Ppl Park

As Major League Soccer extends its season, teams must prepare more for the elements than ever before. It tends to snow during early March in Colorado, which the Union discovered firsthand. Having Saturday's game against the Colorado Rapids postponed to Sunday because of the snow would have thrown more than a few teams off their game. Traveling is already no fun when there is inclement weather, and dealing with a day's delay didn't make the situation any better for the Union. They had every excuse imaginable to come out with a flat performance.

THE UNION dropped its season opener, 3-1, to Sporting Kansas City on Saturday at PPL Park. Forward Sebastien Le Toux put the Union ahead in the 17th minute. Le Toux, who returned to the Union in the offseason, is the team's all-time leading goal scorer. "I'm glad he scored a goal in his first game back, but the fact is that this is a team sport and, from our perspective, it's unacceptable to play at PPL Park and lose the way that we did," Union manager John Hackworth said. Le Toux said: "It is good for my confidence as a forward, for the past year now I've played a lot on the side and I know I can do it, but I prefer to play forward, so scoring this goal was huge for me but I am just disappointed in the result, so I am not really thinking about my goal today.

Sebastien Le Toux trotted to the corner, drew a heart in the sky with his hands, and then pointed to the crowd at PPL Park in Chester. His goal celebration was the moment the Union imagined when they reacquired the team's all-time leading scorer to ignite their stagnant offense. They just didn't count on Le Toux's being their only offense on Saturday. Sporting Kansas City spoiled Le Toux's return, scoring three unanswered goals to rally past the Union, 3-1, before a crowd of 18,160 in the Major League Soccer season opener.

Sebastien Le Toux trotted to the corner, drew a heart in the sky with his hands, and then pointed to the crowd at PPL Park in Chester. His goal celebration was the moment the Union imagined when they reacquired the team's all-time leading scorer to ignite their stagnant offense. They just didn't count on Le Toux's being their only offense on Saturday. Sporting Kansas City spoiled Le Toux's return, scoring three unanswered goals to rally past the Union, 3-1, before a crowd of 18,160 in the Major League Soccer season opener.

With just hours to go before Major League Soccer's roster compliance deadline, the Union made two significant moves. Forward Chandler Hoffman, the team's first-round draft pick in 2012, is headed to the Los Angeles Galaxy in exchange for a conditional SuperDraft pick in 2014. Later Friday, the Union released third-string goalkeeper Chase Harrison. The team opens its season Saturday as it hosts Sporting Kansas City at PPL Park. "Chandler and I had an honest conversation about where he stood and we decided that this trade gives him an opportunity that he would not have had within our team this season," Union manager John Hackworth said in a statement issued by the team.

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.

This is John Hackworth's first full season as team manager of the Union, and he lauded the squad for its effort during this preseason in remarks after Tuesday morning's workout at the Eagles' NovaCare Complex. The Major League Soccer schedule will begin earlier than usual for the Union. They open their fourth season on March 2 against Sporting Kansas City at PPL Park in Chester. Hackworth, formerly the assistant coach, took over when manager Peter Nowak was fired in mid-June.

THE UNION announced its 2013 Major League Soccer schedule Wednesday, which includes a March 2 opener against Sporting Kansas City at PPL Park. The schedule includes a Memorial Day weekend trip to Montreal and three straight home games in June. SCHEDULE Home Games (CAPS) at PPL Park Saturday, Mar 2: Kansas City, 4 Saturday, March 9: at Colorado, 6 Saturday, March 16: New England, TBA Saturday, March 30: at New York, 3:30 Saturday, April 6: at Columbus, 5 Saturday, April 13: Toronto, 4 Sunday, April 21: at D.C. United, 5 Saturday, April 27: at New England, 7:30 Saturday, May 4: Seattle, 4 Saturday, May 11: at Chicago, 1:30 Wednesday, May 15: LA Galaxy, 7:30 Saturday, May 18: Chicago, 7:30 Saturday, May 25: at Montreal, TBA Saturday, June 1: at Toronto, TBA Wednesday, June 5: Columbus, 7:30 Sunday, June 23: New York, 5 Saturday, June 29: Dallas, 5:30 Wednesday, July 3: at Real Salt Lake, 10 Saturday, July 6: at Houston, 9 Friday, July 12: Chivas USA, 7:30 Saturday, July 20: Portland, 7:30 Saturday, July 27: at Vancouver, TBA Friday, Aug. 3: Chicago, 7:30 Saturday, Aug. 10: D.C. United, 8 Saturday, Aug. 17: at New York, 8 Sunday, Aug. 25: at New England, 7:30 Saturday, Aug. 31: Montreal, 7:30 Sunday, Sept.