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Nothing to See Here, Just the Union Thrashing Another Opponent and Extending Their Franchise Record Unbeaten Streak to 14 Games
Published:
The Union thumped the Chicago Fire 3-1 inside of Soldier Field on Wednesday afternoon.
Different type of game, this one.
They were down 1-0 after an entertaining, end-to-end first half, when former Union defender Jack Elliott was sent off with a second yellow card. Then they came out in the second half and went right for the jugular, scoring two goals in quick succession before adding a third in the 67th minute.
Here’s the first one:
This sequence is so good.
Jovan Lukic gets on the ball and flips the field with an easy pass for Quinn Sullivan. Kai Wagner is already bombing forward before Lukic even receives the ball. Sullivan picks out Wagner on the overlap and Kai hammers a first-time ball into the box that forces a point-blank save.
Then the Union do what they do, which is beat the other team to the loose ball. Lukic tries his own shot, which is blocked and falls for Frankie Westfield. Westfield toasts Noah Allen and cuts it back for Bruno Damiani, who gets a piece before Milan Iloski cleans it up on the back post. Chicago falls asleep because they can’t clear their lines and nobody accounts for Iloski just sort of floating around behind them.
But really it’s about the Union’s fullbacks, who maraud forward and play such a direct and impactful linear game. They’re so good.
Now, the game winner:
Again, it’s all about switching fields to open up space. This time they hit a big diagonal for Cavan Sullivan, who isn’t exactly an aerial threat, but he holds position and beats the recovering defender. Cavan is already moving in anticipation of the return pass from Iloski (pretty technique btw), and then Sullivan’s first touch takes him into the box and simply beats Jonathan Dean with a cutback to the 6. Damiani is running off the LCB’s back shoulder and sneaks in front of him for a tap in.
It’s been really fun to watch this team under Ryan Richter. Sure, Chicago was down a man in the second half on Wednesday night, but the Union came out of the locker room and said “we’re gonna run these guys off the fucking field.” Paraphrasing, of course. I’m not sure if they said that or not, but it certainly seems like that was the mentality. They play with such a brutal directness and physicality that it has to be miserable to go up against them.
That’s 14 games unbeaten now, and eight wins in a row. The Union are three points out of 4th place in the Eastern Conference and if they keep this up they may start with homefield advantage in the playoffs.
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com