Union begins life after McInerney

IT WAS AN interesting week for the Union, what with trading one of the best young scorers in the MLS in exchange for a former No. 1 draft pick, releasing a veteran and earning a draw in Chicago.

The week ahead gets no easier, beginning tomorrow, when the Union (1-1-3) returns to PPL Park for a difficult test against Real Salt Lake (2-0-3) at 4 p.m. Philadelphia will then have to prepare for two more games later in the week without forward Jack McInerney and midfielder Keon Daniel.

Last Friday, the Union agreed to send McInerney to Montreal in exchange for forward Andrew Wenger. Wenger, 23, is a former No. 1 pick in the MLS SuperDraft, but was never able to find his stride in 51 career games with the Impact.

"The last couple of days have been crazy and exciting," Wenger, a Lancaster native, said Wednesday during his introductory news conference at PPL Park. "At first, I was in a little bit of a shock, but I'm excited to come home and join a great team."

"Andrew is a good soccer player," manager John Hackworth said. "He can hold the ball up, so he can play with his back to goal; he's also got some good pace, he's good with both feet, he takes shots with his left foot as much as he does with his right, and he's good in the air . . . He's got to take these opportunities that he gets on the field and make the most out of them, and we have to do a good job of guiding him."

After scoring four goals during his rookie season in 2012 with Montreal, Wenger had only one in 24 games last year; he also has one so far this season. Although it hasn't been the ideal start to his career for the former Reading United forward, Hackworth is ready to move on from McInerney, despite his 25 goals over 95 games with Philadelphia since 2010.

"The team is handling it well," Hackworth said of the McInerney trade. "I'm not going to lie; it is different without him here, but we're happy to have Andrew and that's what we're focused on right now."

The Union also cut ties with midfielder Keon Daniel on Monday after three seasons with the team. Daniel made 64 appearances with the Union, including 46 starts, but did not appear in a game this season because of offseason acquisitions that boosted the team's depth at midfield.

"Keon is still a player that has a lot more potential than he showed here," Hackworth said. "With us making the acquisitions in the midfield like we did, it kind of left Keon on the outside. He was understandably upset that he wasn't going to get the opportunities, so it was a mutual agreement that if he wasn't going to be in our plans that we would try to find a place where he could play."

Getting back on the winning track tomorrow will not be an easy task against undefeated Real Salt Lake, even though it likely will be without goalkeeper Nick Rimando (knee) and several other key players.

Real Salt Lake is led this season by forward Álvaro Saborío, who has three goals in the first five games. After Real Salt Lake nearly won the MLS championship last year (losing to Sporting Kansas City in the MLS Cup in a penalty shootout), the Union understands the challenge it will face.

"I think they're a very good team," Hackworth said. "They returned almost everybody from their team last year and they are an experienced team with a lot of quality. They know how to manage games. They know how to go on the road and get results. I think they're going to be a team that is going to be one of the best teams in our league, so this is going to be a big challenge for us."

With three games scheduled over the next week for the Union, depth will be key for Hackworth and may allow for some players to earn additional playing time or step on the field for the first time this season, including goalkeeper Andre Blake, the 2014 MLS SuperDraft top pick.

"I think if Andre's number gets called, he's going to be ready," Hackworth said. "He's already started two games for the Jamaican national team. It's not a question about us wanting to give Andre minutes, but at the same time, Zac [MacMath] is playing so well. Andre is doing well, and I think we will see him sooner than later just because we want don't want to push Zac so hard. The next stretch of games over the next month, we play three games in 8 days twice, and that does open up opportunities."

With a tough week ahead, all Union eyes will shift from McInerney to Wenger, who hopes to make a good first impression.

"I don't expect much of a change," he said. "I think you have to fight for your spot every day and prove what you can do on the field, and that's what is most important. I'm excited to hopefully get more minutes and help the team win."