ORLANDO — Cavan Sullivan made his senior U.S. men’s soccer debut at the first available opportunity, as the 16-year-old was part of the starting lineup in Saturday’s 4-1 win over Peru.
Taking the field two days before his 17th birthday, Sullivan became the fourth-youngest player in senior men’s national team history and second-youngest starter.
He was a lively presence in a 61-minute run: 35 touches, including seven in the 18-yard box, 25 completed passes of 28 attempted, one shot, and one defensive recovery.
He even raised the Peruvians’ ire at one point midway through the first half. Chasing after a potential rebound, he was pushed from behind into goalkeeper Pedro Gallese and tumbled over him into the net. Referee Steffon Dewar of Jamaica quickly got in the middle of things to calm them down, and gave Sullivan a yellow card after Gallese was attended to by medical staff.
On two occasions later in the first half, Sullivan had opportunities to go for spectacular plays on the ball if he wanted to. But both times, he stayed restrained and made simpler moves to help teammates.
Tactically, he played in a right-sided attacking midfield role in a 4-2-3-1 formation. It’s the same area of the field he plays in with the Union, though in slightly different tactics under Ryan Richter’s 4-2-2-2 setup.
Sullivan was one of four players with Union or Philadelphia ties in Saturday’s starting lineup, along with Media’s Auston Trusty and Chester’s George Campbell at centerback, and Wayne’s Matt Freese at goalkeeper.
Trusty and Freese are former Union players, and Trusty and Campbell were youth soccer teammates at the former Nether United club in Delaware County.
Campbell tried out for the Union academy at one point and didn’t get in, though his brothers Will and Rob did. The family moved to Atlanta in 2013, so George grew up with Atlanta United. He played professionally there from 2020 to 2022, then moved to CF Montréal before the 2023 season, and joined English second-tier club West Bromwich Albion last year.
The U.S. opened the scoring in just four minutes, with forward Justin Ellis delivering in his club home stadium with Orlando City. But the good mood didn’t last, as a giveaway by Campbell led to Gianluca Lapadula’s equalizer in the 15th.
Each side was allowed 11 substitutions per game, far more than soccer’s usual five, and U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino used all of his.
The first came at halftime, Freese departing for much-touted prospect Diego Kochen. The 20-year-old Miami native grew up at Spanish superpower Barcelona, and is currently at Denmark’s Lyngby — a club part-owned by the Union — on a loan for the season.
There was a wave of five subs just past the hour mark. Sullivan, Ellis, Gio Reyna (who assisted Ellis’ goal with a free kick), Yunus Musah, and Peyton Miller left, and Mathis Albert, Julian Hall, Zavier Gozo, Sebastian Berhalter, and Antonee Robinson entered.
Albert made an instant impact, darting down the left flank and winning a penalty kick on a foul that replays showed started outside the 18-yard box. But with no video review in use, the call stood, and the play showed why the 17-year-old from Germany’s Borussia Dortmund is another big-time prospect.
Malik Tillman stepped up to the spot and calmly dispatched his shot.
Hall extended the lead in the 72nd, crashing the back post to finish Sebastian Berhalter’s cross. Robinson also got credit on the play, hitting a beautiful cross-field pass that Berhalter settled before his assist.
Five minutes later, Westfield subbed in, meaning he coincidentally made his senior U.S. debut on the same field where he made his Union first-team debut in last year’s season opener. Brooklyn Raines also entered, with Alex Freeman and Tillman departing.
18-year-old Julian Hall off the bench to score on his debut.
The last moves came in the 88th. Neil Pierre replaced Campbell — meaning all three Union players made their senior U.S debuts in this game — and Adri Mehmeti replaced Tyler Adams.
Berhalter capped off the scoring with a 25-yard thunderbolt in the 90th.
In all, 11 of the 12 newcomers on the U.S. squad got on the field, with Campbell earning his second career cap. Goalkeeper Brian Schwake was only one of the bunch who didn’t play.
ORLANDO — After a week of work in the lush surroundings of U.S. Soccer’s national training center, the fun now begins for the next era of its senior men’s team.
Saturday’s matchup with Peru (4:30 p.m., TNT, Telemundo 62) kicks off a four-game, 10-day road show stretching from Florida to Georgia, Missouri, Arizona, and Minnesota. It’s the first time FIFA has held a national team window this long outside of the summer, but it means Mauricio Pochettino and his coaching staff can get a proper look at the 12 newcomers on this 28-player squad.
It also means all 28 players have a shot at playing time, and yes, that includes Cavan Sullivan. Pochettino was peppered with questions about the Union’s 16-year-old phenom in his news conference Friday morning, as the national media continues to be drawn to Sullivan’s hype train.
Pochettino didn’t say much about Sullivan directly, or any of his other young prospects. But the manager did acknowledge that the Bridesburg native has made a good first impression.
Cavan Sullivan (right) working out with U.S. teammates in a drill on Thursday.Jonathan Tannenwald
“Well, if we only talk about his performance, he’s doing really well in MLS, in his club in Philadelphia,” Pochettino said in one of his answers. “Talking only about that, I think he’s ready. But the rest of the players, too, are ready.”
A few minutes later, he added: “I think he’s doing really well in Philadelphia, and that is why he is here. He’s mature enough on the field to be there and to compete.”
A step back from individuals brought a lot more perspective. It’s clear that Pochettino has embraced bringing in a new era of young players, as the U.S. program looks ahead to the 2028 Olympics and the 2030 World Cup.
“Of course you want to talk about the kids, and it’s amazing to have on board those players,” he said. “First of all, because they have talent — and they are showing their real talent, because they have an amazing capacity and quality. And then the energy was amazing. It’s very contagious, that energy.”
Cavan Sullivan (center) with Mathis Albert of Germany’s Borussia Dortmund (left) and Brooklyn Raines of the New England Revolution, all of whom hope to be part of the U.S. men’s soccer team’s new era.Jonathan Tannenwald
He also spoke of how well the newcomers have blended in with the veterans, including a dozen from this summer’s World Cup team.
“I think the mix between senior players and the young [players] has become very organic and natural now, after a few days,” Pochettino said. “It’s a group of players [where] you don’t feel that someone is called for the first time or someone has 100 caps. … Of course, the younger [players] show tremendous respect to the senior players — they are humble enough to listen. But also, the senior players, they are so good in the way that they treat the young kids, because they also show respect to them.”
