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:
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.