Students at Strath Haven High School and Middle School and Wallingford Elementary School sheltered in place Monday morning as police searched the area for a suspect who had fled during a traffic stop.
The incident began when a Nether Providence Township police officer stopped an Acura at 9:07 a.m. Monday on South Providence Road, police said in a statement. The driver fled in the car, which police determined was stolen, and the officer lost sight of it.
Then at 9:41 a.m., a resident contacted the police to report a car abandoned in a backyard on Hickory Lane, near the high school, police said. Officers determined the car was the same one that had been driven by the suspect, and police began searching the area.
Police said they worked with school officials to place the three Wallingford-Swarthmore schools, which enroll about 2,600 students, “in a ‘Teach in Place’ status while officers searched the surrounding area.”
Wallingford-Swarthmore Superintendent Russell Johnston said the lockdown “kept the kids safe inside the buildings” during the police search. Classes continued during that time, he said.
“What we did was out of an abundance of caution,” Johnston said. He said school officials believed police had guns drawn during the search.
Police reviewed video surveillance that showed the suspect “fleeing toward the rear of Strath Haven High School” before being picked up by another car. The schools returned to their normal status after it was clear the suspect had left the area, police said.
Nether Providence Township police are still investigating the incident, and are asking anyone with information to call the department’s detective division at 610-892-2875.
No Philadelphia rock radio station has a richer, more colorful history than WMMR-FM (93.3). And none has showcased more on-air personalities who went on to become Philly institutions.
The station’s beginnings as a progressive rock station date back to 1968 with Dave Herman’s free-form show The Marconi Experiment. In the 1970s, DJs like Ed Sciaky, Michael Tearson, and David Dye helped turned Philly into a stronghold for artists like Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, and Yes.
That whole story is told by Erin Riley in The Mighty WMMR: An Oral History of Philadelphia’s Rock Radio Revolution, a new book published by Temple University Press.
The cover image to Erin Riley’s oral history book “The Mighty WMMR: An Oral History of Philadelphia’s Rock Radio Revolution,” published by Temple University Press. Riley will be in conversation with former WMMR deejay John DeBella at the Parkway Central Library on Tuesday, Sept. 15.Bruce Gore / Scott Ross / Temple University
Riley served as ‘MMR’s music director from 1983 to 1991 and is the author of the memoir A Dark Force: 20 Years with a Covert Narcissist. She gives voice to 60 interview subjects talking about the station that branded itself “the home of rock and roll.”
On Tuesday evening at the Parkway Central Library, Riley will be joined by DeBella, discussing the book and the history of the station.
The book includes DJs and programmers with names known well by longtime Philly radio listeners, such as Cyndy Drue, Lynn Kratz, “Bubba” John Stevens, as well as Mark Goodman, who became one of MTVs original VJs after leaving the station.
Also reminiscing about the station’s glory days are DJs such as former Daily News and Inquirer music writer and WMMR DJ Jonathan Takiff, WMMR and later WYSP-FM (94.1) morning host Anita Gevinson, who, Riley says, came up with the winning idea to tell the station’s story as an anecdote-filled oral history.
Joe Bonadonna, Pierre Robert, and John DeBella in the Rittenhouse Square studio of WMMR-FM (93.3) in the 1980s. Erin Riley, the former WMMR music director who is the author of “The Mighty WMMR: An Oral History of Philadelphia’s Rock Radio Revolution,” will be in conversation with DeBella at the Parkway Central Library on Tuesday, Sept. 15.Courtesy of WMMR
In the book, Riley writes of her first day of work at the station’s then Rittenhouse Square offices in 1983, when she met Tearson for the first time and he proceeded to immediately roll a joint during their introductory conversation.
“I figured if he’s doing it, no one’s having a problem with this,” she writes.
The Mighty WMMR is a nostalgia fest. Interviewees include artists like Kenn Kweder, Richard Bush of the A’s, and John Eddie telling tales of long gone hot spots like Emerald City, Grendel’s Lair, and Stars, the venue run by Stephen Starr, now a restaurateur but then a club owner and concert promoter.
Eric Bazilian and Rob Hyman of the Hooters tell of how Tearson gave the band its first big break by playing its cover of a Skatalites song on his show Gorilla Theatre.
