By THOMAS FLOYD
When Freddy Adu, fresh off a breakthrough performance in the Gold Cup, signed with the Philadelphia Union last month, the 22-year-old playmaker was seen as the key missing cog for a team with lofty playoff aspirations.
But for a player whose club playing time in Europe has been sporadic at best over the past few years, gaining the fitness to contribute on a consistent basis has been a challenge early in his second MLS stint.
Adu took a significant step forward in that regard during Philadelphia's wild 4-4 draw with New England on Wednesday, going the distance while notching his first goal in a Union uniform.
"Honestly, it's great to get out there and score my first goal," Adu said. "However, playing that 90 minutes was huge for me. I want to be out there helping the team. This last stretch of games is huge for us, and I don't want to let my team down."
Said coach Peter Nowak: "I was pleased with his movement all game. He had a big goal to get us back in the game. It was a good day for Freddy. As you saw at the end of game, he was cramping. But as I told you guys, he is still not physically there yet. But we will watch him each day and monitor him and get him stronger and make sure he will recover fully before we throw him back out there."
Here are some more notes from around the Eastern Conference:
CHICAGO FIRE
With left back Gonzalo Segares suspended due to yellow card accumulation for Chicago's match against the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday, interim coach Frank Klopas is weighing his options on how to fill that gap in the Fire back line.
"We have some different options," Klopas said to ESPN Chicago. "You can put [Dan] Gargan on the left side, you can put Cory [Gibbs', who's played with the national team on the left side when he grew up, as a left back for one game. There's no issue. I think he's more than ready. But you can put Logan [Pause] at right back and put Gargan on that side, you can put Jalil [Anibaba] at right back. ... We've been working with different scenarios throughout the week, and we've just got to see what's the best for us for that game."
COLUMBUS CREW
With a stretch of three games in eight days approaching for Columbus, midfielder Eddie Gaven, out with a leg injury since Aug. 5, is hoping to be back in the lineup for one or two of those matches. For the Crew, his return can't come soon enough.
"He keeps the ball," coach Robert Warzycha said to MLSsoccer.com. "He gets us the fouls in good areas. You have to keep marking him all the time because he is always moving. Eddie is a player who is very consistent and does good things on the field."
D.C. UNITED
With less than two months remaining in the regular season, United has played a league-low 24 matches. Although that number would seem to put D.C. in solid playoff positioning considering the club is only one point out of a wild-card slot despite those games in hand, United isn't taking anything for granted.
"You can always say that we have games in hand, but you have to win those games," midfielder Santino Quaranta said. "I don't care if you have five in hand -- you still have to play them and win them."
HOUSTON DYNAMO
Centerback Bobby Boswell's suspension for yellow-card accumulation means Houston could very well slide holding midfielder Geoff Cameron into the back linefor this weekend's trip to face Sporting Kansas City. Cameron has played the position extensively in the past, including earlier this season while defenders Jermaine Taylor and Andre Hainault were on Gold Cup duty.
"It depends on how the game goes," coach Dominic Kinnear told the Houston Chronicle. "We've talked about it. We know he can play back there. It definitely makes your team a little more flexible that way."
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION
Despite picking up a point on the road against a quality opponent, the Revolution saw its disappointing season only get worse during Wednesday's 4-4 draw against Philadelphia, as New England choked away a 4-1 halftime advantage and moved to 1-7-6 on the road this year.
"We are all questioning each other and trying to find answers right now," captain Shalrie Joseph said. "How we can give up a 4-1 lead is just frustrating. We're not mentally tough and we're not doing the things necessary to hang on to a lead. From my standpoint, we're just a young team and we're not mature enough to hang on to a lead."
NEW YORK RED BULLS
Goalkeeper Frank Rost and forward Luke Rodgers are both hoping to returnto the Red Bulls' starting 11 from long injury layoffs Sept. 17 at FC Dallas, and Rodgers could even see some minutes off the bench for the struggling club Saturday against the Vancouver Whitecaps. For Rost, his time out of the lineup has been especially frustrating when considering he played at least 24 matches in Germany for 13 straight seasons before coming to MLS.
"This is the first time with me. I've never experienced this kind of an injury," Rost said to MLSsoccer.com. "For me, the only thing is that I come back to the team, practice with the team, and hopefully we win some matches."
SPORTING KANSAS CITY
After injuries largely derailed Chance Myers' first two MLS seasons, the former No. 1 overall pick has found a home at right back for Kansas City in 2011, having started 17 of his club's past 19 league matches.
"It's a combination of things all happening at one time," coach Peter Vermes told the Kansas City Star. "He's gotten stronger, and soccerwise, he's really in form. Throw all those things together, and it equals out to a consistent performance week after week."
TORONTO FC
Striker Danny Koevermans could return for Toronto on Saturday against the Columbus Crew after sitting out since Aug. 18 with a hamstring ailment. His return would be a big boost for Toronto, as the summer Designated Player signing scored three goals in his first five league matches before the injury.
"I had a session today and it went fine," Koevermans said to MLSsoccer.com on Wednesday. "I'll get better [Thursday] and so much better Friday, and hopefully I'll be there Saturday."
