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Union Fully Erase Dreadful Start to Make the Playoffs for the Eighth Time in Nine Seasons
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We would not call Wednesday night’s nil-nil draw between the Union and Nashville an “instant classic.”
But the U went down there without Milan Iloski, Bruno Damiani, and Cavan Sullivan, and gutted out a point against Major League Soccer’s best team, a team that rested a couple of starters but threw those guys on the field for the final 30 minutes or so. Considering that Nashville was 14-0-1 at home and had already wrapped up the Supporters’ Shield with 70 points through 31 games, you’d say that this result was deserved for the U.
At the same time, Red Bull lost 3-2 in New England, which means the Union have clinched a playoff spot for the 8th time in 9 seasons going back to 2018.
This team lost six in a row to start the year. They had just 1 win, 10 losses, and 4 draws going into the World Cup break, when they fell to dead last in the table and fired reigning MLS Coach of the Year Bradley Carnell. During the pause, they brought back Kai Wagner, promoted Ryan Richter to interim manager, and went on a tear, going 15 games unbeaten to rocket up the table and into sixth place. They have 12 wins, 1 loss, and 4 draws since the World Cup break with two games left to play.
To visualize how ridiculous the turnaround is, I have drawn this handy chart for you, which is just a copy and paste of the Wikipedia match results. But I added a line denoting the break. Everything above the purple line is Carnell, everything below it is Richter:
You have to give these guys all the credit in the world for turning the season around and going on an unbeaten run that they probably will never match. That’s the kind of record that never gets broken.
Alas, if the playoffs began today, the Union would go to Miami to play Lionel Messi F.C. So we’re kind of back to square 1 if you think about it. The main thing that’s held this team back over the years is the lack of high-level individual talent come playoff time. They’re so good in the regular season and play this high intensity, disruptive team game, then they get into the postseason when teams buckle down and possess the ball and field skilled playmakers, and the Union hit the ceiling. They were the #1 seed last year and lost 1-0 at home to NYC FC. They were the four seed in 2023 and couldn’t score in Cincy, also losing 1-0.
Maybe it’ll be different this year?
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