CHESTER — The Union’s dream start to 2025 was rudely awakened Sunday, and reality awaiting them looked awfully familiar from last year.
Ahmed Qasem’s goal late in the first half was the difference at Subaru Park, and Hany Mukhtar added a penalty in the 82nd minute to seal a 3-1 win by Nashville, the Union’s first loss of the season.
Jovan Lukic scored for the second straight game, evening out a first-half strike by Sam Surridge. It certainly was one of the more eventful games the Union have played, with a penalty for each side, a pair of lengthy VAR reviews and confoundingly ill-advised red card to Olwethu Makhanya late on.
The result ended the franchise-best start to the season for the Union (3-1-0, 9 points). It also offers a chastening note, with the reminder that in 2024, the Union started 3-0-4, were MLS’s last remaining unbeaten and yet still missed the playoffs.
“That’s not the way we played the last games and not the way we should play, and just not our day,” Lukic said. “I think they did well counterpressing and they were close all the time. I felt like on the pitch, we didn’t have space for anything.”
The win was Nashville’s first at Subaru Park.
Nashville (2-1-1, 7 points) forced the Union to do two things that no opponent has this year, two things the Union were awful at last year: First, to chase the game, and second, to dictate play with a majority of possession. Coupled with a return to last year’s struggles with transition defense and a slow adjustment to Nashville’s tack of playing long balls, it added up to a reminiscent home setback.
“Philadelphia is a team that’s got a really clear identity,” Nashville coach BJ Callaghan said. “They press you really well. They’re hard to play against, and they attack with speed. So for us, it’s just about playing our game, trying to get our guys into the best positions. And tonight, I thought you saw a committed group that was able to exploit some space behind and finish our chances.”
The hosts trailed in the 15th minute when center back Walker Zimmerman played a ball forward into the wind and Jakob Glesnes, in neither his first nor last mistake of the day, charged into midfield to make a tackle on Mukhtar when the ball was nowhere near.
That left Frankie Westfield isolated for Surridge to turn him this way and that, to wait for Glesnes to fly by with a block attempt and to bury it past Andre Blake, feted pregame for his 300th career appearance with the club.
The Union got back on level terms via Lukic, scoring for a second straight game. This one was even better than in New England, volleying a cleared corner kick from 18 yards out and into the cage in the 33rd.
Left back Daniel Lovitz, the Germantown Academy grad who would figure prominently in the second-half controversy, sent Nashville into the break up 2-1, popping a ball into the breeze fluttering over Glesnes’ circuitous route and of Qasem to take two strides and a shot one inside the far post.
The Union wanted a penalty just after the hour mark, Lovitz sliding into a confrontation in the box with Quinn Sullivan.
Both overran the ball, and on video review, referee Pierre-Luc Lauziere judged nothing amiss, Sullivan falling over Lovitz.
There was no question in the ninth minute of stoppage time when Lovitz clattered into Chris Donovan near the penalty area. With Daniel Gazdag off, Sullivan took the penalty, which was stoned by Joe Willis, who quickly righted himself to smother Bruno Damiani’s follow.
Willis, who made four saves, was the first credible goalkeeping performance the Union have seen this year.
His best denial came in the 58th, a move set up by Sullivan down the right and flicked on by Mikael Uhre. Gazdag shot across the grain, but Willis caught it with his trailing leg.
Muktar finished it off in the 82nd with a Panenka from the penalty spot. Glesnes, with all the subtlety and grace of Joey Chestnut’s halftime hot-dog eating display, barged into Mukhtar on a header, with both a shoulder in the back and head-to-head contact.
“It wasn’t good enough for me on, I would say, all three of the goals, and I should never make the PK, either,” Glesnes said. “So have to take lessons from that.”
Glesnes didn’t have the worst day for a Union center back, Makhanya made sure. He got his marching orders in the 12th minute of stoppage time, when he was fouled and, laying out of bounds, threw the ball in the direction of Jakob Shaffelburg’s head. Lauziere went straight to his back pocket and got no argument from the bench.
“It was an ugly game to be honest: ugly game to watch, ugly game to play,” Lukic said. “And some days, it’s like this. So we want to change some things, but we have to see what.”
NOTES >> Bradley Carnell named an unchanged 11 for the third straight match; it’s the first time the club has used the same 11 players to start four straight matches since April 9-May 1, 2022. … Sunday was the first game back in Philadelphia for Callaghan, the former Union assistant. Callaghan was hired on July 3, 2024. Nashville’s 3-0 loss on July 20 was the last game before Callaghan took charge. Callaghan played at Ursinus and was an assistant at Villanova and St. Joe’s before joining the Union from 2014-19.
Source: Berkshire mont
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