There’s nothing new in soccer about teenage pros, but they are especially prevalent in the world’s game right now. The U.S. will likely encounter another marquee one next Saturday in Mexico’s Gilberto Mora. Others are dotted around Europe and South America: England’s Max Dowman, Brazil’s Estevão, Spain’s Lamine Yamal, and many more.
While American soccer has mostly gotten used to them by now, there’s still a novelty element, with Sullivan serving as a clear example.
Neil Pierre (second from left) stretching at the start of Friday’s practice.Jonathan Tannenwald
But one thing these young American newcomers are experiencing? The initiation ritual of singing in front of the team.
We don’t yet know what song Sullivan chose, or Union teammates Neil Pierre and Frankie Westfield. Zavier Gozo of England’s Crystal Palace (and formerly Real Salt Lake) admitted earlier this week that he chose “Let Me Love You” by Mario, which was written three years before the outside back was born.
Chris Richards spoke on behalf of the veterans when he said, “there’s some people who are really good singers, and I’ll tell you Zavier did really well … and I’ll say there are some people who probably shouldn’t sing anymore.”
Pochettino was entertained. He also used it as one of many moments to learn about the players off the field.
“When they arrive, the first day on the training ground with us, in the hotel, and how they talk, how they move, how they are,” he said. “How quirky they are when they go in front of 60 or 70 people and start to sing like a pop star. You start to see their personality, their character.”
Mauricio Pochettino has been in a good mood this week.Jonathan Tannenwald
And while some American cultural references still go over Pochettino’s head two years into the job, one thing about his communication with the young players is universal.
“After talking with them, it’s like you feel younger,” he said. “It’s a long time that I didn’t feel this way, talking and working with a group of players. That is amazing for us, for the present and for the future.”
Much of the talk surrounding the Union has focused on the turnaround the team has shown since returning to league action after a reset courtesy of the FIFA World Cup. It was a seven-week break that left the team searching for answers about how a season with so much promise ended with just one win after 15 matches in Major League Soccer.
On Saturday, the Union will embark on Matchday No. 27 when they host Orlando City inside Subaru Park (7:30 p.m., Apple TV). A win would set a franchise record of 12 straight matches unbeaten in MLS, an impressive run accomplished under an interim coach and with a sizable chunk of the roster away on international duty during the first FIFA window since the World Cup.
The club’s second-half surge has them in great position to earn a trip to the MLS Cup playoffs, with seven games remaining before brackets and seeds are set. However, what’s often overlooked during the Union’s 11-match unbeaten run are the numbers behind their surge up the Eastern Conference standings and the metrics that have made them a contender again instead of an afterthought.
Here are a few figures that stand out.
3
The number of head coaching roles within the Union by current interim head coach Ryan Richter. In addition to once being the director of the Union’s Junior Academy, Richter, 37, was also head coach of the club’s developmental team, Union II, before taking over as interim head coach of the senior team in May.
Cavan Sullivan pays tribute to LeBron James with his celebration after scoring a goal for the Union against CF Montréal on Sept. 5. Philadelphia Union
8
The number of wins and draws the Union have amassed in 23 league meetings against Orlando City. They’ll be looking to avenge a 4-3 loss to the Lions at Inter & Co. Stadium on May 13. It was a game in which Cavan Sullivan scored his first MLS goal, but a last-minute clincher by Orlando sent the Union to their second straight loss in May.
Eight is also the number of goals by a player with the last name “Sullivan” on the roster. Cavan Sullivan has scored seven goals, including six in the Union’s last six matches, while his older brother Quinn has one since returning from a season-ending ACL tear last season.
The number of goals the Union have allowed since their second-half return in MLS play. By comparison, during their slump before the World Cup break, the Union allowed 30 goals. Nestled within that are four shutouts, including 5-0 outbursts against FC Cincinnati (Sept. 9) and four days later on the road against San Diego FC.
Union captain Alejandro Bedoya has been impactful on and off the field. Courtesy / Union
16
Union captain Alejandro Bedoya’s appearances this season. Bedoya, 39, might be considered the elder statesman on the roster, but his work rate, particularly when he enters in the second half, has been a key contributor to the team’s second-half surge. He owns a 65% accurate passer rating and has three assists in league play. However, Richter and several players on the squad suggest the leadership Bedoya brings is the real talent of this chapter of his 11-year career in Philadelphia.
Video: Philly’s Cavan Sullivan reacts to being called up to U.S. men’s national team.
18
The average age of the three Union players who were called into the senior U.S. men’s national team ahead of four matches for the Americans during the FIFA window. Defenders Frankie Westfield (20) and Neil Pierre (18), and midfielder Cavan Sullivan (16) make up the trio who, along with midfielder Danley Jean Jacques (26, Haiti) and goalkeeper Andre Blake (35, Jamaica), will miss time with the team due to international duty.
Frankie Westfield is one of three current Union players in camp for the U.S. men’s national team ahead of four matches. Jonathan Tannenwald
29
The number of points the Union have amassed in this second half of the season. The club limped into the break with a 1-10-4 (seven points) record. Since the break, the Union are 9-0-2 in MLS play.
30
The number of MLS goals the Union have scored since the restart of the season. In total, the club has scored 50 goals in league play, meaning that 60% have come since July 22 when the Union took home a 3-1 win against Red Bull New York at home.
2,321
The number of minutes played by defender Nathan Harriel, who is the only player to have started every league match for the team. Harriel, who has been a bona fide presence at outside back, ranks third in MLS for the most minutes by a player who isn’t a goalkeeper.
The basement on Almond Street didn’t have much, but it had one of those old couches that every basement needs.
“The one that you know is comfy just by looking at it,” Quinn Sullivan said.
The Bridesburg basement, half of which was unfinished, became a clubhouse for the four Sullivan brothers. The miniature soccer net was all Quinn, Declan, Ronan, and Cavan needed to fill an afternoon. Cavan, the youngest of the four, did whatever he could to keep up as he played in a diaper and learned to volley a ball with both feet when he was just 18 months.
It was impossible to know that the seeds of Cavan’s career — perhaps the most promising in the history of American soccer — were being planted on Almond Street where Brendan and Heike Sullivan never told their sons that there was “no ball in the house.”
The boys caromed soccer balls off the living room radiator, played football in the kitchen, broke light bulbs in the basement, and got into some scraps. The parents were just letting their boys play, their mom said.
