Lineup Rotation

Head Coach Jim Curtin announced on his conference call that the MLS Disciplinary Committee suspended Roland Alberg for a game, meaning he will miss the Union's match against Columbus. His suspension gives either Marcus Epps or Adam Najem a good chance to earn their first ever MLS start. Curtin pointed to both players as guys who could be major factors in the team's match against Crew SC.

"It's a big opportunity for them," Curtin said. "Two guys who have been very close to getting the starting nod, regardless of injury or suspension. Two guys were very high on. Two guys who will definitely play a major role in this game against Columbus, for sure."

Important Stretch

The home-and-home series against Columbus presents a great opportunity for the Union to climb the table. While the Union will be without Chris Pontius and Andre Blake, Alejandro Bedoya will return to the team for the match against Columbus. Curtin said he's excited to have Bedoya back, and while it may be difficult to be missing key guys during an important stretch of play, it's not an excuse because every team is missing someone important and the Union have the depth to compete every day.

"The series here against Columbus is one where he have to get results," Curtin said. "It's a hard time for us in terms of personnel. The one thing we do have is not a huge drop off from our starters to our second-teamers. We do have that depth. You look across the league and it does happen to other teams as well. These are difficult things that come up during the course of the season. A lot of difficult things we have to overcome, and we have to do it with some urgency."

VAR

Thursday MLS announced Video Assistant Referees will be coming to MLS starting August 5, and Curtin applauded the league's decision to implement the system. With the Union being on the wrong side of a goal call against Montreal, Curtin said having VAR could have corrected those calls. But having VAR get the obvious calls right is key for Curtin, and this is a step in the right direction.

"I think it's great," Curtin said. "It's good to be at the forefront of it. I think the biggest thing behind it is to get the biggest, blatantly obvious calls right. Getting those big decisions right. I think it can only help for getting things right."

To listen to the full conference call audio, click here.