By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher
Chester, Pa. — The Philadelphia Union players voiced their displeasure with the Sérgio Santos trade earlier Friday. Santos was sent packing to FC Cincinnati.
Hours later, the Union put on their best performance in franchise history. The Union defeated D.C. United 7-0 on Friday night at Subaru Park.
“We weren’t perfect by any stretch, but I’d say the first half is about as close as you can get,” Union head coach Jim Curtin said. “If you were to say Philadelphia Union soccer: Keep a clean sheet, don’t give up a shot on goal, and also put the other team under pressure and score relentlessly – that’s us at our best.
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“So, full credit to the players. They’ve worked very hard. It’s a group that’s had a lot of ties and a lot of frustration, but it’s a group that also doesn’t get beat. We have a bunch of winners in this group, and tonight was a good reward for them, a good reward for the fans and I think also a message to the league that we are a good defensive team, but we can also score goals.”
The seven goals were the most goals in a game in franchise history. They had six goals three times previous.
On May 28th, 2011, the Union scored six goals at Toronto. Then, the team scored six goals on October 22nd, 2017 against Orlando. And the final six-goal performance came on May 4, 2019, against New England.
With the win, the Union improved to 8-9-2. Philadelphia holds a narrow lead (1 point) over the New York Red Bulls, who have 32 points.
D.C. United is in the basement of the Eastern Conference. The team has a 5-2-10 record for 17 points.
The United are currently tied with the Chicago Fire with the aforementioned 17 points.
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Julián Carranza led the Union with three goals. He had two goals in the first half in the 22nd and 25th minute. Then, added another goal in the 72nd minute.
“Obviously certain goals he scored tonight I can’t teach or take credit for – obviously the overhead kick is unbelievable, just an instinct of a pure goal-scorer,” Curtin said. “I gave him a high-five at the end of the game. I said we both mentioned the word (Valentin Castellanos) again in the mid-week press conference, and that’s what he has in him. He has that ability to be a pest defensively but also finish plays off. He’s that good of a striker. He’s got that instinct in and around the goal to make plays.
Alejandro Bedoya and Mikael Uhre each scored two goals. Bedoya scored his first goal in the ninth minute. He added another goal in the 37th minute.
Uhre scored in the 45+2 in the first half. He scored his second goal in the 59th minute.
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