Philadelphia Union: Keegan Rosenberry Gaining Recognition

Last week was quite the week for the Philadelphia Union right back Keegan Rosenberry as he scored his first goal for the team and shut down Didier Drogba and Ignacio Piatti.

Keegan Rosenberry is showing poise beyond his years for the Philadelphia Union. After being drafted out of Georgetown University with the third pick the MLS SuperDraft few expected Rosenberry to be a consistent starter. He has now exceeded those expectations and is turning into one of the best outside backs in MLS. He has overtaken Ray Gaddis for the starting role at right back and run with it (don’t worry Gaddis seems like he’ll be making some contributions at left back for the Philadelphia Union this season).

After taking over the right back role for the Philadelphia Union, Keegan Rosenberry has grown with each game under his belt. Getting game time hasn’t been an issue for him as Rosenberry is the only outfield player to feature in all 900 minutes of the season for the Philadelphia Union. And those minutes have been invaluable as Rosenberry has given the Union a new dimension.

Over this past week, Rosenberry faced his biggest test of the season since week one against FC Dallas. The LA Galaxy came to town then the Philadelphia Union traveled to Montreal to take on the Impact.

Defensively, Rosenberry found himself matched up 1-v-1 in defensive situations with Giovani dos Santos, Robbie Keane, Ignacio Piatti and Didier Drogba. Those are names that would terrify most veterans in the league but Rosenberry met the challenge head on and held them all scoreless. Drogba did score in the Montreal game but the goal wasn’t conceded by Rosenberry. These performances earned Rosenberry a bench spot on the MLS Team of the Week.

For the icing on top Keegan Rosenberry also opened his scoring account for the Philadelphia Union by scoring his first goal in the 2-2 tie vs the LA Galaxy. Check out the video below:

After that amazing week, multiple articles have been written about things like Rosenberry for rookie of the year, Rosenberry for the USMNT as well as other headlines. But what people are leaving out is why Rosenberry is succeeding.

“THE FIRST THING ON MY MIND IS TO KEEP THE BALL FOR MY TEAM. WHETHER THAT IS A LONGBALL, A CROSS INTO THE BOX, OR A PASS BACK, THE MENTALITY IS THAT WE’RE A POSSESSION-ORIENTED TEAM” – KEEGAN ROSENBERRY

I had the opportunity to interview Rosenberry earlier in the season and one of the main factors in his success is his experience with the team as a “sort of” Home Grown player. With that experience, he has been able to skip the normal rookie learning curve and contribute immediately for the Philadelphia Union. Just look at Josh Yaro if you want to see what that learning curve normally looks like. As shown by the quote in this paragraph, Rosenberry also knows his role for the Philadelphia Union very well, in part due to his experience with the team.

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With knowing his role Rosenberry looks confident in his decision making which is very important with how much he overlaps the Philadelphia Union’s wingers. That has led to offensive success for Rosenberry as well.

On offense, Rosenberry’s skill that has been most noticeable is his comfort passing the ball forward and holding possession. When the Philadelphia Union are in attack, he and Fabinho operate almost as wingbacks looking to create width. Rosenberry’s crosses into the box have created issues for the opposing team when the Philadelphia Union go on the offensive. While Rosenberry hasn’t registered an official assist in the league yet, he does have two “hockey assists” (a pass given to the player that directly creates the goal) which are just as important to the buildup of play. And now he can add a goal to that tally.

Next: The Rise of Joshua Yaro

At this point, Rosenberry has become one of the most polished rookies that the league has seen in a while. It wouldn’t be a surprise for him to take home the rookie of the year award, even with Jordan Morris finding his scoring stroke. Are National Team appearances in the future for Rosenberry? Only time will tell. One thing is certain, though, the right back position is in good hands, hopefully for years to come.

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Philadelphia Union: Keegan Rosenberry is Gaining Recognition

By Chuck Booth | May 17, 2016

Last week was quite the week for the Philadelphia Union right back Keegan Rosenberry as he scored his first goal for the team and shut down Didier Drogba and Ignacio Piatti.