Carroll Hopes to ‘keep Going' for Union After Playing Game No. 350

There have been few constants for the Union over the last few years.

Coaches have come and gone. Top executives have been fired and hired. The entire roster has practically turned over.

But at least one thing has remained the same: Brian Carroll.

From the start of the 2011 season until now, Carroll has remained a consistent member of the Philly midfield, always putting forth the same kind of effort and performance no matter the tumultuous things happening around him.

That's the reason why, in Saturday's 2-0 win over New York City FC, he became the eighth MLS player to reach the 350-game milestone.

And that's the reason why he's perhaps the only player in franchise history to be well-liked and rated highly by all three Union head coaches -- Peter Nowak, John Hackworth and now Jim Curtin.

"It's just being consistent, knowing your role and helping the club in any way you can," Carroll said following Thursday's practice. "The coaches we've had here have all been good coaches, good personalities that have helped this club grow into where we are now. Jim's just taking that to the next level and has made things more efficient, more effective, and has gotten the most out of us. So it's been fun to see the growth of the club and be a part of that."

This is a typical kind of quote from Carroll, who often steers question about himself to the team. It's not sexy but that's what makes him the most comfortable. It's the way he plays, too. He rarely scores or gets assists. He's not flashy. You can even make the case that the best Brian Carroll games are the ones where you don't really notice him as he quietly connects the ball from the backline to the attack from his defensive midfield post.

Of course, the coaches certainly notice what he can do. At a recent press conference, Curtin nearly had to stop himself from all the compliments he was sending Carroll's way, saying things like he wanted his son to grow up like him and that he's "playing as good as he ever has."

Carroll admitted he hadn't seen Curtin say that because he doesn't read anything about himself (no surprise there) but agreed with his coach's general sentiment that he's playing well because he's smarter now than he was earlier in his career.

"I think when you've been around for a while you understand what your role is and how to do your job the best way you can," Carroll said. "Parts of the year have been really sharp and efficient. And when it hasn't been that way, you have to find other ways to be effective and help the team succeed."

More often than not, Carroll has been sharp this season, helping the Union surge to the top of the Eastern Conference with a 4-3 record. And perhaps the most interesting part of his strong start is he wasn't expected to play much this season with the injured Maurice Edu slated to move into his spot in the midfield. Heck, the 34-year-old didn't even know if he would be back with the Union this year after a couple of seasons when he was in and out of the lineup.

"In any offseason now and the previous couple of years, you just never know when it's gonna be the last year," Carroll said. "I've tried to enjoy as much as I can every single day and put everything I can into that year and once we get to the offseason see what the conversation is like and see if things are able to work out. So far I've been able to continue to improve my role and help the club no matter what capacity it may be in."

How many more seasons will Carroll play? Will he get to 400 career games? More?

Naturally, he's not thinking about that, joking after Saturday's game he was relieved he can stop talking about the 350-game milestone now that he's reached it. For him, the most exciting part is that after four tough years, the Union look poised to contend for a playoff appearance for the first time since 2011 -- Carroll's first in Philly when then-coach Nowak credited Carroll for the Union getting to the postseason and then-teammate Danny Califf called him "one of the most underrated players in the league."

That hasn't changed in the five years since -- even if seemingly everything else for the Union has.

"I've enjoyed my time here," Carroll said. "Yes, we haven't made the playoffs [since 2011]. But I've enjoyed playing in front of these fans. It's been a fun club to have this stage of my career with.

"Hopefully I'm able to keep going."

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