But there was something different about the toddler who knew how to catch a football.
“Like you throw it at him and he has his hands up,” Brendan said. “He’s not catching with his chest. He’s catching it with his hands. He caught a baseball with his glove. So you know but you don’t know the extent to how different it is.”
The soccer world soon saw what the Sullivans saw in their basement.
Cavan was deemed a prodigy when he was 6 years old and European powers scouted him before he was a teen. He signed his Philadelphia Union contract when he was 14, giving him the chance to play professionally alongside Quinn. He has an agreement to join England’s Manchester City next year when he turns 18, and is training this week for the first time with the senior U.S. men’s national team.
Even more? He’s a safe bet to play for the U.S. in the 2028 Olympics and then the 2030 FIFA World Cup.
The kid from Bridesburg could be the future of American soccer. It started on Almond Street.
“My dad would be in the net and we would just shoot on him all day, whenever we got the chance,” Cavan said of that old basement. “You fall in love with the game in moments like that.”
The Union’s Quinn Sullivan has words with Miami’s Lionel Messi during their match on Aug. 19 at Subaru Park.Steven M. Falk / For The Inquirer
No fear
It happened so fast that the Sullivans couldn’t really tell what happened from their seats at Subaru Park. Did Cavan get punched? Did Quinn just go nose-to-nose with Lionel Messi?
Then they watched the replay of the fracas between the Union and Inter Miami, a skirmish that felt like the ones the parents — who met as college soccer players at Penn — used to break up in the backyard.
A Miami player tried to step over a fallen Quinn — “You got the wrong guy, buddy,” his dad said — before Quinn hooked his leg and took him to the ground like a UFC fighter.
A swarm of Miami players gathered around Quinn as Cavan sprinted across the field like his brother’s tag-team partner. Quinn used to spend hours on his computer cutting up Cavan’s game tapes and posting the highlights to YouTube. That was support, Quinn said. So of course the little brother had his back last month.
“It’s like ‘You better go in,’” said 18-year-old Ronan, who plays at St. Joe’s with his twin brother, Declan. “He would’ve gotten s— if he didn’t. It’s a lot about where we came from. That’s Northeast Philly right there.”
Cavan squared up against a 25-year-old foe who tried to throw a punch at the 16-year-old boy. Both players were sent off and Messi then slapped Sullivan in the head, appearing to reprimand him for taking down the Miami player. Quinn Sullivan, who grew up idolizing Messi, charged his hero and pushed his face against his.
“I was raised in Philly and you don’t take disrespect,” Quinn, 22, said. “It might sound corny to some people or cliche, but I didn’t like him touching my face and I’m not going to be the guy who falls down. I had to make sure he knew that I didn’t think it was cool.”
The Union’s Quinn Sullivan wrestles with Miami’s Ian Fray on Aug. 19 at Subaru Park.Steven M. Falk / For The Inquirer
It was Cavan’s footwork, speed, and skill that drew the world’s attention. But it is his fearlessness — the mentality that allowed a 16-year-old to run last month toward the fire — that sets him apart.
“There’s a little bit of a flair, a confidence, an arrogance,” said Taylor Twellman, the former U.S. player who now broadcasts MLS games on Apple TV. “But there’s also a real urgency to win, to compete. For a 16-year-old kid, I can see that there’s a little bit of a dog in him. You know what I mean?”
And it’s all about where he’s from. His grandfather, Larry, grew up in Kensington and played at North Catholic. His dad grew up in Juniata Park and played at St. Joe’s Prep. His uncle John Albright played at Frankford and his cousin Chris Albright went from Northeast Philly to the World Cup. Those guys were as tough as the cinders they often played on and they passed that grit down like an heirloom.
For generations, soccer was the sport in the Northeast Philly neighborhoods. And there was only one way to play.
Cavan always played two years ahead of his age group, which teamed him with the twins and allowed his parents to be at just two games every weekend instead of three. He held his own, just like he did in the basement.
Eventually, they figured, his age would catch up to him. It never happened, which is what allowed YSC Academy — the school connected to the Union Youth Academy — to see if Cavan could skip two grades and start seventh grade with his brothers. He handled that, too.
“We never really thought of him as younger,” Declan, 18, said. “I feel like because he was always in our circle, hanging with our friends, he was always like our age in our head. He’s mature for his age and part of that is because he was always around kids who were older than him.”
The Union’s Cavan (left) and Quinn Sullivan celebrate Quinn’s goal on Sept. 9 at Subaru Park.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Brendan coached Cavan’s first team at Lighthouse, which the son described as a group of “aggressive and eager kids” who just went out and played. They didn’t have private training but Cavan had a dad who was committed to teaching them the things he learned from his dad.
Brendan drilled his sons in Ocean City, often turning two-hour sessions into four-hour slogs while Heike waited to go to the beach. They played games their dad invented like “Gauntlet” and “Thirty Seconds of Hell” and debate what was worse: the burning of your quad muscles or the ringing in your ears from the fiery coach.
Cavan Sullivan, front, with his brothers Declan, Quinn, and Ronan and their father Brendan at Newt’s Field in Fishtown.Heike Sullivan
They practiced more on the beach and the boys remember being the last ones to leave travel tournaments while their dad gave instruction long after the final whistle. He was intense, but the boys learned to love it. Quinn said his dad always told his sons he loved them, even when they fell short. He taught his sons to play hard.
And that’s why the brothers from Almond Street weren’t afraid of Messi and Co.
“I love that Quinn didn’t back down in the face of Messi, a guy he has tremendous respect for,” Brendan said. “But you’re still just a dude on the field, same as me. We laced our boots up the same way today. I’m not backing down.
“The old saying goes, ‘If you’re looking for a fight from someone from Philadelphia, you’re more than likely going to get it.’ That’s how we’re raised here. You don’t back down. Stand your ground.”
The spotlight on Cavan Sullivan has become in recent months as bright as his bleach blonde hair.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Bleached super star
Cavan left Sunday for Atlanta, where he’s training for the first time with the U.S. team and beginning a journey that could make him the star of the next World Cup. He’ll likely earn his first national team appearance before returning to the Union.
But before he boarded his flight, Cavan needed to get his hair right. So his mom, who used to bleach her husband’s hair in the 1990s when he played pro soccer in New York, got to work.
“I looked like a Duracell battery,” Brendan said as his old hair was more copper than blonde. “Cavan gets the extra love.”