Erin Riley, author of the oral history book “The Mighty WMMR: An Oral History of Philadelphia’s Rock Radio Revolution,” published by Temple University Press. Riley will be in conversation with former WMMR deejay John DeBella at the Parkway Central Library on Tuesday, Sept. 15.Annmarie Young
Judy Sciaky, the widow of Ed Sciaky, who died in 2004, tells of her late husband’s close relationship with Springsteen, who frequently slept on the sofa at the couple’s Lombard Street house during his early 1970s salad days.
WMMR deejay Steve Martorano is one of several who warmly remembers Sciaky, who, he says, “never missed a buffet in his life.”
Springsteen once referred to her husband as “Hungry Ed” in an onstage monologue, Judy Sciaky remembers. The Boss also had a jacket made for the DJ with that nickname stitched on. She adds that Manfred Mann’s hit version of “Blinded By the Light” resulted from Sciaky introducing the band to Springsteen’s song.
Sciaky’s support for artists like Springsteen, Joel, and Warren Zevon is legendary.
“Ed was there first. He believed first, committed to them, and did what he did,” program director Charlie Kendall recalls in the book. But did Sciaky play Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J., Springsteen’s debut album, first?
No, Riley clarifies. That was Tearson, followed by Takiff the same night.
Dye, who later was the founding host of World Cafe on WXPN-FM (88.5), where his Dave’s World airs on Sunday mornings, concurs with the timeline, though Springsteen himself misremembers it in his Born to Run memoir and name-checks Dye in a chapter titled “A DJ saved my life.”
Bruce Springsteen guest DJing in WMMR’s Rittenhouse Square studios in the 1970s. Erin Riley, the former WMMR music director who is the author of “The Mighty WMMR: An Oral History of Philadelphia’s Rock Radio Revolution,” will be in conversation with John DeBella at the Parkway Central Library on Tuesday, Sept. 15.Courtesy of WMMR
Gene Shay, the late Folk Show host who made his home at ‘MMR in the early 1970s, is paid tribute to as well. As is Robert, who came to ‘MMR in 1982 and briefly worked as an assistant music director.
Joe Bonadonna, who hired him, recalls that as an assistant MD, Robert “was terrible.”
“He was so disorganized. … when he started to do part time-work on the air, it just became a natural progression for him. He was not an analytical brain, he was more of an artsy character.”
Robert, who died in October 2025, will be celebrated by David Uosikkinen’s In the Pocket during the Philly all-star band’s In the Pocket at Ardmore Music Hall on Sept. 26.
Erin Riley in conversation with John DeBella plus special guests at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 15 at Parkway Central Library, 1901 Vine St. Free. Books will be available for purchase. freelibrary.org.
Martina Lyons, 59, loves her job at Bud & Marilyn’s in Philadelphia International Airport, but she misses having employer-funded healthcare.
For 20 years, she worked at PHL’s Sky Asian Bistro, where staff was represented by a union and she had a pension. When the bistro shut down around three years ago, she became a bartender at Bud & Marilyn’s in Terminal C. She started paying for her own health insurance, until her premium nearly doubled this year and she couldn’t afford it anymore.
Lyons is one of the 160 workers at PHL’s outposts of Bud & Marilyn’s, Sabrina’s Cafe, Chick-fil-A, Insomnia Cookies, and Good Luck Bar & Restaurant. Many of them have signed onto an effort to unionize and get better benefits.
“I just always get so worried. God forbid, I have an accident … an emergency. It’s pretty scary to not have healthcare right now,” Lyons said.
On Monday, the group of cooks, dishwashers, cashiers, servers, and bartenders asked management to voluntarily recognize their affiliation with Unite Here Local 274.
Restaurateur Hakan Ilhan operates the five eateries. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Unite Here Local 274 already represents 1,200 other food-service workers at PHL, as well as hundreds of employees of Philadelphia hotels.
According to the union, a super majority of the 160 potential new union members have signed cards to join.
What are the PHL restaurant workers seeking?
Health insurance has already emerged as a top priority among the group. Other unionized airport workers have employer-provided health insurance, said Rosslyn Wuchinich, president of Unite Here Local 274.
“We’ve made a lot of improvements over the years to the point where most of the union workers at the airport have free healthcare,” she said.
