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Union to face sharp passer in Houston's Brad Davis in playoffs

The Union's Major League Soccer conference semifinal opponent on Sunday, the Houston Dynamo, doesn't possess any big scorers. In fact, Houston had four players who scored a team-high five goals.

Houston's Brad Davis (left) is a top candidate to win MLS' Most Valuable Player award this season. (Patric Schneider/AP file photo)
Houston's Brad Davis (left) is a top candidate to win MLS' Most Valuable Player award this season. (Patric Schneider/AP file photo)Read more

The Union's Major League Soccer conference semifinal opponent on Sunday, the Houston Dynamo, doesn't possess any big scorers. In fact, Houston had four players who scored a team-high five goals.

Yet the Dynamo have one of the most unstoppable offensive players in Major League Soccer in midfielder Brad Davis.

Among the most accurate passers in MLS history, Davis led the league with 16 assists this season, to go along with four goals. He edged David Beckham of the Los Angeles Galaxy for the assist title. Beckham ended with 15.

It was Davis' third consecutive year of double-figure assists and fourth since the 29-year-old midfielder joined the Dynamo in 2006.

"He is one of the best servers of the ball and can literally pick anybody out and put it where he wants to," Union coach John Hackworth said of Davis.

Davis said much work has gone into honing his skill.

"It's a lot of practice," he said in a phone interview. "Every soccer player has things they feel comfortable doing, and having the ball at my feet and being confident in crossing is mine."

Davis was a major part of Houston's consecutive MLS championship teams in 2006 and 2007. Yet it's what happened last year - or, actually, what didn't occur - that fuels him.

The Dynamo didn't qualify for the playoffs.

"I have been lucky enough to win two championships and get a taste of what it is like, and not making the playoffs last year was very unsettling for me," he said. "This year I didn't want to take anything for granted because you never know when you will get back there, so I told myself I was going to do everything I could to help this team get back in the playoffs."

That included helping Houston go 4-0-2 in its final six games to finish second in the Eastern Conference with 49 points, one more than the third-place Union. In those final six games he had one goal and three assists.

"He has been a standout for us," coach Dominic Kinnear said.

Both Houston and the Union earned a first-round bye from the wild-card round. The Union last played Oct. 20 and lost, 1-0, at New York. Houston scored a 3-1 win on Sunday against the visiting Los Angeles Galaxy to clinch its spot.

"The MLS season seems like forever, and when you finally get to the playoffs then it is like the week before the game takes forever," Davis said.

He expects a tight series that will match the two teams' position in the standings.

"[Team manager] Peter Nowak and the Union will be in the playoffs for the first time, and they are excited to go, as are we," Davis said. "It should be a great series."

at 856-779-3225, mnarducci@phillynews.com, or @sjnard on Twitter.