Cavan looks the part of a star with his bleached hair, eyebrow slit, and gold chains. He breezes through interviews like he beats defenders as no question seems to trip him up. He’s been in modeling campaigns for non-soccer brands, was photographed this summer by Annie Leibovitz, and has more than 400,000 followers on Instagram.
He plays the game like a showman and often tops goals with choreographed celebrations like the time he threw chalk in the air as an homage to LeBron James.
“That’s him,” said Union teammate Frankie Westfield, who grew up in Morrell Park and is with Cavan with the U.S. team. “That’s how he performs. Even in the locker room and in training, he’s dancing around. I don’t want to say he doesn’t care because he cares so much, but I think just playing loose and free makes him what he is. He brings a whole new vibe.”
Cavan has the makings to be more than just a soccer star.
Video: Philly’s Cavan Sullivan reacts to being called up to U.S. men’s national team.
The spotlight on Cavan has become in recent months as bright as his hair. But the kid seems comfortable in it, managing the attention with ease despite being just 16.
“I think I just understand that I haven’t really done anything yet,” he said. “There hasn’t been anything major that I’ve done. I’m still trying to prove myself and make my mark on the city and on the club. I always want more. I always want to be the best. When you focus on it that way, it’s natural to just avoid all the other stuff.”
Quinn remembers driving Cavan home from their Union practice and how the younger brother would be breaking down footage from the session and sending clips to his dad for feedback. He’s always thinking about the game.
He doesn’t count his social media likes or chase clout and even remarked to his brother how he couldn’t get his latest ridiculous goal — a beautiful backheeled tip — off his timeline.
Quinn and Cavan Sullivan pose for a photo after a Union victory over New York City FC last season.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
“I was like ‘Dude, you have to hit the not interested button,’” Quinn said. “But he deals with it well. It comes with the game. It comes with being the type of player he is.”
Perhaps Cavan’s ability to shrug at attention goes to how his parents treated him and his brothers. They talked to their kids about the games on the way home and then treated them like kids when they walked in the front door.
Cavan could be playing next year in Europe, but he still has chores at home. And the Sullivans never posted — “I did a couple times,” Heike admitted — about their children on social media.
“Why would you?” Brendan said. “There’s no need to talk about how you won a tournament or had a hat trick. You don’t brag about anything. This is his normal. It’s not normal to us, but he looks at it as his normal. So it’s weird for him if this is his normal. But then again, we don’t talk a whole lot about it. We never gave him media practice. He just knows, ‘Don’t sound like a jerk.’”
Cavan never played the game for attention or accolades. He became a child star, but he wasn’t groomed for it. His parents declined interviews over the years and other media projects.
The Sullivans knew they had a phenom, but they didn’t publicize him, not even on Facebook. They treated him like a kid, his mom said, because he was a kid. It was that simple.
“This wasn’t something we were seeking out,” Heike said. “And maybe that attitude prepared him to not make a big deal out of it.”
Older brother Quinn (left) has Cavan Sullivan’s back on and off the pitch.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Shaped by Philly
The Sullivans left Almond Street in 2018 for Norristown and the allure of a driveway, a backyard, and extra bedrooms. There’s not much to complain about. But they still miss things about the old neighborhood.
There was a corner store where a dollar was enough to score a handful of candy. Brendan can still taste the polish kielbasa and his sons remember the fear they felt as a 4-year-old walking alone around the corner to their grandparents and the pride of making it there safely. There was Wiffle ball and basketball with the neighbors, riding bikes through the cemetery, and playing for hours on the sidewalk.
Philadelphia’s soccer scene was born in neighborhoods like Bridesburg, where European immigrants brought the game decades ago when they came to work in factories along the Delaware River. Rowhouses — just like the one on Almond Street — produced pioneers like Walter Bahr and Benny McLaughlin. The Northeast is where Chris Albright and Bobby Convey, teammates on the 2006 U.S. World Cup squad, grew up. The cinder fields was where Don D’Ambra and Dave MacWilliams made their mark.
The same neighborhood that shaped Sullivan is what powered Philadelphia soccer for generations. He’s only 16 years old and he soon could be the face of a sport. But he was not an overnight sensation. Cavan’s emergence was generations in the making. Just the ones who came before him, he’s a kid from the neighborhood.
The Sullivans left Bridesburg years ago. The basement now belongs to someone else. But the memories? They’ll always belong to the four brothers.
“Northeast Philly sort of shaped me in a way,” Cavan said. “It was just a great place to be.”
FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. — When Auston Trusty turned pro with the Union a decade ago, the club’s youth academy was just starting to find its footing.
Now everyone knows about it, and the waves of players it has produced for the club and the U.S. national team. Trusty knows better than most, as the Media native is on the academy’s board.
But the scale of how far things have come in less than a decade has hit especially hard this week. The 28-year-old is sharing the field with the newest Union youngsters to break through: Cavan Sullivan, Neil Pierre, and Frankie Westfield.
“Yeah, it’s crazy. I still think of myself as the young kid from Philadelphia, but now these guys are,” Trusty told The Inquirer on Thursday in an interview at U.S. Soccer’s national training center, before the team headed to Orlando to prepare for Saturday’s game against Peru (4:30 p.m., TNT, Telemundo 62).
Cavan Sullivan (second from left) on the ball in front of Auston Trusty during a drill at Thursday’s practice.Jonathan Tannenwald
“The way they look at me, they all know my history,” he said. “They all know where I came from, how I came from it, and I’ve been that person they’ve been trying to aspire to be. I’m really appreciative, I’m really grateful, and it’s a blessing that I’m able to be that person for them.”
It feels long ago, at least in soccer terms, that Trusty turned down a scholarship offer to the University of North Carolina in the summer of 2016. He signed with the Union just days before he’d have headed to Chapel Hill. Back then, such a move was seen as unusual.
“College, at the time, was probably the smarter move to other people,” he recalled. “To me, signing pro, I was taking a risk for myself. So it kind of opened that pathway for all these kids to come after me, and it’s pretty cool.”
A year after Trusty’s move, Mark McKenzie left Wake Forest following his freshman season, and Brenden Aaronson backed out of a verbal commitment to Indiana.
Auston Trusty (left) and Mark McKenzie together during their playing days with the Union.
The tide had turned, and there was no going back. By the time Frankie Westfield turned pro in 2024 instead of going to Penn State, no one batted an eye.
