CHESTER, Pa. – One is the all-time leading scorer in Philadelphia Union history and a fan favorite who endeared himself to Philly from the very first game of the franchise’s first season.
The other is a former top overall pick and Hermann Trophy winner many think is poised to become an MLS star.
Together, those two players –
Sebastien Le Toux
and
Andrew Wenger
– were expected to form the backbone of the Union attack in 2015, with Wenger running at defenders from the left wing and Le Toux getting behind the defense on the other side of the field.
But heading into Sunday’s contest against Sporting Kansas City at Sporting Park (7 pm ET, Fox Sports 1), neither of the pair has registered a goal or assist, with both misfiring or miscalculating on scoring opportunities.
Through four games, has there been too much pressure on them to carry the Union’s attack?
“There could be something to that,” Union head coach Jim Curtin admitted. “I think that maybe because of the great preseason Andrew had, a lot of publications have run with how high his ceiling is. And I’m guilty of that, too. I still believe Andrew’s going to be a guy that’s able to play any league in Europe, but maybe there was too much pressure put on him and he’s feeling it.
“Seba, too – they both want to score goals. That’s what they’re paid to do, that’s what they want to do for our team. So maybe there is a bit of pressing right now in trying to, every time they get on the ball, do something that leads to a goal.”
Wenger was especially hard on himself after the Union’s 1-0 loss to Chicago last weekend dropped the Union to 0-2-2. More than a few times, the 24-year-old native of nearby Lancaster, Pennsylvania made a nice run into the box, before deciding to pass instead of taking a close-range shot.
“It’s just been off,” Wenger told MLSsoccer.com. “Maybe I’m overthinking it a little bit, or there have been some unlucky breaks. But at this point the idea is just to be active and create more opportunities than we’re creating now. At some point, they’re going to start falling. That’s what you have to do – you have to play through these things.”
Wenger will likely continue to get his opportunities on the left wing, but Curtin indicated he may move Le Toux around a bit, possibly as a striker in a 4-4-2 formation or even in a more central midfield role Sunday while
Cristian Maidana
(MCL sprain),
Zach Pfeffer
(suspension) and
Fred
(suspension) are out.
Either way, Curtin believes both will be vital cogs in the lineup throughout the season, even when they’re not scoring goals.
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“Seba’s a great one-touch finisher in the box and just kind of letting things come to him and pouncing on other team’s mistakes and getting a lot of his chances from really good hard work and pressure,” Curtin said. “Andrew’s similar, too. You don’t want to have him be a guy who we’re solely depending on to create all of our offense. So it’s unfair to both of them, in that regard. It’s a team sport, and we can do a better job getting them in positions that make other teams uncomfortable right now.
“I’m confident in both of those guys. I know they can do it in this league.”
Dave Zeitlin covers the Union for MLSsoccer.com. Email him at djzeitlin@gmail.com.
