Perhaps it was proximity to being on the other side of such a beating so recently, but Bradley Carnell kept it even-keeled from the first Saturday night.
Or perhaps it is proximity to a piece of hardware.
Yes, a 6-0 clubbing of D.C. United was to be savored by the Philadelphia Union. For a club that had preached not getting too low after a 7-0 drubbing in Vancouver two weeks ago, understandably the impulse was to respond by not getting too high.
But the Union (19-7-6, 63 points) had the dream day for the third-to-last matchday of the season, beyond tying the franchise record for wins in a season and continuing domination over their nearest neighbor to the south.
Paired with Inter Miami’s 1-1 draw with Toronto earlier, the Union retook control of their destiny in the Shield race. They also benefitted from Vancouver dropping points at Seattle and San Diego being dealt a shock defeat by San Jose at home.
If the Union win their last two matches — vs. New York City FC on Saturday, at Charlotte in three weeks — they would reach 69 points, a level no other team can hit. In fact, if Cincinnati drops points late Sunday night and Miami doesn’t win Tuesday against Chicago, the Union could have a chance to clinch the trophy this weekend at home.
“Really proud of the guys for a big week that we put in and the way we’re a galvanized group together and have stuck together,” Carnell said. “We had to ride a few waves early on in the game. And I just thought it was good to see us back at our transition best”.
The win is another chapter in the Union’s D.C. dominance.
Over the last nine games against D.C., the Union are 7-0-2, having scored 36 goals and allowed a mere three. Over the last 19 meetings in all locations since D.C. United christened Audi Field, the Union are 13-3-3 against their nearest neighbor to the south with 58 goals scored. It’s the second time they’ve beaten D.C. 6-0 at Audi Field, having done so in 2022 to augment a 7-0 result in Chester.
Indiana Vassilev scored twice. Mikael Uhre, who entered in the 12th minute for the injured Quinn Sullivan, had a goal, forced an own goal and added two assists. Milan Iloski scored and had a hand in three more goals. And Bruno Damiani scored for the third time in four games to go with an assist.
They weathered some early struggles, D.C. having early possession and Jared Stroud hitting the woodwork twice before the game got lopsided. But the introduction of Uhre and the ability to get Iloski on the ball shifted the game beyond what D.C., which slips into last in the East, could handle.
“The guys executed really well,” Carnell said. “The spaces were there. We’ve been trying to play through a little bit too much for our liking. It was good to get on the move again and in behind. And when you have a guy like Mikael in the team and a guy like Bruno holding up the play and battling and occupying two center backs, and then all of a sudden, Mikael slips off your shoulder and he’s gone in behind. It brings a different depth and a dimension to our attacking game.”
Uhre, who entered with five goals and two assists in just over 400 minutes against D.C. United in his career, blistered them again. He stretched the field with a looping run off the outside shoulder of a center back that Iloski spied, and the Dane squared a ball that Damiani tapped home in the 17th.
Damiani’s ball in the 34th found Uhre near the penalty spot, and Uhre let fly off the leg of center back Lucas MacNaughton, off the chest of left back Conner Antley and looping over goalie Jordan Parr for a 2-0 lead.
It was three by half, Iloski pounding a shot from 24 yards out that Parr padded down. Vassilev tiptoed past a half-dozen DC players to get to the doorstep and nudge home the rebound.
Iloski curled one into the side netting just before the halftime break in a bid for 4. It only took until the 49th, Iloski at the top of the box slipping a 22-yard shot through traffic, perhaps with a deflection.
The goal is Iloski’s 12th of the season in MLS, the first 10 coming with San Diego. It’s his third in all competitions with the Union.
The fifth came in the 50th for Vassilev. Kai Wagner found Uhre into a similar pocket of space wide, and he squared for Vassilev to one-time home his fifth of the campaign. A win by Jovan Lukic in transition sparked a break in the 62nd, and Iloski sent out Uhre to get his goal, a fifth of the campaign.
Source: Berkshire mont
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