On Thursday, August 5th, Columbus will travel to Union Field to face Philadelphia in MLS action. With one game each left to play before this pivotal match, Columbus sits first in the Eastern Conference with a record of 10-3-4 while Philadelphia is 6th in the East with a less than impressive record of 4-8-2.

For Columbus,Will Hesmer, their goalkeeper, is of utmost importance. While that should go without saying, Hesmer is a huge part of Columbus’ success. In 17 games started this season, he has made 45 saves. On the other hand, Chris Seitz, Philadelphia’s goalkeeper, is having a fairly mediocre year. In 14 games started, he has only made 23 saves.

Offensively, Columbus is very balanced. Guillermo Barros Schelotto has 5 goals on the season, Emilio Renteria has 4, and several other players have goals as well. Philadelphia is almost a polar opposite. Their offense mainly relies on two players: Sébastien Le Toux, who has 7 goals on the season, and Danny Mwanga, who has 5. The problem with this is that when Le Toux and Mwanga have a bad game, Philadelphia typically loses.

Despite the large gap in their records, this is still a pivotal match in the MLS Eastern conference. Columbus is looking to stay at the top, and Philadelphia is trying to claw their way back into contention. This match should provide plenty of action, and if Philadelphia can get everyone on the same page, they could certainly give Columbus a run for their money.

August 4th, 2010 Subscribe to the RSS feed!