CHESTER, Pa. – Philadelphia Union fullback Sheanon Williams tried his best to enjoy Father’s Day this past Sunday.
But it was hard to shake the feeling of an ugly 5-1 loss to the LA Galaxy the night before, which was followed by a long flight back across the country to think about everything that went wrong.
“Luckily, I have a little daughter that keeps me cheered up even when I get down on myself,” he said. “It was good to have her around and spend the day with her. But any time you lose 5-1, that’s terrible. We wanted to get that out of our mind.”
Williams and his fellow defenders quickly determined the best way to get it out of their mind was to follow their worst defensive output of the season with their best. And that’s exactly what they did in Wednesday’s 1-0 shutout win over a Sounders team that never threatened to score.
“One of the key points before the game was to keep a shutout,” Williams said. “We were obviously disappointed giving up five goals in one game. That’s not good enough from us. We wanted to turn around and rectify that and I think we did a good job of that.”
Williams – who was deployed at his more comfortable right back spot Wednesday after playing left back four days earlier – helped limit the Sounders to only two shots on target and also came through with the game’s only assist on a perfect cross.
That the Sounders were playing without their three top strikers in Clint Dempsey, Obafemi Martins and Chad Barrett did little to dampen his mood after the game.
“We needed three points and that’s what we got,” Williams said. “If they want to come and put that out, then go for it.”
Although the Union have given up three goals or more five times this season, they’ve now posted four shutouts in their last seven games.
For second-year up-and-comer Richie Marquez, who’s helped solidify the center back spot since becoming a starter in early May, that means the backline has talent but needs to work on its consistency.
And, he added, the fact that they rebounded from giving up five goals to earning a clean sheet “means a lot.”
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“It just goes to show that when we’re on, we’re on,” Marquez said. “And it shows the unity this team has. We took a loss but we said right after the game that we can’t let this happen again. And that’s what we did today. We stopped them from pretty much any chances really.”
And with many of their top offensive players hurt, Marquez, Williams and the rest of Philly’s back line are hoping for another clean sheet Saturday when they welcome former Union striker Jack McInerney and the Montreal Impact to PPL Park (7 pm ET, MLS LIVE).
“That’s always the goal, baby,” Marquez said. “That’s always the goal right there – get the shutout.”
