The Union and Red Bulls are hopeful for a second bite at each other, this time in an MLS contest
Union manager Bradley Carnell had picked a first-choice lineup for Wednesday's U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal. The postponement due to thunderstorms means he could roll it out again on Saturday.

The teams were on the field, the national anthem had been sung, and the players were just about ready to go.
Alas, they ended up going straight back into the locker rooms, because a thunderstorm was on the way to Subaru Park. And once it arrived, it inevitably became clear that Wednesday’s U.S. Open Cup game between the Union and New York Red Bulls would have to be postponed.
Now that the fans — and the roads that flooded around Subaru Park —have had time to dry out, the Union and Red Bulls will return to Subaru Park on Saturday, this time for a regular season game (7:30 p.m., Apple TV).
Carnell had a first-choice starting lineup available Wednesday for the first time in a while, with Quinn Sullivan back from the U.S. national team and Tai Baribo back to starting after an injury. Since the game wasn’t played — the rescheduled date is Aug. 13 — the manager could pick the same lineup again Saturday if he wanted to, and no one would bat an eye.
So, how much did the postponement disrupt his plans for this week?
“It’s tough to say,” Carnell said at his pregame news conference Friday. “I mean, the stranger one is you’re playing the same opponent again. Normally, if it were a different opponent, you’d go straight [back to work] on Thursday and plan for a new set of things that you might face. … It’s a bit of a weird situation to be in, but I’m sure they have the same problem facing [us].”
Asked if everyone who would have started Wednesday is set to go again, Carnell gave a perhaps surprising answer.
» READ MORE: Union’s Open Cup game vs. New York Red Bulls postponed due to thunderstorms
“We’ve had two good days of training,” he said. “There’s been some question marks arising, there’s been a couple of things behind the scenes. So we’re just evaluating one or two things to make game day decisions.”
What are those things? Carnell was invited to answer and said, “We’ll wait until game day.”
He was more detailed in assessing the team’s injury list. Midfielder Jesús Bueno (hamstring) probably won’t be available until next week, and striker Mikael Uhre (groin) won’t be either. Though Carnell said at lunchtme that Uhre could make it Saturday, the league’s injury report issued the early evening ruled him out.
The other big problem is centerback Ian Glavinovich, who still hasn’t returned from the torn meniscus he suffered in April. The initial projection was he’d be out six to eight weeks, but it has now been a lot longer than that.
» READ MORE: The Union’s Oliver Semmle and Ian Glavinovich got a ‘fun’ opportunity during the Club World Cup
“We’re supporting him, pushing him every single day and just trying to get him measures and moments to try and accelerate his progression,” Carnell said. “But if his body is not able to get to that point, then there’s no point in us trying to force or push … He’s such a good guy around the locker room, and he’s such a good player on the field when he is going, and it’s a void in our whole roster.”
Glavinovich is here on only a one-year loan from Newell’s Old Boys in his native Argentina. At some point, the Union will have to decide whether they want to take a purchase option that would likely be a significant sum.
The 23-year-old showed in the games he did play that he might be worth keeping. But if he doesn’t return to action until late summer or early fall, will there be enough time to make a fair judgment?
“That’s a good question — maybe it’s a question for another department, maybe a floor above me,” Carnell said. “But the first thing is Ian’s health. First and foremost, I look at the player and the person; that’s the most important thing. Any technicalities or decisions or loan agreements or what have you, that doesn’t interest me right now if we can’t focus on the player.”
Carnell added that “once he’s healthy, then we can sort of re-ignite those conversations. But right now, I don’t think it’s fair to the player to be thinking about the end of the year.”
» READ MORE: Philadelphia shone in the soccer world like never before during the Club World Cup
Top prospect loaned out
CJ Olney has been one of the better prospects in the Union’s pipeline for a while now, which is part of why the team signed him to a first-team contract last August.
But he hasn’t played for the first team yet this year, and his development with the reserve squad seems to have stalled. Olney has just one goal and two assists for Union II in 12 games this season.
The Union tacitly acknowledged this on Friday by sending the 18-year-old out on loan to Lexington Sporting Club of the second-tier USL Championship for the rest of the year. If he plays regularly there, perhaps that will get him back on an upward track.