The Union were a +500 underdog in the second leg of their CONCACAF Champions Cup Round of 16 road game against Pachuca on Tuesday night. Pragmatic fans didn’t think they’d pull off the upset in Mexico, where MLS teams historically do not play well, but nobody expected this:

Six goals. They lost 6-0 after holding Pachuca to a nil-nil at home and making it through the first 40 minutes of the second leg only conceding a penalty. Then the defense fell apart, the floodgates opened, and they were run off the pitch by a team with a lot more talent.

I wrote a story last month titled “Union 2024 Season Preview: Why Should We Care About a Team that Did Nothing to Improve?” They’re running it back this year with the team they just ran it back with. They did zero to improve a squad that made it to both the CCL and Leagues Cup semifinals last year, and MLS Cup in 2022.

That’s the particularly excruciating rub here, because the Union core is solid, and has been for some time now. But they exited the 2023 CCL and Leagues Cup in brutal fashion, getting trounced 3-0 in Los Angeles and then playing scared against Lionel Messi in a pitiful 4-1 home loss. I’ve written many times before that the Union exit these competitions with an especially dense thud, so while they’re good enough to be a semifinal/quarterfinal team, they completely fall off a cliff when they go up against the big-spending, tier 1 North American teams. There was Club America in 2021, LAFC and Miami last year, and now this 6-0 embarrassment against Pachuca.

The thing about this loss is that there isn’t anything to spin. Sure, the Union can focus on the league now, but to the original point, are they a Supporters Shield contender with this same group of players? Are they a Leagues Cup threat? It all goes back to the same initial concern, that they didn’t improve a single starting position in 2024. They re-signed Kai Wagner and 36 year old Alejandro Bedoya, then pulled some guy out of the Spanish third division. Andre Blake and the entire backline is off to a hideous start, Daniel Gazdag looks like he’s floating around in 2nd gear out there, Mikael Uhre is either lost or wearing concrete shoes (or both), and Tai Baribo can’t even get on the field.

We’re really at an inflection point when it comes to this franchise. The moneyball approach took them a lot further than anyone could ever imagine. They won the COVID Shield and came so damn close to lifting MLS Cup. But now the window is closed and Jay Sugarman needs to decide what’s next. Does he become John Middleton and demand his fucking trophy back? Or does he stand by while the Phillies, Eagles, and Flyers thrive and watch his team fade into the obscurity that defined the first 10 seasons?

That’s what’s curious about all of this. Sugarman is enigmatic and operates almost exclusively behind the scenes. He does not have the money that other MLS owners do, and to his credit, he’s been honest with the fan base about those limitations. But cash aside, do you have the desire? Do you want to win? Or are we satisfied with being above-average and bringing some kids through the academy while watching the franchise value soar?

That’s what makes Middleton a fantastic owner. Jeffrey Lurie, too. They want to win, and when they’re unhappy, or their teams get embarrassed, they take steps to correct that, by either spending money or cleaning house. The Union haven’t done either one of those things in a long time, and that’s the path that leads you to purgatory.

The Union are standing at the crossroads with Eric Clapton and Bone Thugs N’ Harmony.