MLS Talking Points: Top rookie not named Jordan Morris

• by Paul Kennedy  @pkedit, May 12, 2016

The Philadelphia Union showed it will be a serious contender in MLS when it recovered from going down to the LA Galaxy on great goals by Robbie Rogers and Mike Magee and grabbed a 2-2 tie thanks to Keegan Rosenberry's first MLS goal. The right back out of Georgetown is making a case for MLS Rookie of the Year with his play out of the back and as a doorstop for the Union defense.



The equalizer came in the 63rd minute off a corner kick. Galaxy keeper Dan Kennedy couldn't hold on to Chris Pontius' header, the rebound came to Sebastien Le Toux, who put it right at Kennedy, and Rosenberry was there on the doorstep to slam home the second rebound.

“Yeah it was thrilling," Rosenberry said. "It wasn’t too much on the finish, obviously, but yeah I mean, right place right time."

He did not get as much attention at Georgetown as other players like Josh Yaro, taken with the No. 2 pick in the 2016 SuperDraft by the Union, Alex Muyl or Brandon Allen, who both signed Homegrown contracts with the New York Red Bulls. The Union wanted to sign Rosenberry to a Homegrown contract but MLS did not approve the request, requiring the Union to make a trade with Colorado for Zach Pfeffer so it could have the No. 2 and No. 3 picks and take both Yaro and Rosenberry.

Very early in preseason it became clear that Rosenberry was special, and he has played every minute of every game for the Union, which is in second place, a point behind Montreal, which it faces on Saturday. Coach Jim Curtin said Rosenberry has been a doorstop for the Union and was excellent late in the game in shutting down Giovani dos Santos, who has assists on both Galaxy goals.

"He’s done great," said Curtin. "He’s a young player but at the same time we've seen him develop. He’s confidence is growing, he’s very good with the ball, he’s comfortable. I’m happy for him to get his first goal. I’s always a good confidence-builder. He has a real willingness to play out of the back. He did very good in his 1v1 battles when you get isolated with dos Santos. It’s not an easy task and I think he plays wise beyond his years, for sure."

Dos Santos was just one of many players in the Galaxy attack Rosenberry had to be concerned about.

"That was our goal tonight," he said, "for us to limit their chances, with all the special players they have and all they can do. I think we did a relatively good job with that. Obviously, they capitalized on a couple of our mistakes and scored a couple goals, but I think there was a lot of positives to take away from that.”

One of the biggest was how the Union took the game to the Galaxy, finishing with a 22-4 edge in shots.
 
“To be honest," Rosenberry added, "the way the game flowed and the way we performed, it feels like two [points] lost, just like last week [1-1 tie with San Jose]. I think that’s one of the reasons it surprised people. We generated a lot chances, and I thought we were the better team tonight.”