Photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Union
Cavan Sullivan provided the offensive spark as the Philadelphia Union extended their MLS unbeaten run to six matches with a 1-1 draw against Austin FC on Saturday night in Texas.
Philadelphia struck first in the 18th minute, with Sullivan heading home his second career MLS goal to give the Union an early advantage. Austin responded just three minutes later through defender Brendan Hines-Ike, leveling the match.
First Half
Philadelphia created the first openings of the night as Iloski fired wide in the second minute before Pierre headed a Wagner corner over the crossbar two minutes later.
Austin, however, quickly demonstrated how dangerous it could be at home, nearly opening the scoring in the 14th minute after creating three chances in rapid succession. Andre Blake made a major save on Myrto Uzuni, Jon Gallagher’s effort struck the post, and Neil Pierre blocked another Uzuni attempt to keep the match scoreless.
In the 18th minute, Iloski played a short corner to Wagner, who returned the ball for a cross into the box. Wagner’s delivery was kept alive near the right post, where Harriel headed the ball toward Cavan Sullivan. The teenager made no mistake from close range, heading the ball home to put the Union ahead 1-0.
The advantage lasted only three minutes.
Austin won a corner in the 21st minute, and Joseph Rosales’ delivery found Hines-Ike in the center of the box. The Austin defender powered a header past Blake to level the match at 1-1.
The hosts continued to threaten after the equalizer, but Philadelphia’s defense repeatedly intervened. Neither side could find another breakthrough before halftime, sending the teams into the break level.
Second Half
Philadelphia came out of the break looking to regain the lead and nearly did so in the 53rd minute. Sullivan slipped a forward pass into the box for Danley, who found himself with a chance from the right side of the area. His effort beat Austin goalkeeper Brad Stuver but struck the post, denying the Union a second goal.
Danley had another opportunity in the 65th minute, but his shot from the center of the box went wide.
Both sides traded chances down the stretch. Blake made a save on Torres in the 70th minute and later produced one of his biggest stops of the night, denying Vázquez in the 86th minute.
The Union nearly stole all three points in stoppage time, but the Austin defense blocked an Agustin Anello effort from the center of the box in the 96th minute, moments after Blake again denied Uzuni at the other end.
Philadelphia leaves Texas with a point and, more importantly, extends its MLS unbeaten run to six matches.
Three Points
- Sullivan’s Impact: For a Union team looking for consistent offensive production, Sullivan’s continued development gives the attack another creative dimension.
- Foundational Defense: The Union were tested repeatedly, but they found ways to prevent those chances from becoming goals. Blake’s saves were crucial, but Pierre produced multiple blocks and helped Philadelphia survive several dangerous moments.
- The Grind Continues: The Union may have surrendered an early lead and spent portions of the match under significant pressure, but they remained composed enough to stay in the game.
Lineups
Philadelphia Union (4-4-2):
Andre Blake; Kai Wagner, Nathan Harriel, Neil Pierre, Frankie Westfield; Indiana Vassilev (Quinn Sullivan – 57′), Jesus Bueno (Jovan Lukic – 57′), Danley Jean Jacques, Cavan Sullivan (Agustin Anello – 74′); Bruno Damiani (Ezekiel Alladoh – 74′), Milan Iloski (Alejandro Bedoya – 90’+3′)
Unused Substitutes: Ben Bender, Alejandro Bedoya, Andrew Rick, Malik Jakupovic, Japhet Sery Larsen,
Austin FC (3-4-3):
Brad Stuver; Brendan Hines-Ike (Mikkel Desler – 72′), Oleksandr Svatok, Guilherme Biro; Ervin Torres, Besard Sabovic, Myrto Uzuni, Jorge Alastuey (Facundo Torres – 63′) ; Joseph Rosales (Przemyslaw Placheta – 72′), Jon Gallagher (Zan Kolmanic – 84′) , Christian Ramirez (Brandon Vazquez – 63′)
Unused Substitutes: Damian Las, Jon Bell, Ilie Sanchez, Jayden Nelson
Scoring Summary:
PHI: Cavan Sullivan (Nathan Harriel; Milan Iloski) – 18′
ATX: Brendan Hines-Ike (Joseph Rosales) – 21′
Disciplinary Summary:
PHI: Jesus Bueno (Yellow – Foul ) – 38′
PHI: Neil Pierre (Yellow – Foul ) – 42′
ATX: Ervin Torres (Yellow – Foul ) – 90’+6′
So they’ve come back from the WC break after firing the coach with one former player and two kids from the academy leading the turn around. The problem is they don’t have a striker that is a stud and it looks like Iloski has hit a wall.
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How bad is it that the kid that couldn’t get any real playing time is already second in goal contributions already?
The Union must find a way too keep Neile Pierre. He is way too valuable on defense and set pieces. Iloski just looked burned out. He is a very good player. Too many minutes in previous games. 98 degrees and a travel day equals fatigue and reduces sharpness. Maybe try switching Quinn to his spot for a game. The team needs a vacation day desperately. Need to take a day off from training to recharge the batteries. This team would be dangerous if we had a forward who could finish consistently.
