Ruiz scores to give Union a win in home opener

Saturday, March 26, 2011
Posted: 6:16 p.m.Updated: 7:46 p.m.

By Ryan Bright
CSNPhilly.com Contributor

BOX SCORE

CHESTER, Pa.With a little help from the referee and some offensive persistence, the Union gave the sellout home crowd something to celebrate.

Pestering the Vancouver net all contest, Union striker Carlos Ruiz finally broke the game open in the 77th minute, when he received a clean cross from an unguarded Sebastien Le Toux. With the defense closing, Ruiz quickly gathered the ball and made no mistake, putting the shot over Joe Cannon. The goal stood, giving the Union the 1-0 win over the expansion Whitecaps on Saturday in the Unions home opener at PPL Park.

I found the net, said Ruiz. It was a great pass by Sebastien. To win this important game at home in front of the fans, it was great.

Although the victory wasnt in convincing fashion, it was methodical. But most importantly, pretty or not, the Union came away with three points and are now in first place in the Eastern Conference for the first time in team history.

You cant say weve been playing great soccer, but you can point to us just fighting and doing what it takes to win, said defender Danny Califf, who scored his teams only goal in the 1-0 win over Houston last week. We have a lot more experience and we know what it feels like to win. These are the points you look back on and see as the most important points.

The win and shutout is the second consecutive for goaltending newcomer Faryd Mondragon and the sophomore squad, whose defensive woes marred their inaugural season.

We accomplished in the last two weeks more than we were able to last year, said coach Peter Nowak. We didnt win twice in a row the whole year and we didnt have two shutouts the whole year. Its important to feel confident and let them feel that they can do some good things in this league. Its just the start.

For Nowak, the difference between last season and this year is simply the compete level from defensive players.

We have found a good recipe to improve this defense, said Nowak. Now we have six or seven guys who are experienced and fight for every ball. They know what to do in every moment. That kind of stuff is very good.

Ruiz and the Union struggled to find the finishing touch all contest, but got the break they needed in the 58th minute, when Vancouver Striker Eric Hassli egregiously fouled Carlos Valdes to earn his second yellow card of the night. The ensuing red and ejection for Hassli gave the Union, Ruiz in particular, a golden opportunity to open up their previously stalled offense.

It changed the game, Califf said of the red card. They were already sitting back deep defensively. In the first half they tried to jump on balls we played in the middle and once they got a guy sent off they werent able to do that. There was more room and we didnt let them out of their half. We really used it to our advantage.

From then on, the Whitecaps were holding on for dear life.

Before scoring his first of the season, Ruiz earned multiple chances at the 65th and 66th minute. His best came off a corner kick from Kyle Nakazawa that hit Valdes and deflected to Ruiz in the mid-box. The striker popped the ball in the air and made contact with bicycle kick that was saved by a leaping Cannon, just under the cross bar.

I play a lot of times against Cannon and hes a great goalkeeper, said Ruiz. He showed me again that hes still the same. I always try to find the net and always try to score and work hard. I had a couple chances today and he made some great saves.

Riding a wave of adrenaline to start the contest, the Union dictated pace early, which resulted in two solid but fruitless chances, one a free kick from to the side of the box in the 15th minute and a fast break shot and a save in the 19th minute, both coming off the foot of the very active Le Toux. However, the Unions best scoring chance in the opening stanza came in stoppage time, when Nakazawa booted a deep cross in the box intended for a streaking Ruiz. Despite a sliding attempt, the ball trickled just wide of Ruizs foot, keeping the contest scoreless at the break.

I think this is marvelous teamwork were doing here, said Mondragon, who made three saves in the win. Were trying to follow letter by letter what Mr. Nowak is telling us to do and I think now the team is doing good. The comfort is building game after game and you cannot expect us to do any less with this fantastic crowd behind us.

The Union will take their winning streak to Los Angeles to face the Galaxy on Saturday, April 2.

This is a good start for us and a good confidence booster, said Nakazawa L.A. is going to be good game. They are a tough team but were feeling good and looking forward to it.

E-mail Ryan Bright at ryanbright13@gmail.com
Related: Union vs. Whitecaps highlights