On Thursday, Trusty and Westfield had lunch together after teaming up in one of the morning’s training drills.
“From what I’ve known from him, and from what I’ve heard, he’s a great player [with a] great mindset,” Trusty said. “Him, along with the other players from [the] Union, it’s really cool to see how far they’ve come, together and individually, and also their mindsets. … It’s their first time, so maybe they’d be hesitant, but they have great mindsets, and that’s what I really want to see.”
It was obvious to ask about Pierre, a fellow centerback with so much potential. Trusty hadn’t talked with him much yet as of Thursday, mainly due to travel delays coming over from his club home at Celtic in Glasgow, Scotland. But Trusty has seen highlights, including of Pierre’s four goals for the Union this year, and is happy to have another Union centerback with the national team.
Neil Pierre (third from right) is always easy to spot in a crowd thanks to his 6-foot-6 frame.Jonathan Tannenwald
“He seems [like] a really good guy, seems good as a person, as a player, seems like he has a lot of talent,” Trusty said. “Obviously, his physical attributes — he’s really tall, and I think a lot of times people can focus on physical attributes. I’m really excited to see how he is on the ball, how he is as a player.”
And of course, there’s Sullivan. Trusty has known the 16-year-old and his family for a while, so he hasn’t just seen the player through Union games.
“He’s a humble kid, and he’s a grinder,” Trusty said. “He has that Philadelphia Union mindset where you know you don’t take it for granted, you go out there and grind, and you make the most of it. But he’s a humble kid, and he comes from a good family as well.”
It will strike some people that Trusty focused on Sullivan’s humility. To outsiders, the talk is of cockiness and a hype train. But Trusty knows the difference between that and the right kind of confidence.
Cavan Sullivan (right) cracking a smile at the start of Thursday’s practice.Jonathan Tannenwald
“You see him off the pitch, see how he approaches a game, how he starts a game, how he approaches his transactions with teammates and coaches, and the game itself with his own play,” he said. “But during it, if someone’s going to do stepovers, someone’s scoring goals, and they’re celebrating, or if they show confidence on the pitch, that is exactly what you want to see. I don’t want an attacker, or any player, on the pitch that’s not confident.”
Given that, he concluded: “So if someone’s feeling themselves, someone’s confident in their ability and backs themselves, all power to him.”
Now the time has come for Sullivan and the other newcomers to make their first marks at a new level.
“It’s for the more veteran, more established players to lead the young guys, and guys who could possibly get their first caps, to make sure they know what this team’s about,” Trusty said. “When you wear this crest, you’re not just representing yourself. You’re representing your teammates, your coaches, but everyone that’s ever believed in you, and an entire nation that’s behind you. So it really means a lot.”
Ryan Richter said a variation of the word “confident” or “confidence” six times over the course of his weekly press conference on Thursday.
The Union boss was referring to several different questions posed, but mainly to his ability to earn a result against a visiting Orlando City team without multiple Union players who have fueled an 11-game unbeaten streak in Major League Soccer since the break for the FIFA World Cup.
Orlando enters Subaru Park on Saturday (7 p.m., Apple TV) looking to get back on track after having its five-game MLS unbeaten streak come to an end last weekend against New England. There’s also no guarantee that French star Antoine Griezmann will play this weekend as he picked up an injury during a midweek game against Columbus in the U.S. Open Cup semifinals.
Griezmann has been a firecracker since arriving in Orlando during the summer transfer window with eight goals and three assists in just 10 games in all competitions. Whether or not Griezmann makes a return to Philly, Richter knows they are a club not to be taken lightly, but feels confident in who remains in the locker room and is ready for availability.
The Union will be without five players due to international duty, which includes starting goalkeeper Andre Blake (Jamaica), defenders Frankie Westfield and Neil Pierre (U.S. men’s national team) and midfielders Danley Jean Jacques (Haiti) and teen phenom Cavan Sullivan, who, like Pierre and Westfield, are taking part in their first senior-level camp for the USMNT.
“When I look at the team that we’re going to put out on Saturday, we still have a ton of quality,” Richter said. “Of course we’re missing players, and some guys [who] haven’t gotten much minutes lately. But when I look at the group, you’re talking about putting in national team-level players; you’re talking about putting in players that have a pretty good track record in this league and other leagues. So … I step in with full confidence and the message is the same; we attack this game, trying to win.”
With two pieces of the backline gone, two things remain to be seen: whether defender Nathan Harriel will shift into center of defense with the absence of Pierre, or remain an outside back. Also, it’s expected that with Pierre out, the team will see the return of Japhet Sery Larsen in the middle, but who pairs alongside Larsen is very much a wait-and-see.
Union defender Nathan Harriel is a strong presence at both center or as an outside back for the club. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
“We want to give the team consistency, that’s clear,” said Richter. “And one thing that we’re all confident in is that Nathan can do a great job at center back like he’s proven over the last couple of months. But as he’s proven over the last five years, he’s a great right back as well. So we’re totally confident in the group that we’re putting out there. And Nathan is going to be a key piece no matter what position he lines up in.”
Offensively, much of the club’s firepower will be available this weekend, most notably forward Milan Iloski, who leads the team with 12 goals. The international window game also opens up an opportunity to see more of midfielder Quinn Sullivan, who has been electric off the bench following a long rehab from an ACL injury.
Sullivan has started just one match in league play this season, but has contributed a goal and six assists in 11 matches, none more thrilling than his rabona pass for the game-tying goal in last week’s thriller on the road against Sporting Kansas City.
Another player who the Union could certainly benefit from running back a breakthrough performance is forward Bruno Damiani. Damiani, who has eight goals on the year, five of which came in the last three matches including a hat trick in the club’s 5-0 rout of FC Cincinnati on Sept. 9, is someone who Richter felt was peaking at the right time.
Now, it’s all about consistency.
“He makes it a tough game for the center backs, and he gives us an outlet,” said Richter. “Any time we play direct, he’s the target. The main job of the striker is to score goals. And now he’s been doing all the other work. … But he can’t drop that. There will be a run where he doesn’t score again. That’s every player. That’s every striker, but as long as he keeps all the other good work that he’s doing [and] he continues to help the team in a really positive way … it’s incredibly important for the team.”
Should they emerge with the result, the team will set a record for the longest unbeaten streak in club history at 12 straight. And while it appears that’s the last thing on Richter’s mind, it’s the reality the Union now inherits.
