It was Frankie Westfield’s shot that set the tone.
His shot from just outside Sporting Kansas City’s 18-yard-box was hit with a verve that said so much — without being able to say anything.
It was angry, it was forceful, it was frustrated.
Fortunately, it was also extremely accurate. Watch it, and you’ll see that’s apparent.
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.
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.
“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).
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.”
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.
