Tag: Cavan Sullivan

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.

The spotlight coming into Wednesday’s Union game was on Cavan Sullivan, as the 16-year-old continues to seize headlines across American soccer.

At kickoff, Cavan shared it with Quinn Sullivan, since the brothers were starting a regular-season game together for the first time. It was a big game, too, the Union’s first in a while against a big-time Eastern Conference opponent.

The stakes rose a little more when interim Union manager Ryan Richter chose to start Ezekiel Alladoh at striker with Bruno Damiani. It was a gamble to rest Milan Iloski, even if it was helpful in a three-game week.

That setup meant the Sullivans had to be the Union’s playmaking engine, and then they’d hope that the duo in front of them could finish the chances they created.

They delivered with style in a 5-0 rout of FC Cincinnati. Cavan had team highs of five chances created and 15 touches in the opponent’s 18-yard box, and his 73 touches were the most of any player in the front six. He completed 42 of 55 passes, sent six passes into the attacking third, and took two shots.

Quinn had 54 touches, including eight in the 18-yard box. He created two chances, took two shots, and had six defensive recoveries and one tackle.

You may have noticed that none of those stat lines included their assists. That’s because they wouldn’t have been recorded if someone else hadn’t scored the chances.

This time, Bruno Damiani did.

His hat trick, scored with his mother and brother in the stands at Subaru Park, was what mattered most — not just for this game, but for the rest of the season.

They were all different goals, too: a sliding charge at the goal line in first-half stoppage time, a first-touch hit from the middle of the 18-yard box in the 49th minute, and a cut and smash from the top of the box in the 61st.

It could even have been four had Kai Wagner not trapped a pass with an arm before crossing for Damiani’s finish in the 73rd. A video review took that off the board.

‘Hopefully it’s a snowball’

“I’m sure he feels a weight off his shoulders in some ways, but also he should be proud of the work that he put in, and he deserves the goals he scored tonight,” Richter said. “And for the team, when your striker leads the line like this, then he’s doing his job in the best way possible.”

Nothing has held this team back more this year than a lack of goals from Damiani and Alladoh. Coming into Saturday, the two most expensive signings in team history had combined for just eight goals in all competitions across 3,028 minutes in 30 games.

Even worse, Damiani’s six goals in all competitions came from 52 shots, many of which resulted in awful misses. Union fans need no reminding of the wide-open chances he fluffed in last Saturday’s 2-0 win over CF Montréal.

Alladoh, meanwhile, had just two goals from 19 shots. That’s a reflection of his having under-delivered so badly that he spends most of his time on the bench. Wednesday’s game was his first regular-season start since May 9, a span of 13 contests.

Consider this, too: Before Wednesday, Damiani ranked fifth on the Union’s season scoring chart. Iloski was at the top with 12 (now 13) in all competitions, Cavan Sullivan has seven, then Danley Jean Jacques and Neil Pierre have four each.

That’s an attacking midfielder (a very good one, for sure), a defensive midfielder, and a centerback, all with more goals than a striker.

“A game like tonight, scoring that hat trick is big for him, and hopefully it’s a snowball,” Iloski said. “If me and him are both firing, that’s so big for the team going down the stretch.”

Iloski also praised his frontline partner’s other contributions, as Richter has also done repeatedly.

“Bruno does a lot for us, and he does a lot for me,” he said. “He battles with guys constantly, and lets me kind of run a bit more free. And he does so much work defensively.”

But Iloski knows what matters most, because it’s what he’s also paid to do.

‘Things are working’

When Damiani scored twice at New York City FC just under a month ago, there was hope he was finally unlocked, having also tallied in a Leagues Cup game a week earlier. At that point, he had just one goal in 19 regular-season outings.

Then he went scoreless in the next four, with especially ugly misses against Inter Miami and Montréal.

Everyone saw Damiani’s frustrated reactions. It was clear that the burden weighed on his shoulders, as it did earlier in the year and in prior droughts.

“I’m an emotional person, an emotional player — and yeah, of course when things don’t go my way, like the team didn’t perform really well in the first half of the season, I wasn’t happy,” he said. “I’m happy now that things are working, game-to-game we’re improving, keeping the clean sheet and winning the games. I’m also happy for my personal moment, too, that I scored a hat trick this time.”