Not a bad place to be, all things considered.
MLS levies fines on Union, Sporting K.C.
On Wednesday, MLS’s Disciplinary Committee issued fines to Damiani, Jean Jacques, Kai Wagner and athletic trainer Paul Rushing for their involvement in a scuffle as the two teams headed into the locker rooms at halftime of last Saturday’s 4-3 win over Sporting Kansas City. It marked the first time the Union had violated the league’s mass confrontation policy, which is surprising for those who remember the fracas that took place during the Union’s home match against Inter Miami on Aug. 19.
Whatever plans you have this weekend, cancel them. There are more important things going on.
Starting this weekend, all five major pro sports in Philly will have major things going on that carry into the week ahead.
From sitting on the brink of another Red October to welcoming Philly’s newest superstar, here is what all five Philly teams have on the horizon:
Phillies
There is no phrase more indicative of the Phillies’ season than “the ebbs and flows of baseball.” This season, which started with a 9-19 record for the club’s worst 28-game start with Rob Thomson at the helm, has evolved into an 87-71 season under interim manager Don Mattingly.
Just like when Thomson took over for Girardi in 2022 and led the Phillies to the postseason for the first time in 11 years, Mattingly is on the cusp of leading the Phillies to the postseason after taking over for Thomson, who was fired on April 28.
With a magic number of two going into Thursday’s games, the most direct path to a postseason berth is a Phillies win and Diamondbacks or Padres loss. Sitting in the third and final NL wild card spot at the beginning of the day Thursday, the Phillies can lock in their fifth consecutive postseason.
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Eagles
After starting the season 2-0 with two- and four-point wins over the Washington Commanders and Tennessee Titans, respectively, the Eagles are gearing up for Monday Night Football in Week 3.
As the Birds head to Chicago to take on the Bears (8:15 p.m., 6abc, ESPN), many questions surround the game, including the status of Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, who is listed as doubtful with a hamstring injury.
While Williams is week to week for the Bears (1-1), Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert is expected to be out for multiple weeks with an MCL injury. Enter Zach Ertz, who played eight-plus seasons with the Eagles and was signed to the practice squad on Monday.
Ertz, 35, was a free agent recovering from a torn ACL, LCL, and hamstring suffered in December 2025. Now back in green, Ertz is just 11 catches from breaking Harold Carmichael’s franchise career catch record.
76ers
No king is official without a coronation, and LeBron James is getting his Monday when he’s expected to speak for the first time as a 76er.
After a long-awaited decision, “King James” signed a two-year, $8 million contract with the Sixers on July 24, but he hasn’t had any public appearances with the team yet. However, the team will have its media day Monday, marking James’ anticipated first appearance and first time speaking as a part of the Sixers organization.
Video: Jaylen Brown on Philly fans: ‘The fan base here is incredible’
Flyers
Last season, what many expected to be another year of rebuilding for the Flyers ended in the second round of the playoffs after being swept by the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Carolina Hurricanes.
Now, the hype around the Orange and Black has been established and is carrying into the team’s season opener Wednesday at Xfinity Mobile Arena when they take on the cross-state rival Pittsburgh Penguins after eliminating them in first round of last season’s playoffs, four games to two.
Eyes are on goalie Dan Vladař, who played a big role in the Flyers’ success last season but left Tuesday’s preseason 5-1 loss to the Bruins with an upper-body injury. Porter Martone, the 19-year-old right winger who played nine regular-season games and all 10 playoff games, also brings his own level of fanfare to the team.
This summer was big for soccer in Philadelphia as it hosted six World Cup games. But even after the tourists retreated and Philadelphia Stadium became Lincoln Financial Field again, soccer has remained relevant in the city.
Sullivan, Pierre, and Westfield could make their USMNT debuts Saturday vs. Peru in Orlando (4:30 p.m., TNT). Meanwhile, the Union will look to improve to an unbeaten streak of 12 when they host Orlando City at Subaru Park on Saturday.
Union star Cavan Sullivan (front) is in his first camp with the senior U.S. men’s national team.Jonathan Tannenwald
Yes, he’s an amazing talent. Yes, he already has enough marketing deals to make players twice his age blush, including one with Adidas that has set him up with superstars like Lionel Messi and Trinity Rodman.
No, those moments happened because of what got him on the field in the first place. Interim Union manager Ryan Richter described that part perfectly after the big win in San Diego earlier this month, when Sullivan’s backheel goal exploded online.
“He trains like an animal every single day,” Richter said. “His outstanding quality is the mentality that he has, and the way that he approaches every game and every day, and that’s what pushes him to get better and better.”
A few minutes later, Sullivan was told of those words, and was asked what it meant to hear them.
“I always appreciate when stuff like that’s acknowledged, so thank you to him,” he said. “I think that’s just sort of, like, my DNA in a way. I think it’s sort of how I’m wired. But always great to have people like him acknowledge it.”
There are moments when Sullivan comes across as an already-polished product of three generations of Philadelphia soccer royalty. But there are also still moments where you see the rawness of a 16-year-old, and this was one.
Comparisons to Freddy Adu aren’t fair
If Sullivan plays in any of the U.S. team’s four upcoming friendlies, he’ll become the youngest senior men’s national team player since Freddy Adu in 2006.
Around the soccer world, Sullivan gets compared to other young phenoms, such as Arsenal and England’s Max Dowman and Spain and Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal. (Not for nothing did Adidas, which markets all three of them, recently bring Sullivan and Dowman together for a photo shoot where Sullivan had one of the Union’s new third jerseys.)
📲 Cavan Sullivan (16) on Instagram, with Max Dowman (16). 🤝
⚠️ Sullivan, who plays for Philadelphia Union in MLS, will join Manchester City when he turns 18. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/755pojRdKD
But for some people in this country, the most significant comparison goes in a less optimistic direction: to Adu.
In 2004, Adu arrived on the scene as a 14-year-old already crowned as destined to be the greatest American men’s player of all time. He took the field with D.C. United back then carrying the hopes of MLS at a time when it was desperate for any kind of recognition.
The recognition came, including a TV ad featuring Adu and Pelé. But the on-field accomplishments didn’t. Adu fell far short of his potential, despite seemingly countless opportunities over a 17-year career.
Looking back, we can now see why. It wasn’t just that he was swallowed up by the hype. It’s that so much of the infrastructure that has helped Sullivan grow didn’t exist in Adu’s teenage years.
