtic FC side last night at PPL Park, Coudet, who has been training with the Union for weeks, controlled the center of the pitch perhaps better than any of the other players who have had the role this season. He only played one half, but his diligence was rewarded in the 23rd minute after he slotted a crisp pass at the top of the 18-yard-box to forward Sebastien Le Toux, who bypassed Celtic goalkeeper Dominic Cervi and calmly placed the ball into the back of the net. Union manager Peter Nowak said the team is "very close to making a deal" with the 35-year-old Argentine midfielder.

New York filmmaker Jeffrey C. Bell faced one not-so-little problem while working on his documentary about the Sons of Ben, the hard-core Philadelphia Union supporters group: He needed $20,000 to keep production going. Bell turned to Internet crowd-funding, asking friends, sports-lovers, film fans, and total strangers to donate so he could tell the tale of an unlikely band of soccer heroes. It happened that many people were willing to do exactly that. As of Monday night, with hours left in a 35-day campaign, Bell had surged past his goal, raising $22,451.

PRETTY MUCH every pitcher in baseball history has talked about loving that position because of the chance to control the game. And then there's Mike Sullivan, a 6-1, 190-pound senior at Philadelphia Academy Charter. For him, control was almost a four-letter word. Sullivan often took the mound in youth ball and even made an appearance or three for PAC as a freshman. But if coach Jack Smith would try to make him pitch now, well, let's just say security guards might need to get involved.

The 24-foot trailer, tugged by a burly Ford F-350 pickup, pulls to a stop. Side doors fling open to reveal enormous drawers - pullout garden beds containing planters of leafy vegetables and a small kitchen counter. The Farm Explorer, as this farm on wheels is called, is a project commissioned by Greener Partners, a local nonprofit whose mission includes sustainable farming and farm-based education. In areas where people can't get to the farm, Greener Partners wants to bring the farm to people, especially children.

FORMER WB 17 sportscaster and current "Today" show weekend anchor Jenna Wolfe announced Wednesday that she is expecting a baby girl with her partner, NBC News correspondent Stephanie Gosk . The announcement is the first time Wolfe has publicly discussed her sexuality. "This is the most exciting thing that has ever happened to us," Wolfe told People magazine, whose exclusive interview with the couple hits newsstands on Friday. "But I don't want to bring my daughter into a world where I'm not comfortable telling everyone who I am and who her mother is. " Wolfe was artificially inseminated by an anonymous donor.

THE GARTERS go but the booty shorts stay. The midriff-baring tops stay, too. Along with a uniform tweak, officials announced in January that the Lingerie Football League, which was started in 2009 by Mitchell Mortaza, had been renamed the Legends Football League. Sexy-sounding team names such as the Philadelphia Passion and the Cleveland Crush won't change, though. "I like the name change because the emphasis is on the football now," Passion coach Chandler Brown said. "It's not so much on what they're wearing.

Matt Zencey is a former Inquirer editor This weekend marks the start of the region's pro soccer season, when thousands of fans flock to PPL Park in Chester to cheer on the Philadelphia Union. I will not be among them. To me, soccer is much ado about not enough. The teams run around for an hour and a half and if the fans are lucky, their team may - hold your breath! - score a goal or two. Yes, I know that along the way, you'll see impressive feats of foot-eye coordination.

The Sons of Ben are many things: Loud. Brash. Passionate. Always loyal, totally dedicated, and occasionally soused. Now they're about to be something else: movie stars. Seriously. A New York filmmaker is deep into shooting a feature-length documentary about the rise of the rabid Philadelphia Union fan club, exploring its pivotal role in redefining the local soccer landscape. Director Jeffrey C. Bell, though not a big soccer fan, became fascinated with the idea of how a supporters group could develop for a team that did not then exist - and that the group's months of rallying, lobbying, and cajoling actually paid off, when Major League Soccer named Philadelphia as its 16th club in 2008.

Special Events Germantown White House Exhibits Interactive exhibits featuring George Washington's family & household. Germantown White House (formerly Deshler-Morris House), 5442 Germantown Ave.; 215-965-2305. Meet the Team: Philadelphia Union Meet members of the Union & preview their new kit. Xfinity Live! 3601 S. Broad St. www.philadelphiaunion.com . 2/26. 7:30-9:30 pm. Winterfest Adoption event to raise funds for PAWS Central Bark Doggy Day Care, 2501 Wharton St. 2/23.

BRYN MAWR NATIVE Carl Mazzocone is a producer of "Texas Chainsaw 3D," the highest-grossing film at the box office over the weekend. Mazzocone was the producer involved in securing rights to the name of the film, an update on the 1974 horror classic "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. " Mazzocone was also the producer of "Boxing Helena" who sued Kim Basinger for breach of contract after she decided against starring in the picture.   Bradley's b-day award Rydal native Bradley Cooper , whose hometown haunts were featured on CBS' "Sunday Morning," was serenaded by director David O. Russell and "Entertainment Tonight" host Mary Hart on his birthday Saturday.