Unite Here Local 274 gather union organizers and employees outside the Hilton Garden Inn at 11th and Arch Streets to ask for higher wages before the festivities in 2026 for the nation’s 250th birthday, MLB All-Star Game, and FIFA World Cup.Alejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer
Shymeik Ramsey, a busser at Sabrina’s Cafe in Terminal C, hopes a union can bring clearer rules so that workers have an “understanding on what you can and can’t do instead of coming in every week to new rules.”
He also wants set work schedules, with more advance notice. Shanah Moment, a server at Sabrina’s, said worker input on schedules is important too.
“We don’t have a set schedule so our days literally change like every week,” said Moment. “Even if we post our availability in our scheduling app, sometimes we don’t always get the days that we need off and we’re still scheduled outside of our availability.”
Moment also wants job security. She gave birth in April, and was unsure she would still have a position at Sabrina’s when she was able to work again, she said.
Overall, says Wuchinich, “the biggest issue for workers in organizing always is just having real respect and voice at work.”
PHL’s concessions workers were 100% unionized into the early 1990s, according to Wuchinich. Aramark operated those businesses at the time, she said.
Then the city brought in more food and beverage operators, she said, which meant some nonunion employers came in. Around that time Unite Here began to organize at the airport. Today, some 1,200 PHL concessions and catering workers are members of Unite Here Local 274.
The airport, meanwhile, has suffered from a poor reputation broadly, landing at the bottom of a national customer satisfaction survey for five years in a row. But food, beverage, and retail options were a bright spot, according to the most recent report.
The Philadelphia police officer who left a 48-year-old man lying on the ground in an Olney bike lane, leaving him to be killed in a hit-and-run minutes later, has been suspended and is slated to be fired.
Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel made the announcement Monday, noting he felt “disgusted” over how the officer responded to the man, identified as Eugene Beauford.
“We don’t know what Mr. Beauford was suffering from,” Bethel said. “He could have had a medical condition that we just were not aware of. He could have had a mental condition that we were not aware.”
Bethel said the officer had a duty to determine what issues Beauford was dealing with and render aid, which he did not do. Police have not publicly identified the officer, who was assigned to the 35th District and has two years on the force, as separate investigations into his response and the hit-and-run continue.
Beauford was seen walking down the 5500 block of Rising Sun Avenue with an “unsteady gait” at around 1:40 a.m. on Aug. 27, according to police. Video shows the officer pulling his patrol car next to Beauford and engaging with him. It’s during this time that Beauford fell, lying across the bike lane and traffic lane. The officer got out of his vehicle to talk to Beauford some more, but then left him on the road.
Minutes later, police say, a car stopped right before reaching Beauford, but another car tried to circumvent the vehicle by going into the bike lane and ended up hitting Beauford, who would die later that morning.
Police said they were able to identify the person who hit Beauford but no charges have been filed as the investigation continues. Once the investigation is complete, it will be up to the District Attorney’s Office to levy charges.
The incident drew condemnation from the department’s top brass. The officer who left Beauford on the road was the first from the department back on the scene after the hit-and-run was reported. He did not file the proper paperwork and did not render aid, according to police.
Bethel would not speak as to whether the department thinks the officer attempted to “cover up” his actions, but he did say the officer violated a number of policies, including how police classify such an incident.
The officer did speak to investigators about the case, though Bethel declined to expand on what was said.
“What I could tell you is that what he did share did not move the needle in my decision,” he said.
The Ivy League will be starting its football season earlier next season.
On Monday, the conference announced that it would be kicking off its 2027 season on Sept. 11 and instituting a leaguewide bye week during the weekend of Oct. 23. Each team’s first game will be against an Ivy opponent.
The Ivy League, which plays a 10-game season, is consistently the last conference in college football to kick off its season due to its shortened schedule. All other FCS teams play a total of 12 regular-season games.
Penn and the rest of the Ivy League will kick off the 2026 season Saturday. The Quakers are slated to take on Bucknell (1-2), a team already three games into its season.
The announcement comes after the conference’s first season participating in the FCS playoffs. The Ivies, in an effort to maintain a sense of tradition, had barred its schools from participating in the postseason since the 1945 signing of the Ivy Group Agreement. This changed after a proposal from the conference’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee was approved by the Ivy League Council of Presidents in December 2024. The league’s winner now receives an automatic bid to the playoffs.
When it was first announced that the Ivy League would be participating in the FCS playoffs, there was speculation that the conference would also adapt to a 12-game schedule. With Monday’s announcement, that now seems unlikely in the coming years.
