They did it.

Your team, your town, your Philadelphia Union claim the 2020 Supporters’ Shield and win the first trophy in franchise history.

The Supporters’ Shield is awarded annually to the team that finishes with Major League Soccer’s best regular season record. This year, with COVID-19 affecting the schedule and shortening the season from 34 to 23 games, the Union finished with 14 wins, five draws, and just four losses, which was tops among all 26 teams and solidifies the #1 seed throughout the playoffs.

It’s a fantastic achievement for the Union, who clinched on Sunday afternoon with three homegrown players in the starting lineup. They did not break the bank on pricey superstars, but instead poured resources into their development academy in Wayne, which has started to produce quality, first team talent. They scored 44 goals this season, conceded a league-low 20, and finished 9-0-0 at Subaru Park despite the fact that the stadium was largely empty throughout the summer and into the fall.

And they did all of this in the middle of a pandemic, playing just two games before diverting to the Orlando bubble and then traveling the east coast to play a crunched scheduled that featured 17 games in less than 12 weeks.

In the latest It’s Always Soccer in Philadelphia podcast, I’m joined by Matt Ralph of The Brotherly Game, as we reflect on the achievement and give credit where it’s due: