Unusually, the Union are better on the road than at home this season

The Union have MLS's second-worst home record this year, but the league's 10th-best road record. If that matters, it would come in handy for Wednesday's game at Orlando.

The Union in action against Orlando City at Subaru Park in May. The teams meet again in Florida on Wednesday.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer

by Jonathan Tannenwald

Published Oct. 1, 2024, 4:43 p.m. ET

If it feels like a strange sight to look at the MLS standings and see the Union in ninth place in the Eastern Conference, this part of the picture feels stranger: they’re better on the road than at home.

Not by much, it should be said: 5-5-5 in away games, compared to 4-7-5 at Subaru Park. And it should be a bigger deal that the Union’s record in Chester this year is that bad — tied for the second-worst mark in all of MLS — after so many years of success there.

But there isn’t time to get too deep into reasons for things right now, whether statistical, tactical, or emotional. There’s only time to chase the results the Union need to scrape their way into the playoffs, with all three of their remaining games against much better teams.

So if it helps to be on the road for the next two games, at Orlando City on Wednesday (7:30 p.m., Apple TV) and the Columbus Crew on Saturday (7:30 p.m., Apple TV), manager Jim Curtin will take it.

“Obviously our home record is unacceptable — we know that, and we’ve talked about it a lot,” he said Tuesday before the Union flew south. “I think teams have grown with confidence more on the road as a whole, in the Western Conference and in the Eastern Conference. Our group has been pretty serviceable and strong on the road, and has a very respectable road record.”

It’s the 10th-best road record in the league by standings points, and in a sport with ties, the Union are one of 10 teams for which losses don’t outnumber wins. (Spare a thought for St. Louis City, whose road record has one win, six losses, and eight ties.)

“Going on the road, it doesn’t scare us,” said Union right back Nathan Harriel, who grew up a few hours west of Orlando, near Tampa. “We thrive in those environments. Jim always says it’s amazing to make a crowd go quiet, and that’s what we hope to do in Orlando and Columbus this upcoming week.”

Curtin asserted that “if we get four points out of the next three games, it pretty much guarantees a playoff berth,” and that’s almost certainly right. But it’s tough to see it happening, because the regular-season finale is at home against an FC Cincinnati team that should be playing to clinch second place.

“Are there scenarios where one point does or three points does? Yes, there are, but then you’re asking for help,” he said. “You’re asking for luck, you’re asking for referee decisions — or if you leave it until the last game, you’re a red card away from being in trouble.”

Curtin hopes to keep things simpler than that.

“You want to control your own destiny while you’re in control of it, which we are right now,” he said. “Winning is ultimately the thing that takes all the uncertainty out of it. That will be hard in Orlando, but it’s the best recipe for the response to Atlanta where we felt like we left two points on the table.”

Before that 1-1 tie with Atlanta in Chester on Saturday, Curtin said defensive midfielder Danley Jean Jacques would “be starting one of the coming games” after returning from an ankle injury. It didn’t happen against Atlanta, as Jean Jacques came off the bench in the 71st minute — and Atlanta scored its equalizer seconds later, before he was able to settle into the game.

Will Jean Jacques start Wednesday? Curtin didn’t quite say.

“He’s going to play a big role in both of these next two games,” he said. “He’s an important player for us, and one that I think we need playing at his max if we’re going to get into the playoffs and then more importantly do something in the playoffs. Danley will be a big reason behind that, and certainly will play a big role against Orlando.”