COMING IN 2027.
Ivy League football will institute a bye week beginning with the 2027 season. More info ⤵️. 🌿🏈
Last season, competing for an FCS championship for the first time, the Ancient Eight sent two teams to the playoffs. Yale received an automatic bid after winning the Ivy title and Harvard received an at-large selection. While the Crimson were trounced by Villanova in the first round, the Bulldogs won their first playoff matchup against Youngstown State before falling in the second round to Montana State.
Including the playoffs, Yale played 12 straight games last season.
Next year’s change will allow the Ivy’s schedule to align better with the rest of the teams competing in the FCS. It will also ensure that the conference’s playoff teams do not have a competitive disadvantage due to a lack of rest. The Ivy League had traditionally played 10 straight games without a bye week.
The King of Prussia building that hosts Netflix House has sold for $60 million to a developer aiming to invest in experiential business properties.
The more-than-100,000-square-foot building at 180 N. Gulph Rd. has been up for sale since 2024 — a year before the streaming company’s first immersive entertainment venue opened inside it last fall.
The 2024 listing noted that Netflix had already signed a 10-year lease to begin Dec. 31 of that year, according to the Philadelphia Business Journal.
Executives of buyer EPR Properties indicated after the sale in June that the tenancy of Netflix House, which offers activities like mini golf and virtual reality gamesinspired by its shows, including Stranger Things and Squid Game, was part of the appeal.
“We are pleased to welcome Netflix as a new partner through our acquisition of Netflix House in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania,” EPR’s CEO Gregory Silvers said on a July earnings call.
Missouri-based EPR Properties has aimed to expand its portfolio of experiential business properties, according to its website, amid a broader national shift toward experience-based commerce.
EPR bought the property from an LLC associated with the former owner of Lord & Taylor, a department store that long occupied the two-story building, but closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The official dates for Villanova men’s basketball’s Big East matchups were released Monday, revealing the full schedule after the Wildcats’ 12 nonconference games.
The Wildcats, in their second season under coach Kevin Willard and with a roster that could land the team in or near the preseason top 25, tip off their 2026-27 conference games in Nebraska as they take on Creighton at the CHI Health Center Omaha on Dec. 19.
Villanova’s first game at the Finneran Pavilion in conference play is against Providence on Dec. 22. From there, January’s slate features away games against Georgetown (Jan. 3), Xavier (Jan. 6), Butler (Jan. 15), and DePaul (Jan. 22). The Wildcats then play home games against Marquette (Jan. 9), Seton Hall (Jan. 12), Xavier (Jan. 19), and Creighton (Jan. 27).
Villanova opens February in Connecticut to take on UConn (Feb. 3). Other away games for the month include Seton Hall (Feb. 10), Providence (Feb. 17), St. John’s (Feb. 23), and Marquette (Feb. 26), with the Golden Eagles being the Wildcats’ final road matchup.
The February schedule also features three home games, the first two at Xfinity Mobile Arena in a clash with back-to-back conference champion St. John’s (Feb. 6) and last year’s national runner-up UConn on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 14. The game against the Huskies will mark the last time Villanova competes at its off-campus arena, which will also feature three nonconference games against Michigan (Nov. 21), the Big 5 Classic (Dec. 5), and Wisconsin (Dec. 12).
The last home game of the month against Butler (Feb. 20) will be at Finneran Pavilion, as will Villanova’s final two regular season games in March against DePaul (March 3) and Georgetown (March 6), ahead of the Big East Tournament beginning on March 10 at Madison Square Garden.
The Villanova men’s basketball team during an open practice on July 27.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
With the NCAA Division I Council approving an increase from 31 to 32 regular-season games, Villanova and the entire conference will each have one extra nonconference game before Big East play begins on Dec. 12.
Last season, the Wildcats went 15-5 in Big East play, finishing third in the conference as part of an overall 24-9 season and with an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. This year, they look to take a step forward boasting a tougher nonconference schedule and talented newcomers alongside last year’s leading scorer in senior guard Tyler Perkins.