MLS teams didn’t have youth academies back then, from the Union’s unparalleled scale — to frankly any scale. Fans might think about the first-team staff and sometimes the reserve-team coaches, but the dozens of youth team coaches and high school teachers that fill the club’s Chester complex who work outside the spotlight are immeasurable.
Adu didn’t have any of that when he grew up. He went straight into the first team at 14, and that was it. MLS could barely even accommodate a legal minor in some facilities back then, and its reserve league didn’t start until a year after Adu’s pro debut.
The Union reserve team’s facilities at the club’s training complex in Chester.Alejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer
Now the league knows what it’s doing, with systems in place to accommodate what has become a years-long pipeline of elite young talent. Sullivan is just one example, and quite a few of them have made the current U.S. roster.
Few players know this more than one of the national team’s best, Tyler Adams. He rose through Red Bull New York’s youth and pro ranks, moved to Europe after three years in MLS, and now flies the flag for Americans in the English Premier League.
“Prospect is a great word, but they’re doing it at a high level right now,” he said. “And then for me, as a product of MLS and a kid that came through MLS, you have to respect the league and the level that they’re playing at, at such a young age, because you’re competing against grown men. … You just have to do things in the right order, and we’re giving them the best opportunity to do that now.”
Tyler Adams (center) at work during Wednesday’s U.S. men’s soccer team practice at the national training center in suburban Atlanta.Jonathan Tannenwald
Confident? Yes. Cocky? No.
There’s one more point to make about Sullivan. Outsiders call him cocky, and he can be: from stepover dribbles to the flashy outfits he wears at Subaru Park on game days. But what athlete doesn’t have an ego?
You have to have one to become elite in sports, whether Bryce Harper or LeBron James or Carli Lloyd.
Of course, Sullivan hasn’t yet achieved what those three have, and whether he will remains to be seen. But he has an outstanding support system that keeps him in check at the right times, from his family at home, including his older brother and teammate, Quinn Sullivan, to team captain Alejandro Bedoya, and Ryan Richter in the Union locker room. You can be sure they all got him ready for this week as best they could.
Beyond that, we can’t know how this Union season will end up, with a bunch of tough games coming next month; and it’s impossible to know what will happen when Cavan joins Manchester City at the end of next year.
Will he actually play for the English giant, or get loaned out repeatedly — the fate that past Americans suffered in England, including Downingtown’s Zack Steffen at City and Media’s Auston Trusty at Arsenal?
Zack Steffen played just 21 games for Manchester City in 4 1/2 years on the English Premier League giant’s books.Ian Walton
It’s easy to spend time and energy fretting about those questions. Right now, though, can be a moment to put them aside.
Just as Union fans have allowed themselves to simply enjoy the team’s renaissance, they can sit back and enjoy this national team window for Sullivan, Neil Pierre, and Frankie Westfield. The games are friendlies, so results matter less than seeing how the players handle their first steps on the senior national team stage.
The last word goes to Adams, since he delivered on this subject as well as he does with so many things.
“If anybody remembers me when I was 16, 17 years old, I came in and I wasn’t afraid to step on people’s toes, but I was very keen on doing the work and making sure that I could earn the respect of the older players,” he said. “That’s always super-important as you try to build this group out. We have a lot of bright talent here, but it’s important that we all work hard and help get the best growth out of all of them.”
Neil Pierre (second from left) working with former Union centerback Auston Trusty (left) and other players at Wednesday’s U.S. practice. Jonathan Tannenwald
Most of Neil Pierre’s rapid rise this summer has been watched by a mix of Union fans who’ve enjoyed the team’s turnaround since the World Cup, and soccer savants intrigued by a new big-time prospect.
However, that is about to change, potentially forever. Such is the power of being part of the senior U.S. national team for the first time.
“The biggest thing is, just, you’re representing the whole country,” Pierre said in a meeting with the media from U.S. Soccer’s national training center in suburban Atlanta on Tuesday. “It’s definitely another level from representing Philadelphia to everyone in the States. … You’re representing everyone that doesn’t get seen, and trying to represent the good and not the bad.”
Understandably, Cavan Sullivan is getting the most hype of the trio of young Union stars on the latest roster. But that doesn’t mean the other two aren’t getting any. Pierre and Frankie Westfield will get their due over the course of the FIFA window that runs from this week through Oct. 6.
He admitted to being “a little nervous coming in here — these players, I’ve watched growing up a little bit, and in the World Cup.”
But as so often happens when the national team has a new generation, there was a warm welcome for a player who has featured for U.S. youth teams since 2022.
“The expectation they gave me was, enjoy, compete, and obviously it’s an honor to represent the crest,” Pierre said. “So do everything and show everything that was the reason why you’re coming here.”
Or, as he put it more bluntly a moment later: “They tell me, like, ‘Yeah, great to meet you, but hey, you better show it on the field.’”
Neil Pierre (left) on the ball during a Union game in July.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Pierre has reached this point because of his strong play for the Union in recent months. He has featured in all 11 games of the club’s unbeaten run in regular-season play since the World Cup, with 10 starts, and is the squad’s top centerback in clearances, tackles, and blocked shots per 90 minutes.
Along with that, he has shown the passing skills that had scouts raving when he was in the academy, and chipped in four goals on top of it all.
Going there was a key step in proving Pierre was ready for the physicality of MLS, which is a big step up from the reserve team level where the 6-foot-7 defender had been.
“My loan in Denmark, I would say that was a very, very big part of my success this year, I think,” Pierre said. “Being away from home for the first time, seeing a whole different world, it was a good thing — it was kind of like, I would say, my college experience away from college, growing as a person. I think that also translated to [helping] on the field.”
It’s a measure of Pierre’s maturity that he knew the significance of the “college experience” line, and that he’ll never have the real thing. That’s the way it is in the soccer world, as it has already been for so many Union players.
There’s more symbolism in the fact that this squad also includes Auston Trusty, the first centerback to rise through the Union academy ranks to the pros. It would be quite a sight for Union fans if the Media native and Pierre share the field in one of the Americans’ four upcoming games.
Trusty didn’t arrive in camp until Tuesday afternoon because of some personal commitments, so Pierre hadn’t gotten to meet him yet when he spoke. But Trusty needs no introduction to anyone who comes through the Union ranks. There are photos of him around the campus — no doubt a few more since this year’s World Cup — and he is on the board of the Union’s academy.
