First Half

The opening 16 minutes starred a team reminiscent of the pre-World Cup Union. Sporting Kansas City struck first in the fifth minute when André Luiz cut inside and fired a low shot into the corner, earning an early 1-0 lead. Just five minutes later, Luiz doubled the advantage with another effort from outside the box, leaving the Union facing a two-goal deficit only ten minutes into the match. The action was topped off when Emir Karić’s corner found Wyatt Meyer, who headed home from the center of the box to make it 3-0 before the match had even reached the 20-minute mark.

Philadelphia eventually settled into the match, but Sporting continued to threaten in transition. Blake was forced into an important save in the 29th minute after another Luiz run created an opportunity for Calvin Harris, keeping the deficit from growing even further. The physicality also began to boil over, with Kwaku Agyabeng booked for a foul on Vassilev late in the half.

Despite a few attempts to respond, including efforts from Jovan Lukic, Kai Wagner, Indiana Vassilev and Cavan Sullivan, the Union couldn’t find a way through before halftime and went to the locker rooms down 3-0. Following the halftime whistle, tensions spilled over into an altercation near the benches that resulted in a yellow card for Jesús Bueno.

Second Half

Richter immediately turned to Quinn Sullivan, replacing Vassilev to start the second half, and the substitution helped change the tone of the match almost instantly. Sullivan tested Sporting goalkeeper Stefan Cleveland from distance in the 47th minute, then chased down the rebound and nearly scored again, only to see his second attempt hit the post.

The Union kept pushing, and by the hour mark the momentum had unmistakably shifted. After Sporting picked up another yellow card for a foul on Damiani, Philadelphia finally found the breakthrough in the 64th minute. Cavan Sullivan worked his way through the Sporting defense before finding Westfield on the right, whose effort was redirected by Damiani and into the net.

Just two minutes later, the Union struck again. Sullivan capitalized on the momentum from the opener to score Philadelphia’s second goal, giving the Union six goals since MLS play resumed in July.

And then came the equalizer. In the 68th minute, Milan Iloski finished off a determined attacking sequence with a goal created by Quinn Sullivan, who delivered a clever pass to set up the finish.

The Union weren’t finished. Five minutes later, sustained set-piece pressure forced Sporting defender Zorhan Bassong to put the ball into his own net, completing an extraordinary turnaround and putting Philadelphia ahead, 4-3, just nine minutes after Damiani had started the comeback.

Three Points

• The Comeback Kids: Down 3-0, the Union finally found their rhythm and scored four unanswered goals, with some of their youngest players playing key roles.
•  The Sullivan Brothers: Cavan and Quinn Sullivan played enormous roles in the comeback, and they did so in different ways.
•  Finishing the Job: It would have been easy for Philadelphia to lose control after finally completing the comeback. Instead, Richter used his bench to help close out the match, bringing on Bueno, Bedoya and Alladoh before Anello entered late, while the Union’s defense and Blake held firm.