The only move the FO has made for this season is Wagner, who was a good add. Where is the striker? Without someone to score other than Iloski, they won’t go far
I would have liked to see Jakupovic come on for Iloski at 70 min when it was clear Iloski was gassed and discouraged. That would have been a change in attack. Putting Bedoya on for him on stoppage time was just an attempt to secure the draw. Richter should go all-in on the kids. It’s not like there’s anything to lose.
Iloski is not the only one with the yips. Quinn has been off his game, way too many giveaways and unforced errors.
On a positive note, Alladoh, doing his best Usain Bolt, had an amazing end-to-end recovery dash to prevent what could have been a sure Austin goal. He still might qualify as a bust, but if he can bring that speed to the attack there might be some hope left.
Glad you mentioned Quinn. I also feel he has not performed near LY level. Hopefully, he gains it back with more time.
Neither team could finish glorious chances. Explains where they are in the table.
Another fine match by Cavan and Pierre. They’re on track to make other clubs’ fans’ dreams come true. Merely the return of Wagner to the Union from the diaspora has picked up the squad tremendously from the pre-WC dumpster fire. If only we have ownership committed to making our dreams come true.
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The turnaround has been a delight but also too late. We’ve only a 22% chance of making the playoffs and if so then barely so with terrible seeding. Draws like the past two are fatal with so little room left to rise up from the trench.
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Richter is best served by using what’s left of the season to develop the best output and remind our cattle market owner how bad he overplayed his hand for assuring quality exists on the squad.
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My guess is that Sugarman sells young Pierre and replaces him with the expected return of Mark McKenzie from our diaspora. McKenzie has been spotty with the USMNT to put it kindly but he may thrive at the MLS level back in his home area.
Think we will make playoffs if they keep this pace. That would be ok considering the bad start in the first half. I would love to face Messi again. A win vs that team would make this season a success. By the end of the season Quinn Sullivan will be playing at least 65 minutes per game and starting. Would love sticking it to the MLS poster team.
I enjoyed watching the squad last night… even stay up late to watch the final whistle… heading to Harrison Sat. FILL THAT PLACE DOOPERS… Pink Cows another Austin, not a very good team, but another tie will NOT do.
DOOP!
DOOP!
DOOP!
Tough to play in that kind of heat but 3 points seemed ripe for the taking given that Austin rested some of their starters. Apparently the Union softened Miami up as Toronto took 3 points down in Florida which didn’t help the Union’s playoff quest.
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Austin remains one of 3 teams the Union have never beaten and one of 3 teams the Union have never lost to (including San Diego who they haven’t played).
Damiani does a lot of work as a target forward with his hold up play and had some nice layoffs to team mates, but unless he can score, he is not contributing where he needs to most to pull some pressure and attention off other players. Alladoh has looked more promising as a defending destroyer and seems to have more of an instinct there than as a striker. Quinn is not just about getting game fitness back but also needs to get back up to speed in game sharpness with subpar decision making so far. Anello looked surprisingly active and involved and not mired in cement and slow in his decisions. Hopefully that’s a sign he’s actually going to progress into a contributor. The bottom half of the table is getting very crowded as a lot of bottom teams have started making noise and compressing the point gap at the bottom (in the east). it’s going to be very interesting to see how it plays out but not for the union if they can’t figure how to score. a month ago I would’ve been happy to see the old chaos union racking up the xG. but needing like 4 xG to actually get one in the back of the net is not going to cut it down the stretch and I’m not sure just hoping for someone to get hot again like illoski and his now seemingly ended streak is going to pan out either. in other notes, it’s nice to see danley and lukic seeming to find their defensive chemistry again but lukic is too hot and cold right now and this could be quite an opportunity for bueno to step in for even more minutes. Frankie has shown some cracks here and there, hopefully he settles back in as well.
Aug 27, 2026 – Loan
Vincent Nogueira (M)
Signed a contract with Orlando City (ORL) by loan from Bulgaria’s first division side PFC Ludogorets – includes Purchase Option
this answers a few questions, and good for him.
Stas Korzeniowski (F)
Loaned from Philadelphia Union (PHI) to Rhode Island FC through remainder of 2026 season.
Rhode Island FC currently in playoff hunt, loaned their leading scorer, assist guy JJ Williams to Heart of Midlothian.
Stas will start….good move to get him quality minutes for next year. Keep eyes on him.
Combined with their league-wide base, the Union have accumulated well over $5.1 million in total allocation funds this year.
Even after factoring in active roster hits and the DP re-acquisition of Kai Wagner, this leaves sporting director Jon Scheer with a massive, multi-million dollar war chest of flexible cap space.
“Sugar” gonna make a run at a 2027 Sprint Season MLS Cup…. then we freeze our areses off in 2027/2028.
ROOF SUBARU…