Media native Auston Trusty (center) made his first World Cup squad this summer, and scored his first World Cup goal in the U.S.-Turkey group stage game.Mark J. Terrill
“It will definitely be good meeting him,” Pierre said. “On the field, we’ll see how we play together and connect, and then obviously off the field, we’re going to have some banter and jokes about it.”
In the meantime, Pierre was joined on the podium by another centerback from the World Cup team, Miles Robinson. The FC Cincinnati veteran has liked what he has seen.
“Obviously, he’s a great player just to be here in the first place,” Robinson said while seated next to Pierre on the podium. “What I’ve seen so far, he’s obviously strong, a big force, he’s calm on the ball, technical. Just to see him at 18 years old in this game, in this camp, really proving himself day by day, is something to definitely admire and appreciate.”
It would be the goal that would see three more follow in a nine-minute span that fueled a 4-3 Union win against Sporting, after Philly took a 3-0 deficit into the locker room at halftime.
Up until Westfield’s strike in the 64th minute, the story was written to appear like a night in which nothing would go right for the Union, a team on the precipice of finding a 10-game unbeaten streak snapped on the road by Sporting, a team desperately looking to surge out of the basement of Major League Soccer’s Western Conference.
Two of Sporting’s three goals were scored by an attacker the club spent $17 million to acquire in Brazilian André Luiz, from Greece’s Olympiacos FC. And for the first 50-plus minutes of the first half, Luis was earning his game check, embarrassing Union defenders with his speed and using deft whipping shots that sailed past seasoned goalkeeper Andre Blake.
Honestly, watching it felt like it fit the narrative of Philly sports teams. It can’t be too good for too long.
After all, things in the past few weeks were going too well for the Union. They were riding that unprecedented unbeaten streak, spearheaded by a 16-year-old who the soccer world is watching mature into his own in real time. We already knew Cavan Sullivan was different, but over the course of 11 matches in which the Union have taken at least a point, his maturity has blossomed.
And then you have three Philly-area players who have a spotlight on them as products from the Union’s own youth academy that will now be the latest, and among the youngest to get the opportunity to represent their country on the senior level. By the time you read this, in addition to Sullivan, 18-year-old defender Neil Pierre and Westfield, 20, will be on their way to the U.S. Soccer’s national training site in Atlanta to begin preparations ahead of four games during the first international window since the FIFA World Cup.
Cavan Sullivan (center) blows past a Sporting Kansas City defender in the club’s come-from-behind win at Children’s Mercy Park on Saturday.Courtesy / Philadelphia Union
In fact, all three had contributions on the goals that saw the Union bypass Sporting. It started with Westfield, then Sullivan got his goal in the 66th off a great run into the box by midfielder Danley Jean Jacques to slot it past Sporting goalkeeper Stefan Cleveland, and Pierre’s header down off a ball into the box in the 73rd forced an own goal after defender Zorhan Bassong headed the ball into his own net.
“The mentality of this group is outrageous,” said Union interim manager Ryan Richter, postgame. “[It] would have been easy to to quit at halftime, on the road, long travel, down 3-0 with guys going away with the national team after the game.
“But the way that the guys responded in the second half was, was fantastic. Congrats to them for showing again the way that they’re believing in each other right now.”
But it goes on from there. A forward in Milan Iloski, who’s found form. A defender in Kai Wagner, who in addition to playing the role of antagonist, is having one of his best seasons as a pro in a return to the Union during the break. A coach who has provided as good a case as ever as interim boss in Richter, who led the team since the World Cup break and like the rest of us who watched the Union’s performance on Saturday night, looked in stunned disbelief at what he just witnessed — despite playing it cool, postgame.
Midfielder Danley Jean Jacques (left) celebrates with Cavan Sullivan after his assist on Sullivan’s goal in the 66th minute. Courtesy / Philadelphia Union
“We got a reminder tonight that we are not perfect,” said Richter. “And when we’re not at our best, any team in this league can beat us.”
With that wealth of riches, over the past two months witnessing the Union’s first half unraveling felt like it fit the Philly sports mold. We can never have it too good. There’s always got to be a struggle.
Don’t believe it? Ask the Phillies or take a look at their final score as that team continues to claw for a postseason spot.
But the Union changed the narrative in what might be one of the best come-from-behind wins of the season in MLS. Richter and Co. continue to surge up the Eastern Conference ladder as a team that was written off in June, believed to be a collective franchise in disarray after limping into the World Cup break with just one win in 15 matches. Now, we’re talking about a team with 14 goals in their last three games, with eight still to play in a historically forgiving league.
In the 98th minute, after getting up from a foul, Wagner looked to the Sporting KC sidelines and their fans and flashed a devilish grin. But it didn’t feel like trolling (as Wagner has been known to do to both fans and the opposition from time to time).
Union defender Kai Wagner celebrates following the club’s come-from-behind win against Sporting Kansas City on Saturday.Courtesy / Philadelphia Union
As fans chirped at him, undoubtedly frustrated that their club just blew a three-goal lead, Wagner’s grin felt like he knew that this team was destined for big things. That not even a three-goal deficit on the road is a means to an end for this collective.
“When a group of players responds the way they did in the second half, and that’s not just the guys who started the game, it’s the guys who, whatever role they played, you know, they did a pretty good job … it was fun to be a part of,” Richter said. “It was fun to watch, and it’s exciting to be a part of.”
Union goalkeeper had two saves, including a monster stop that thwarted a potential hat trick from Sporting’s Andre Luis in the first half. Courtesy / Philadelphia Union
Odds and endlines
When Pierre took a hard challenge toward the end of the game, there was cause for concern, considering he was on a flight shortly after to join U.S. Soccer’s 28-man camp ahead of four international games beginning with Peru in Orlando on Sept. 26. However, when asked postgame, Richter had very little concerns about it, saying, “He went down probably five times [over the course of the game] but he kept going. So I think he he’s doing all right. Probably some bumps and bruises but nothing serious.” … It’s wild to say, but if not for a few first half saves from Blake, Sporting seemed primed for more goals. Blake was credited with two saves, including a monster one in the first half to keep Luis from getting what seemed destined to be a hat trick. … Quinn Sullivan certainly looks back to full strength as his rabona pass to Iloski in the 68th, saw Iloski muscle past Sporting defender Lasse Berg Johnsen to score the equalizer.
