Nathan Harriel excelling as starting right back in his second season

After taking over as starting right back from Olivier Mbaizo in the second game of the season, Nathan Harriel has proved himself to be a stalwart MLS defender. While a few uncharacteristic mistakes from the Philadelphia Union led to a 2-1 loss at Toronto this weekend, Harriel put in another excellent performance at fullback with 14 duels won, 5 clearances, 5 interceptions, and 8 recoveries.

Going into this season, the Union defense wasn’t one of the areas of the team that looked to be in need of an upgrade. After only allowing 35 goals last season—tied for fourth fewest in the league—the focus, understandably, was on the two incoming DP strikers. But with Mbaizo’s misplay leading to an NYCFC…