At last, the Union’s most difficult stretch of the year is almost over

Though the sting of the Union’s blown lead against Inter Miami hasn’t fully faded, the team doesn’t have time to think about it anymore.

Wednesday brings another game, a visit to Toronto FC (7:30 p.m., Apple TV) three days before another road game at FC Dallas (8:30 p.m., Apple TV). After that, the Union’s most grueling month of the year — nine games in 28 days — will finally be over.

“I’ve experienced a lot of busy months, but I’m not sure I’m going to experience [a month like] this one for quite some time,” Union manager Bradley Carnell said. “But I’m enjoying it.”

That is obviously easier to say given the Union’s record in that stretch: seven wins, two ties, and no losses at since mid-April.

It matters to say, though, because the team has had only two healthy centerbacks for this stretch. Ian Glavinovich and Neil Pierre’s injuries have forced Carnell to patch together back lines in different ways so Jakob Glesnes and Olwethu Makhanya don’t get burned out.

Sometimes, that has meant sticking right back Nathan Harriel at centerback. In the U.S. Open Cup game against Indy Eleven, it meant playing attacking midfielder David Vazquez at left back.

In Atlanta, it meant playing a 3-4-3 with just one true centerback and Alejandro Bedoya as a nominal right wingback. (And as the cherry on top, Bruno Damiani played as a nominal attacking midfielder.)

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But for as much as it looked like the Union were willing to punt that game, they won it anyway. That showed their resilience, just as Saturday’s late collapse showed how much they can still improve.

“I think if you looked at just the results alone, you would say, ‘Can we not play this for 12 months a year?’” Carnell said with a laugh. “Because it’s been pretty astounding the way the team’s had the balance of maximum, all-out, ruthless, chaotic, and then how much of it is poised, balanced, moments, triggers.”

The players also have kept their spirits high in the locker room.

“It’s very promising,” Makhanya said. “We’ve shown what we’re capable of, so we’re just trying to implement it in every game.”

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Glesnes joked that “I enjoy every moment, so I wish there was games like this every third day.” But he also admitted that the team’s good form is part of the reason.

“When you’re winning games and you’re doing well, it just gives you energy,” he said. “It is huge what we have been doing, but we also have a lot of games in front of us. It will be probably good for the team to get a couple of more rest days in between the games that we have now.”

That will finally happen next week. A FIFA national team window means that after Saturday, the Union won’t have another official game until June 14, when they host Charlotte FC. Then they won’t play again until June 25, starting a tough three-game road trip to Chicago (where they’ll face Jack Elliott for the first time since his departure), Columbus, and Nashville.

The Union will pass the time with an exhibition against Mexico’s Atlas at Subaru Park on June 7, so that they can keep up some regular rhythm of action. That should also be a night to get lesser-used players some minutes.

“Every coach, every player, if you speak to them, all they want to do is play games,” Carnell said. “And I think the way that we’re distributing the minutes, the way that we’re rotating, I think the health within the group is very good. So right now, we feel like we can be competitive wherever we may go.”

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The Union’s U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal against the New York Red Bulls is officially set for Wednesday, July 9, at 7 p.m. at Subaru Park.

It will be the third of the four quarterfinals, and it will be a rare Union game that’s on traditional television. CBS Sports Network will have the telecast, along with streaming platform Paramount+, as CBS has the Open Cup’s broadcast rights.

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If the Union win, they will go on the road to face the winner of the Nashville SC-D.C. United quarterfinal, set for that same night at 9 p.m. in Nashville.

The two quarterfinals on the western side of the bracket will be played July 8: Minnesota United vs. the Chicago Fire at 8 p.m. and the San Jose Earthquakes vs. Austin FC at 10:30 p.m.

The semifinals will be played Sept. 16-17 and the final on Oct. 1. Whichever team comes out of the western side will host the final, as set by last week’s draw for the rest of the tournament.

The winner of the 110th edition of American soccer’s national championship gets $600,000 of the cup’s $1 million total purse, and a place in next year’s Concacaf Champions Cup.

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