Here is Villanova’s full schedule, with times to be announced at a later date:
Nov. 1 vs. Notre Dame (Rome)
Nov. 6 vs. Holy Cross
Nov. 10 vs. La Salle
Nov. 14 vs. Rider
Nov. 17 at Pittsburgh
Nov. 21 vs. Michigan (Xfinity Mobile Arena)
Nov. 24 vs. Coppin State
Nov. 27 at Kansas
Dec. 1 at Temple
Dec. 5 Big 5 Classic (Xfinity Mobile Arena)
Dec. 9 vs. Fairleigh Dickinson
Dec. 12 vs. Wisconsin (Xfinity Mobile Arena)
Dec. 19 at Creighton
Dec. 22 vs. Providence
Jan. 3 at Georgetown
Jan. 6 at Xavier
Jan. 9 vs. Marquette
Jan. 12 vs. Seton Hall
Jan. 15 at Butler
Jan. 19 vs. Xavier
Jan. 22 at DePaul
Jan. 27 vs. Creighton
Feb. 3 at UConn
Feb. 6 vs. St. John’s (Xfinity Mobile Arena)
Feb. 10 at Seton Hall
Feb. 14 vs. UConn (Xfinity Mobile Arena)
Feb. 17 at Providence
Feb. 20 vs. Butler
Feb. 23 at St. John’s
Feb. 26 at Marquette
March 3 vs. DePaul
March 6 vs. Georgetown
March 10-13: Big East Tournament (Madison Square Garden)
The Eagles escaped Week 1 with a 24-22 win over the Washington Commanders at Lincoln Financial Field. Following the game, most of the chatter has centered around Jalen Hurts’ performance, a lackluster showing from the offensive line, and concern for Landon Dickerson.
Here’s everything they’re saying about the Birds following the season opener …
‘He played elite’
Heading into the season, concerns surrounding Jalen Hurts and yet another offensive coordinator change was apparent. With the hiring of Sean Mannion, the veteran quarterback has now had five different offensive coordinators in five years. But following Sunday’s victory, some of those concerns have been addressed.
The Super Bowl champion got it done through the air and on the ground, completing 14 of 25 passes for 203 yards and three touchdowns. He also scrambled for 48 yards.
Nick Foles, who made a strong debut as a studio analyst during Netflix’s broadcast of the 49ers-Rams game this week, said Jalen Hurts “was elite” in the Eagles’ win over the Commanders. Netflix
“How [Hurts] played today, he played elite,” said former Eagles quarterback Nick Foles on The SZN with Nick & Evan. “Because what I saw from him, you’re going to miss throws. You’re going to, like, not be perfect. But I saw him deliver the ball downfield with authority. And then like a lot of his, all his touchdowns were on time and rhythm. He had great throws across the middle.
“What he did today was fantastic. With Jalen Hurts, [if he] isn’t out there, you’re not winning that game. He willed them the win. Defense played great, made some great plays. But everyone in Philadelphia, I know they know this, but Jalen Hurts is a great quarterback and he’s approaching that elite category.”
Nick Foles grades Jalen Hurts' Week 1 performance against the Commanders 🧐
And Foles wasn’t the only former Eagles player praising the quarterback for his performance.
“Are we impressed?” said former Eagles running back LeSean McCoy on The Speakeasy podcast. “All you heard all year was ‘Jalen Hurts, he’s fighting for a new deal, what’s he going to do without A.J. [Brown]?’ Well, my friend. He looked good to me. When we couldn’t move the ball, he found ways to get it done with his arm and his legs. That’s a true testament to a real champion, a real winner, and a real QB1.
“The thing with Jalen Hurts is, I love it because he controlled the whole game, right. There were some points where we couldn’t move the ball. And you know, defense, they make plays on the other side, but Jalen showed up and I just wanted to see what they were going to say. What are they going to say though? Because he can throw the ball, or he can run the ball. Whatever y’all like, we give. And he doesn’t throw any picks, so what are we talking about?”
.@CutonDime25: "What's Jalen Hurts gonna do without AJ? WELL!!!! He looked good to me!"
Shady McCoy HYPE about his quarterback's performance in the Eagles' 24-22 win over the Commanders
The Commanders had a chance to tie the game with a two-point conversion in the last minute before Eagles defensive tackle Moro Ojomo sniffed out the shovel pass to give the Birds the win. Despite the victory, ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky still needs to see a lot of growth from the team.
