We have already taken Under 2.5 in the Union’s opening match against New York City FC, but there is more to be had. So let’s have at it.
Midfielder Brenden Aaronson has three goals in his eight starts dating back to Aug. 24. That includes the last goal the Union scored before the break in the early regular season, giving them a short-lived 3-2 lead in the 69th minute in Los Angeles March 8.
The Medford, N.J., native was supposed to be playing with the U.S. National Team during Olympic qualifying when the entire sports world took its hiatus in March, so you can bet the 19-year-old will be rearing to go once things get started Thursday morning. So, we’ll dole out some cash on him getting on the board here.
Wanna take a wild guess at which MLS team was the only one to not score in the two weeks of the regular season that were played earlier this year? That would be New York FC, who managed just 18 shots on goal in those two matches, the third fewest in the league. From there, it is not a hard reach to lay some cash that the Union will strike first Thursday.
Since the game will be the first 9 a.m. start in the tournament and the clubs have been off seemingly forever, we can see where it may take the offenses a while to get going. We'll go with the score tied at halftime, figuring 0-0 is as good a bet as any . . . but we will gladly take 1-1 or 2-2, especially if Aaronson has done his due diligence and kicked off the scoring.
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THE PICKS
> Union To Score First Goal ($10/-104)
> Score Tied at Halftime ($10/+138)
Brenden Aaronson To Score:
> First Goal ($3/+1200)
> Last Goal ($2/+1200)
> Any Goal ($5/+410)