Photo: Paul Rudderow

One play can change a game.

For Kacper Przybylko, it was a goal in his first MLS start that made the difference. Philadelphia Union had been on the losing end of a long road trip to Vancouver, but they walked out with a draw — not an ideal result against a subpar team, but an acceptable one given the long trip that lacked several regulars.

His goal demonstrated the traits that Union observers are only beginning to see in him: Hustle, physicality, very direct play, and an accurate finishing touch. We saw it at other times during the game as well. He intercepted a pass with his head and put it in the box for a chance on goal, of all things. He nearly scored a second goal off another hustle opportunity.

Until the Union’s last two games, Przybylko had been something of an enigma for Union fans: A tall striker occupying an international roster spot who signed late last year but had yet to see the field. Przybylko was beginning to look like a player we’d never see on the field.

Now we have, and everything has changed. Now, he’s a different kind of object of wonder, the kind where you wonder if he can score 10 more of those this year.

Honorable mention

• Jamiro Monteiro: Monteiro was all over the field Saturday, and it was his defensive pressure and subtly deft interception-and-pass in a single move that created the goal. Between the step-overs, the defensive pressure, and the Tasmanian Devil-like fearlessness, I find myself thinking as I watch Monteiro, “Wow, this is the most fun I’ve had watching a a box-to-box center midfielder.”