Richter has backed Damiani all along, and did so again Wednesday.

“Of course, the goal didn’t come [until now], but assists, affecting plays that lead to goals, his hold-up play [has been] outstanding, his work against the ball top,” he said. “What he can control is, he’ll do all these things every game, and we know that, and we know that it makes the team better. And then, yeah, his main job is to score goals, and when he starts chipping in and doing the job that he did tonight, then it’s a complete striker.”

Wednesday’s win nudged the Union up to eighth place (8-10-6, 30 points) heading into Sunday’s game at San Diego FC (9 p.m., Apple TV), their longest road trip of the season. The standings remain a logjam, with four points separating sixth-place Orlando City from 12th-place Red Bull New York.

“Yeah, we are in the playoff [places]. It feels good,” Damiani said. “We have the [standings] table in the gym, and we can see our club in the playoff spots. We should be there all the time. So, it’s good, but let’s stay game-after-game.”

He channeled his manager in saying that, and when he called it “the hard thing to do now, and the best thing to do. … That mentality is what brings us here.”

And will that mentality now deliver more goals? Or will this game become another mirage, rooted in the Union’s man advantage from the 16th minute on thanks to Obinna Nwobodo’s red card?

The answer will be one of the biggest factors in how this season ends up.

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The Union finally earned a statement win over one of the Eastern Conference’s big teams, seizing the moment after an early red card to deliver a 5-0 blowout of FC Cincinnati.

Quinn Sullivan opened the scoring and Bruno Damiani had a hat trick as the Union enjoyed an 18-1 shot advantage.

The result extended the club’s unbeaten run in league games to nine, and lifted them to eighth place in the Eastern Conference (8-10-6, 30 points). They’re one point above ninth-place New York City FC, and one point behind Cincinnati (8-8-7, 31 points) and Orlando City.

The Sullivan brothers started in a league game together for the first time, after doing so only in the U.S. Open Cup and Leagues Cup matches. Bruno Damiani and Ezekiel Alladoh started together up top to spare Milan Iloski, who was a yellow card away from a suspension for accumulation.

The Union struggled early against Cincinnati’s three-centerback setup, just as they did in Bradley Carnell and Jim Curtin’s tenures. But they got a break in the 15th minute when referee Joe Dickerson ejected Cincinnati’s Obinna Nwobodo after a video review of the midfielder stepping on Frankie Westfield’s right foot.

Dickerson initially pulled out a yellow card, and promptly, after the foul. Westfield took the hit and stayed down for a while, giving the review officials time to watch the play and ask Dickerson to take a look at the monitor. He didn’t stay there long before taking out the red.

The Union stepped things up in the 38th minute, when Ezekiel Alladoh hit a shot off the front of U.S. national team centerback Miles Robinson’s left arm and won a corner kick with it. (Dickerson didn’t call a handball because the arm wasn’t extended.)

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The ensuing sequence saw Cincinnati’s Ayoub Jabbari inadvertently kick Neil Pierre in the face on the end line, then Evander land an elbow in Sullivan’s neck at the top of the box after he had a shot blocked. Dickerson saw at least the second, pointed to the spot, and Sullivan converted.

Damiani delivered the second at the start of nine minutes of first-half stoppage time, off a terrific team play. Neil Pierre started it with a good interception and passed to Damiani, then he fed Jean Jacques, who drove forward.

Jean Jacques swung the ball left to Quinn Sullivan, who set up his brother for an overlapping run on the flank. Cavan obliged, then thumped a pass across the six-yard box for Damiani to slide into an open net.

Cincinnati manager Pat Noonan, a former Union assistant under Curtin, seemingly raised the white flag at halftime when he made a triple-substitution, including removing his two big stars: playmaker Evander and striker Kévin Denkey.

Damiani then kicked the flag the rest of the way up the pole in the 49th with a terrific finish, set up by combination play from the Sullivans yet again. Quinn had the assist this time, cutting to his right and laying a nifty little pass into space for Damiani to hit first time.

The hat trick came in the 61st. Quinn Sullivan started the play with an interception, combined with his brother again, then Cavan laid the ball off for Damiani. He took a touch to settle the ball at the top of the 18-yard box, then smashed home his shot.

