It was the Cavan Sullivan show at Subaru Park on Thursday night as Bradley Carnell’s Philadelphia Union beat Defence Force FC by a score of 7-0 (12-0 aggregate) to secure their spot in the CONCACAF Champions Cup Round of 16 against LIGA MX side Club América.
Off-season acquisition Geiner Martinez opened the scoring in the 7th minute of his Subaru Park debut with a left-footed blast from just outside the 6-yard box, his first as a member of the Philadelphia Union.
Two minutes later, Jeremy Rafanello earned the Union a penalty, which was put away by midfielder Jovan Lukić in the 10th minute of the match, getting a goal in his first start of the season, coming off a rib injury sustained during pre-season. Lukic played 45 minutes and registered his first goal of the season, completed 49/56 (88%) passes, and logged 4 tackles, 3 recoveries, and 5/5 (100%) ground duels won on the night.
Stas Korzeniowski, the U-Penn graduate and UII promotee, also scored his first and second goals with the Philadelphia Union in Thursday night’s win. His first came just 2 minutes after Lukić’s tally from the spot, and was assisted by a Cavan Sullivan flick that led Korzeniowski in alone on net. His 2nd goal came just on the other side of half-time in the 48th minute, this time assisted by record signing Ezekiel Alladoh.
Ben Bender also got in on the scoring action in the 53rd minute when a Cavan Sullivan pass out to the left found Bender in the box with a clear look on net, making no mistake with the opportunity and increasing the Union’s lead to 5-0 on the night and 10-0 on aggregate.
It was the 16-year-old Cavan Sullivan who notched 2 goals, 2 assists, and the “Man” of the Match award in Union’s dominant home-opener win at Subaru Park. Sullivan, who scored his first and second goals as a senior player with the Philadelphia Union on Thursday night, is now the youngest player ever to score in the CONCACAF Champions Cup at 16 years, 4 months, and 29 days.
CONCACAF Champions Cup debuts included Jovan Lukić, Ben Bender, Malik Jakupović, Sal Olivias, and Giovanny Sequera.
With their 12-0 aggregate win over Defence Force FC in the opening round, Philadelphia Union will move on to face LIGA MX side Club América in the CONCACAF Champions Cup Round of 16, with the 1st leg set for March 10th in Philadelphia, and the decisive 2nd leg in Mexico happening March 18th (dates and times subject to change).
The Union had their CONCACAF dreams crushed by Club América in the CCC (called CONCACAF Champions League at the time) Semi-Final back in 2021 by an aggregate score of 4-0, but will hope for a different outcome under Bradley Carnell’s reign this season.
The Union will face NYCFC, who eliminated the Supporters’ Shield winners from the MLS Cup Playoffs last season, in their MLS home-opener at Subaru Park this Sunday, March 1st @ 4:30 pm.
GK: Andrew Rick
LB: Giovanny Sequera CB: Olwethu Makhanya CB: Geiner Martinez RB: Olivier Mbaizo
DM: Jeremy Rafanello DM: Jovan Lukić
AM: Alejandro Bedoya AM: Cavan Sullivan
ST: Ezekiel Alladoh ST: Stas Korzeniowski
(Ben Bender 45’), (Sal Olivas 45’), (Malik Jakupović 59’), (Jesús Bueno 75’)
7' – Geiner Martínez - 1st as a member of the Union
10' – Jovan Lukić - 1st of the Season
12' – Stas Korzeniowski (C. Sullivan) - 1st as a member of the Union
48' – Stas Korzeniowski (E. Alladoh) - 2nd as a member of the Union
53' – Ben Bender (C. Sullivan) - 1st of Season
76' – Cavan Sullivan (E. Alladoh) - 1st as a member of the Union, youngest player to score in CONCACAF Champions Cup history
88' – Cavan Sullivan (S. Olivas) - 2nd as a member of the Union, youngest player to score in CONCACAF Champions Cup history
PHI – Stas Korzeniowski (caution) 23’
DEF – Kathon St. Hillaire (caution) 25’
PHI – Sal Olivas (caution) 77’
