CHESTER, Pa. – Richie Marquez could only laugh.
Hours earlier, the second-year Philadelphia Union defender expected another game to pass without getting on the field. And yet here he was in the locker room being asked about not only making his MLS debut but doing so against two of the league’s premier attacking players – Jozy Altidore and Sebastian Giovinco.
“Yeah that’s always a good experience,” Marquez said with a laugh following the Union’s 1-0 loss to Toronto FC on Saturday. “But at the end of the day, you try and forget that. It doesn’t matter who you’re going up against. It’s just doing your job, and that’s what I’m here to do.”
Most people would say Marquez did his job quite well after being unexpectedly called off the bench in the fifth minute when Michael Lahoud had to leave with a hip flexor and captain Maurice Edu was moved from the back four to the midfield.
The 6-foot-2 center back looked comfortable on the ball, helping to thwart a Toronto attack that only found the back of the net on a Giovinco set-piece golazo. He even made a goal-line clearance shortly after coming in – a play that he called “scary and exciting.”
It came as no surprise, then, that Union head coach Jim Curtin called the performance a “bright spot” in the team’s otherwise frustrating 1-0 loss.
“I think we did a good job of easing him into the game,” Curtin said. “Athletically, he can compete at this level. Speed-wise, he’s as fast as anyone on our team. Aerial, he’s probably a top guy on our team. So he gives you a presence at center back. It was a good performance from him and I think he showed he belongs in this league.”
It might have been hard for anyone to imagine a couple of years ago that Marquez would one day match up against someone like Altidore. But after a mostly unnoticed Division III college career at the University of Redlands, Marquez began to pick up a lot of steam, first getting drafted in the third round of the 2014 SuperDraft and beating out a few fellow rookies to make the Union, and then performing well while on loan with the USL’s Harrisburg City Islanders last year.
Coming into the 2015 season, Marquez hoped to earn a chance at MLS minutes but also realized he would likely have to bide his time. It was only after Steven Vitoria missed Saturday’s game with a right groin injury and Lahoud hit the showers early that Marquez was finally called upon.
“Obviously it was exciting,” Marquez said. “I’ve been waiting for this opportunity for quite some time now. … I felt ready and I felt confident out there.”
Interestingly enough, the Union’s defense looked as solid as it’s been all season with Marquez and fellow reserve Ethan White at center back, even after Curtin went with a three-man backline while pressing for a goal in the second half.
“Richie’s always been a good player in my eyes,” said White, who made his first start since March on Saturday. “He was just waiting for his chance. I think he did well. It was his debut and he was playing against Jozy and Giovinco and [Michael] Bradley, and he stepped right in. Me and Richie have played together, when I’m not starting, in reserves. So we’re familiar with each other.”
Whether or not White or Marquez – or both – maintain their place in the lineup likely depends on the severity of the injuries to Lahoud and Vitoria.
But now that he got his first taste of MLS action, Marquez is ready to stay on the field as long as possible.
“It makes you want it more,” he said. “It makes you want to work harder and keep getting better.”
Dave Zeitlin covers the Union for MLSsoccer.com. Email him at djzeitlin@gmail.com.
