I promise we’ll get it back to the Eagles, but first let’s write about the good teams in town. The Sixers, Flyers, and Union.

The local soccer team went up to Yankee Stadium on Sunday afternoon and scraped a 1-1 draw against New York City FC, which was good enough to clinch second place in the Eastern Conference by virtue of a draw between Nashville and Red Bull.

The result is an ideal playoff path for the Union, who will host RBNY and then get the Nashville/Orlando winner at home, assuming they can advance.

Here’s the bracket:

Philadelphia played New York three times this year, getting two draws on the road and a 1-0 win at home. They beat Nashville 1-0 at home and also beat Orlando at home, 3-1. Based on that, you like your chances against all three of those teams in front of the Subaru Park crowd.

Keep in mind, the Union have only won one playoff game in franchise history. That was in 2019, against Red Bull, and then they had a short turnaround to fly down to Atlanta to play a really good United team. It’s huge that they get home field advantage through the conference semifinals, which means no flight before round two.

They should win this game, and they need to win this game. There’s been a lot of positive things in Union land these past several years, with a Supporter’s Shield triumph, a trip to the Champion’s League semifinals, and the sale of Brenden Aaronson and Mark McKenzie to Europe. But they’ve struggled in the postseason, and that’s an important barometer for the “four for four” fans who don’t understand ancillary soccer competitions, and how they work. If the Union make a playoff run, it’s easier for us to sell the sport to Tony from South Philly, who calls WIP every day.

Some thoughts on Sunday’s game:

  • Yankee Stadium is a fucking disgrace. An absolute abomination. The field is too small, the grass sucks, and the players are slipping all over the place. You can’t space properly, which results in crazy, close-quarters challenges coming in (and red and yellow cards come with that). MLS needs to really turn up the pressure on NYC to figure out a stadium deal, or else take these sad sacks and move them to Sacramento or somewhere else.
  • When you go up a man, and have a lead, you either kill off the game aggressively or sit back and defend. The Union seemed to be caught somewhere in the middle philosophically last night, but it’s easier to play with 10 men on a small field. Harder to control possession and choke out the opponent. I think Jim Curtin got it right by bringing on Paxten Aaronson and Jack McGlynn in the second half, which calmed things down.
  • The Christmas Tree formation makes sense for the current available personnel, but they are really limited in verticality and field stretching ability, especially if Leon Flach and Alejandro Bedoya are both on the field. McGlynn really helps balance out the shape and provide some offense from one of the shuttler positions.
  • On the NYC goal, the Union lines were too spaced out. Need somebody in the midfield to be there to clean up the second ball when Jakob Glesnes wins the initial aerial challenge.
  • Offensively, the Union are what they are. Not dynamic or exciting. But they have a brilliant defensive spine and a top-three goalkeeper, and that’s going to keep them in every single game.

This was a great regular season for the U. To finish second place after the departure of two great players, while going to the CCL semifinals? That’s fantastic. They can make it even more special with a playoff run.