ไทย
English
中國人
Cavan Sullivan had a golden opportunity to seal the win for the Philadelphia Union deep into Saturday's contest, but the 17-year-old ultimately couldn't preserve his team's winning run in an exciting 2–2 stalemate with Charlotte FC at Subaru Park.
The draw brought an end to the Union's eight-match winning streak, which had begun on Aug. 29, but kept their unbeaten run intact, now stretching to a club-record 15 games. Their most recent defeat came on May 23, a 6–4 loss to Inter Miami.
Sullivan—who surpassed Alphonso Davies's record for the most goal contributions by a teenager (21) in Wednesday's 3–1 victory over the Chicago Fire—also saw his personal streak come to an end. Saturday's match marked his first league appearance since Aug. 1 without a goal contribution, halting a remarkable 10-game run.
It wasn't due to a lack of effort, however. Sullivan finished the match with the most shots (five) and the most touches in the opposition's penalty area (10). He even put the ball in the net midway through the second half, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside.
With the score level at 2–2 in the closing stages, he combined with his older brother Quinn Sullivan in the 93rd minute but was denied by Charlotte goalkeeper Kristjan Kahlina, who produced a superb save to earn a point for the visitors.
Cavan Sullivan NEARLY wins it for @PhilaUnion in stoppage time! 😮 pic.twitter.com/RiTWkj6RUf
While Sullivan couldn't deliver the winner, it was still a commendable performance from the Union. Milan Iloski scored his 19th goal of the campaign to break the deadlock in the 24th minute from the penalty spot, and Bruno Damiani fired home from the edge of the box to make it 2–2 in the 73rd minute, following Charlotte's two goals from Rodolfo Aloko and Idan Toklomati.
Surrendering their winning streak introduces a degree of adversity for a Union side that has faced little since Ryan Richter stepped in as interim manager for Bradley Carnell back in May. Now, the defending Supporters' Shield holders will need to wait until at least the final four matches of the season to secure a berth in the MLS Cup playoffs.
Philadelphia's Road Ahead
The Union have two home fixtures and two away matches remaining as they look to clinch a playoff spot and compete for a top-four seed in the Eastern Conference, which would guarantee home-field advantage in at least the opening round of the postseason.
The next two weeks, however, will be far from straightforward. On Matchday 32, they travel to face Carles Gil's New England Revolution, a side sitting third in the Eastern Conference heading into their Matchday 31 clash with fourth-place Chicago Fire.
Following that, Nashville SC—who are chasing the all-time regular-season points record—will pose the sternest challenge yet, before the regular season concludes against FC Cincinnati and Toronto FC.
Though likely to reach the playoffs despite the obstacles ahead, the Union will be a dark-horse candidate to lift the MLS Cup. Regardless, any deep postseason run will likely hinge on Cavan Sullivan's extraordinary abilities against formidable opponents such as Inter Miami, Nashville, New England, Chicago, and beyond.