The Philadelphia Union played their last home game in the Eastern Conference Final. They will end 2022 as an undefeated team at Subaru Park. 12 wins and five ties in the regular season helped Philly clinch the 1-seed in the East, and the two wins they got in the postseason see them in their first-ever MLS Cup Final.
Philadelphia Union are 14-0-5 in MLS
Head coach Jim Curtin says it every season—he wants his team to dominate at home. We have seen it over the past few seasons, but never like this. From June 26 to the Eastern Conference Final, Philadelphia won all 11 matches at home, and they did so in an extraordinary way. In a span of their final eight home matches in the regular season, Philly scored 38 goals and let in only four.
Everybody scores
Philadelphia was dominant in 2022. Philly's attack led by relatively unknown players, Uhre, Carranza, and Gazdag, has helped the club turn the corner to be a great attacking team. Philly scored 53 goals at home in front of their fans.
The attack has been labeled as world-beating and this may be because of the chip on their shoulder, or because of the buckets of goals they produce. While the attack did amazing things at home in 2022, this team is still grounded in defense.
Only 10 goals conceded
En route to a dominant season at Subaru Park was a defense and goalkeeping that stepped up and made history.
Philly only conceded 10 goals at home through 17 regular season games and two playoff matches. Philly's D is led led by Goalkeeper of the Year Andre Blake, Defender of the Year Jakob Glesnes, runner-up for Defender of the Year Kai Wagner, and possibly a third place finisher in that category Jack Elliot (he was left off the ballot this season).
Now, Philadelphia is on the verge of winning MLS Cup. Should they win, a major key to their victory will likely be the best defense in MLS, coupled with an attack that is gritty and finds ways to score some goals. While the game won't be played at home, Philly's home form is the reason they have the chance to lift the Cup.
