The Union bagged two away goals on Wednesday night in Mexico to secure a 2-2 road draw and knock off Atlas F.C. 3-2 on aggregate in their Champion’s League quarterfinal matchup.

The game had a little bit of everything, as is typical for a late night CONCACAF shit show. We had a choppy television feed, portions of the field coming up, a player going off injured, a double-dissent red card, trash thrown on the field, banned chants from the home fans, and a couple of banger goals to cap it all off.

After going down 1-0 early, Julian Carranza knocked in the crucial equalizer off a brilliant Jack McGlynn pass:

That’s on McGlynn’s weak foot, by the way. He’s a 19-year-old lefty and just clipped that one right over the defense with his right. Fantastic pass, fantastic finish.

After conceding a second, comical goal, and seeing Kai Wagner go off injured, the Union got out in transition and put it to bed with Carranza’s second:

So the Union advance to the Champion’s League semifinal, setting up an MLS Cup rematch with LAFC. Should be a total banger, with revenge on mind.

For some perspective, this is the second time the Union have reached the CCL semifinal in three seasons. Keep in mind, it took them 10 full seasons to even win a fucking MLS playoff game (2019). In the time since, they’ve:

  • 2020 – won the Supporter’s Shield
  • 2021 – made it to the Eastern Conference and Champion’s League semifinals (would have gone to MLS Cup if not for COVID ravaging the team)
  • 2022 – made it to MLS Cup while scoring 72 goals and conceding 26
  • 2023 – made it to the Champion’s League semifinal again

They really could use a second trophy to further cement the greatest run in franchise history. It’s incredibly impressive what they’ve been able to do while still playing a version of Moneyball. They just don’t spend like the big teams spend, but they play hard, they’re well coached, and they feature young, homegrown talent. Now they’re taking out Mexican teams in the Champion’s League. Incredible.