“They were fine, a lot of splash, not much substance, not much that is sustainable,” Orlovsky said on First Take. “There’s highs, which kind of happened at times last year, but still too many lows for me when it comes to the lack of consistency. I think the pass game was a little bit too horizontal, side-to-side.
Eagles defensive tackle Moro Ojomo (center) made the tackle on the Commanders’ final two-point conversion attempt.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
“There will have to be some pretty significant growth over the next month for this offense to play with the likes of San Francisco, what we saw from the Giants last night, the Buccaneers had a good offensive performance outside of turnovers. So, it was solid but nothing that I’m sitting here saying that this is a completely different unit and they’re going to score 30 points a game.”
Hurts joins Johnny Unitas and Roger Staubach as the only quarterbacks in the last 76 years to win each of their first six season openers. But Hurts was sacked three times, leaving many worried about the offensive line.
“The Eagles do not win that game without Jalen Hurts,” said Emmanuel Acho on The Speakeasy podcast. “Jalen Hurts is the sole reason why the Philadelphia Eagles won this game. The Eagles offensive line, not just bad, atrocious. Landon Dickerson played an incredibly forgettable game.”
The former Eagles linebacker also double downed on social media.
“Landon Dickerson has been great for the Eagles in his career, but he has to get healthy or hang it up,” Acho wrote. “Jalen Hurts is running for his life on nearly every pass play because of him.”
Landon Dickerson has been great for the Eagles in his career, but he has to get healthy or hang it up. Jalen Hurts is running for his life on nearly every pass play because of him.
Dickerson underwent knee surgery in August 2025 to repair a torn meniscus. The three-time Pro Bowler appeared slower on the field, leaving many concerned about his future.
“Landon Dickerson is playing like he’s not the Landon Dickerson we see get the contract extension and make Pro Bowls,” said Jon Marks on 97.5 The Fanatic. “He looked like a turnstile yesterday. And I’ve seen that term used a couple times and Andrew and I both said it today. It’s what we saw last year. He just doesn’t look like that’s him. And I don’t think that’s good enough right now.”
Foles isn’t too worried about the offensive line at the moment.
“The offensive line is going to be fine,” Foles said. “They have some amazing veterans there. When it’s a new scheme, it takes time to just acclimate, get comfortable with it. Let something marinate a little bit. You let something marinate overnight, it’s going to have a little more flavor. So, they’re going to be just fine.”
Richard Nelson DeShield should be starting his senior year at Penn Wood High School, suiting up for football practice, and looking forward to life after graduation, his family said Monday.
But all of that was taken from him by a gunman who shot and killed him on Sept. 8, five days after his 18th birthday, officials said.
A Lansdowne police officer patrolling the area near North Wycombe and Blackburn Avenues saw two teens standing next to DeShield’s car as he sat inside it about 10:30 p.m., authorities said, when shots rang out.
Struck multiple times, DeShield sped forward and crashed the vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The teens fled into a nearby apartment building, police said. Officers detained two people last week for questioning, but Lansdowne Police Chief Ken Rutherford said Monday that no charges have been filed, and the case remains under investigation.
“This is a terrible tragedy,” Rutherford said. “There is no taking back the loss of a young life, and our department will work diligently to determine what happened and hold those responsible accountable.”
DeShield was one of four children and the only son, said his older sister Christine.
He was an avid football player throughout his preteen and teenage years, and was preparing to suit up in number 85 for his senior year as a linebacker for Penn Wood High.
His loved ones held a vigil Sunday evening at their home in Lansdowne, releasing balloons with his football jersey number in his memory.
“He was a good friend, good student, good son,” Christine Browne said, adding that she was helping him prepare his application to join the Army after graduation.
DeShield’s mother, Wanita Browne, said she was too heartbroken to comment on her son’s slaying. But in a GoFundMe she started to help cover funeral costs, she described him as “a down-to-earth, friendly person who cared deeply for his friends and family.”
The online fundraiser drew support from former coaches, teammates, and friends who expressed shock and outrage at the crime that took DeShield’s life.
Lansdowne police ask that anyone with information about the shooting to call them at 610-623-0700.
It’s expected that in about 72 hours from the time of this report, U.S. men’s national team coach Mauricio Pochettino will announce his 26-man roster for a series of four upcoming friendlies in the first FIFA international window since this summer’s FIFA World Cup.