Iloski entered in the 65th, and capped off the scoring with another penalty kick in the 89th. Another substitute, Malik Jakupović, won it when Cincinnati’s Brian Anunga bundled him over.

Some Union players appeared to want Jakupović to get a chance from the spot as a young striker. But Iloski took it, scored his 12th goal of the year, and Jakupović was one of the first players to congratulate him.

If you want to be optimistic about the Union, finding a way to scrape out a 2-0 win over CF Montréal on Saturday at Subaru Park gives you a reason.

So does Cavan Sullivan scoring in a third straight game, his seventh goal of the year in all competitions, and the fact that the win put the Union (7-10-6, 27 points) in ninth place, finally above the playoff line.

But if you’re still skeptical of this team’s true level, the rest of the night offered a pile of proof.

It was not a performance to sugarcoat, even as it took the unbeaten streak in league play to all eight such games of interim manager Ryan Richter’s tenure.

In truth, the quality — or lack of it — was what you’d have expected from the teams that entered the night in 12th and 14th place in the Eastern Conference.

There was Bruno Damiani’s latest pile of misses, especially a wide-open look in the middle of the 18-yard box in first-half stoppage time.

Then came Milan Iloski’s failure to score on a breakaway in the 75th, bailed out by Montréal goalkeeper Sebastian Breza fumbling the ball and Sullivan pouncing.

And in between the Union’s goals, Neil Pierre committed a soft but callable penalty kick foul, only for Montréal’s Prince Owusu to offer one of the worst attempts from the spot you’ll ever see.

A performance like that won’t cut it on Wednesday against FC Cincinnati (7:45 p.m., FS1, Fox Deportes, Apple TV), the first time the Union will face a truly good opponent since Inter Miami — but without the buzz of Lionel Messi visiting, and the energy that brings to the players on the field.

Nor will it stand next Sunday at San Diego (9 p.m., Apple TV). Or in the five-game stretch next month against big teams that will likely define the season: at Chicago, home vs. Charlotte and New England, then at Nashville and Cincinnati.

Richter knew it, too, and didn’t hesitate to say so Saturday night.

“The reality is, you’re not going to show up and play your best game every single week,” he said. “And that was the case [Saturday night], that is true. But we also created enough chances to get the goals that we did, and then the guys came up in big moments.”

He acknowledged there had to be an “honest conversation” about it, especially after a first half where the Union were caught asleep defensively in the first two minutes and didn’t offer enough attacking-wise afterward.

Richter called Wednesday’s game “huge,” acknowledging its stakes and the spice that has simmered between the Union and Cincinnati in recent years.

“It’s a friendly rivalry, but it’s a chance for us against a really good team at home to show that we can compete with the next level of teams in the Eastern Conference,” he said.

There it was, as clear as could be: the next level of teams. A level the Union aren’t at.

The players were just as blunt.

Goalkeeper and captain Andre Blake said that at halftime, “there was a lot of chattering, because we knew that it wasn’t our best. … We just needed to find a way to figure out how to break them down.”

It took a scrappy set-piece goal to finally get through Montréal’s man-to-man defense, finished off by Danley Jean Jacques in the 58th.

“You’re going to have games like these where it’s difficult, different tests,” Blake said. “I’m just happy that we were able to find a way to get some goals. A win is a win.”

Sullivan concurred.

“The first half was — we put on some pressure, but it wasn’t a great game to play in, in all honesty,” he said. “It was just not a pretty game. In the second half, I think our defensive pressure raised the level, and that sets the tone for the rest of play.”

If this piece sounds too cynical for a team on an eight-game unbeaten run in the league, the apology from here will be limited. It’s the reality of what the Union face, and the scale of the task for a team that wants to have high standards for results.

As Sullivan said: “We know that there’s a lot of stuff on the line right now. Playoff spots, we’re in one now, but you can go up and down at any moment.”

And if you think you’ve heard this message before on these pages, you’re right. The point isn’t to be repetitive. It’s to be clear that as Philadelphia fans line back up for the Union bandwagon, they need to know there are much harder games ahead. Better to be realistic about that now, so that you won’t be surprised if the sting comes later.