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Reading United's 2010 squad set the standard for the club

By Sean Doyle, 07/26/18, 8:00PM EDT

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"It's the best team Reading ever had!"

That statement may sound like a strong assertion from former Reading United Head Coach Stephen Hogan, but it may not be far from the truth. 

Hogan may be a bit biased as he was the captain of the unbelievably talented 2010 Reading United squad, the last Reading team to reach the Premier Development League National Semifinals. He's been around the club ever since those heady days in the summer of 2010 and even coached a squad to a Mid-Atlantic Division title and the Eastern Conference Final in 2016. You'd be hard pressed to counter the former captain's contention that he and his 2010 teammates are Reading United's best. 

In 2010, then Reading United Head Coach Brendan Burke, now the Head Coach with Bethlehem Steel FC, assembled a team for ages and one by which each United squad to follow it would be measured against.

Burke remembers that squad with a lot of fondness, saying, "That was a fun group to coach and so many of them have gone on to play hundreds of games each in Major League Soccer and even reach the senior National Team.  There are so many other guys in that group that went on to have good careers at a lower level or became good young coaches."

Alumni of the 2010 squad include MLS All-Star and U.S. National Team defender Matt Hedges, Philadelphia Union stars C.J. Sapong and Ray Gaddis, the 2012 MLS SuperDraft first overall pick Andrew Wenger, Real Salt Lake midfielder Luke Mulholland and Antietam High School graduate and 2011 first round draft pick Corey Hertzog. Burke rounded out his side with cagey veterans like Hogan, defender Ged Quinn and goalkeeper Jeremy Vuolo.

"We thoroughly enjoyed training every day with that group because you could see how special some of them were going to be at the next level," Burke said of his roster ladened with future MLS stars.

Burke's 2010 team captured the Mid-Atlantic Division crown with a 10-2-4 record and traveled to Canada for the conference playoffs. In the conference semifinal, United trailed late in the second half to the Portland Phoenix but Luke Mulholland popped up with a goal in the 73rd minute to tie the game and Evans Frimpong, who would go on to win the North American Soccer League title with the Tampa Bay Rowdies in 2012, fired United to victory with an 89th minute game-winning goal.

Reading's conference final match against the Ottawa Fury was a dramatic affair. Conrad Weiser alum Tyler Witmer helped United surge into the lead with goals in the 35th and 49th minutes, but Hogan picked up a second yellow and was ejected in the 75th minute. Fortunately for United, Mulholland would add an insurance goal just a minute later and Reading would hold off a furious Ottawa rally to win 3-2 and advance to the PDL's National Semifinal in Portland, Oregon.

In the National Semifinal at a raucous Providence Park in Portland, Oregon, Reading would again find themselves trailing in second half, this time to the hosts, Portland Timbers U23. Late in the match, speedy United forward Levi Houapeu, who went on to become the first Reading United player selected by the Union in the SuperDraft, popped up with a goal in the 74th minute to tie the match at 1-1. Four minutes later, the Timbers would find the match winner and end Reading United's special year.

Burke lamented that a small roster may have held his squad back in their match against the Timbers U23s. "If we had more than 12 or 13 of our players available for the Final Four that year, I think we had everything we needed to win it."  

Art Auchenbach, Reading United's President and General Manager in 2010, remembers that year's team as the one that established Reading as one the PDL's flagship franchises.  “The 2010 team and staff really set the foundation for all of the success that Reading United has seen since that time.  We were fortunate to have players and a coaching staff that were 'all in' in obtaining success on and off the field." He continued, "The camaraderie and memories of the success of the 2010 team holds a special place for me.  It’s exciting to see so many of the alums from that team doing so well in the professional ranks, playing and coaching throughout North America.

Auchenbach, who remains an influential presence as the club's vice-president, explained that the high bar set by Burke's 2010 team remains the measuring stick by which all Reading United teams are compared. "The 2010 experience has been valuable to our current players and staff in giving them role models to emulate and provide a benchmark for success as we navigate the increasingly competitive PDL environment in 2018.”


From left to right, a future Reading United head coach (Stephen Hogan) flanked by an NASL Champion (Jeremy Vuolo), an MLS All-Star (Matt Hedges) and a Philadelphia Union stalwart (Ray Gaddis). (Photo Courtesy of Rachel Boscov)


C.J. Sapong leads all Reading United alums with 55 career MLS goals & 221 career games played in MLS.


United alum Luke Mulholland made two consecutive NASL Best XI squads before moving to Real Salt Lake, where he's appeared in 121 MLS games & scored 16 goals.