Here’s hoping Pochettino was watching Sunday because Cavan Sullivan not only made a serious case to earn what would be his first call-up to the senior squad, but it looks like at just 16, he’s arguably got the tools to become a mainstay on Pochettino’s roster.
Take the two goals he scored that day out of it, even though the first was pretty fantastic.
Sullivan’s runs off the ball to put himself into positions to score were arguably equally as impressive, especially the run in behind San Diego’s backline to score his second of the night. The kid has been a disruptor and it’s been a major catalyst behind the Union’s 10-game — that’s right, 10 — unbeaten streak since the MLS break for the World Cup, a break the club limped into with just one win in 15 matches.
“For all of the special things that Cavan does, these are the areas we’re asking him to get into,” said Union interim head coach Ryan Richter postgame. Richter, who for weeks has preached the Union “not getting ahead of ourselves” when it comes to priding the long unbeaten streak, couldn’t help but creep a smile when asked about the performance of Sullivan to date. “He can be effective and score a lot of goals. And he’s been committed to that, running into cutback spots, getting himself in the box … over the last few weeks, he’s been really efficient and it’s nice to see the confidence that he’s playing with.”
It’s a collective confidence, however, as this Union team looks undeniably different from the one managed by former boss Bradley Carnell a few months prior. Milan Iloski, playing in his customary spot as the team’s out-and-out No. 9, has delivered to the tune of a team-high 13 goals on the season. The midfield collective, spearheaded by Danley Jean Jacques, Jovan Lukić, and the tireless runs of Indiana Vassilev, is fueling chances on goal at a higher clip.
Now, this team has the opportunity to do what no one who watches it would’ve thought possible before the World Cup break when it travels to Sporting Kansas City this Saturday (8:30 p.m., Apple TV). The group can tie the franchise’s longest unbeaten streak at 11 with a win or draw against a Sporting side sitting in the basement of MLS’ Western Conference.
It’s a stat line that undoubtedly matters very little to this current Union team, which appears laser-focused on getting results and climbing higher up the table, but it’s certainly another notch on the belt and a true turning point for a squad that many people counted out — in June.
The Union celebrate with fans who traveled to San Diego following one of their five goals on Sunday.Philadelphia Union
There’s also the argument too, that the Union have prided themselves on sticking to their guns and not chasing big names to bolster their roster. Four players directly from the club’s youth academy contributed in Saturday’s 5-0 rout of San Diego, with Sullivan, of course, the highlight. Sullivan and left back Frankie Westfield assisting on Bruno Damiani’s fourth goal in two matches in the 67th minute, followed by a goal off the bench from Malik Jakupovic in the 86th, showcase that the team feels confident it can get results with the young guns it employs night after night.
It should be noted that the goal for Jakupovic was his first.
“The homegrown players have done great, but the team has done great,” said Richter, who was the club’s developmental coach at Union II before taking on his interim role. “I think everyone has [bought in] to being a part of this group and being a part of this team, and it doesn’t matter if they’re 16 or they’re 39.”
In the same breath, however, Richter added:
“This is a part of our club strategy, and you’ve seen the great players that have come out of our academy, and now this is a group that is making a difference in a lot of games, and they need to make sure that they continue to stay focused and to keep pushing to get better and better because it’s what makes our club great.”
With potentially a week in which Richter could see one of the club’s best young players shuffle off to join the U.S. men’s national team in Atlanta later this month for a series of matches, how do you plan around that?
“He’s excited, we’re excited, the club is excited,” Richter said of Sullivan’s potential call-up. “But we need to make sure that we focus on the day-to-day, keep his feet on the ground, keep training and working in the way that he is because he’s already getting rewarded for that work that he’s putting in. That’s where I’m going to keep the focus, and I know that’s where he’s going to keep the focus as well.”
Union goalkeeper Andre Blake directs teammates during a match earlier this season.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Odds and endlines
With all this talk about the offense, it’d be remiss not to note that the recent run of form from Union goalkeeper Andre Blake has been nothing short of remarkable. In Saturday’s shutout of San Diego, Blake made five saves to fuel his third consecutive shutout and his fourth since the end of the World Cup break … The backline of Kai Wagner, Nathan Harriel, Westfield and 18-year-old Neil Pierre has allowed just nine goals in 10 MLS matches. Conversely, in that same span (since July 22), the Union have accounted for 28 goals, with 12 coming in the last three matches.
