On an unseasonably cold, wet, and windy night at Subaru Park, the Philadelphia Union (MLS) pressured the Pittsburgh Riverhounds (USL-C) early and often, coming away with a 4-1 win in front of their home crowd.
With the win, Philadelphia advances to the US Open Cup Quarterfinals for the first time since 2018 and the sixth time in club history (2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2025). The win also extends the Union’s home unbeaten streak to 13 games, the fourth-longest such streak in the Modern Era (1995-present). Philadelphia’s last home loss was in the 2014 US Open Cup Final against the Seattle Sounders.
After Thursday’s draw, Philadelphia will host the New York Red Bulls in the Quarterfinals the week of July 8-9.
“When we play at Subaru Park, we control the game,” head coach Bradley Carnell said. “It’s important to stay on the gas and prevent the opponent from controlling the game’s pace.”
The Union did just that on Wednesday night against the Riverhounds.
“We knew from the last time we played Indy that these games are no walkovers,” Carnell said about his team’s performance against Pittsburgh. “We wanted to set ourselves a chance and make sure in the stretch that we are in that we got the job done.”
Philadelphia earned an early penalty kick in the 14th minute when TheCup.us Round 4 Player of the Round Roberto Ydrach’s hand contacted the ball inside the box. Bruno Damiani stepped up to the mark, burying the ball into the back of the net and putting the hosts up early.
Pittsburgh looked to have an equalizing chance of its own, but Danny Griffin’s shot off a corner kick went wide of the net. The Hounds’ two attempts late in the first half were stymied by Union keeper Andrew Rick who dove to stop Griffin’s attempt off a set piece before falling on Bertin Jacquesson’s follow up chance.
Off a quick counter attack of their own, the Union doubled their lead. In extra time Indiana Vassilev slotted home a Quinn Sullivan pass, giving the hosts some breathing room heading into the break.
A nice string of passes and sustained possession paid off for the hosts in the second half. Danley Jean Jacques fired home Damiani’s well-placed pass from inside the box, giving the home side a 3-0 lead in the 54th minute.
Jorge Garcia curled a ball into the right upper 90 of the net, capitalizing on a nice feed from Antoine Williams and putting Pittsburgh on the scoreboard.
Cavan Sullivan, who would have become the youngest goal scorer in known US Open Cup history, had a dangerous shot go wide left as the Union continued to press aggressively in the second half. It was also the first time that he and his brother Quinn both started for the Union in the same game.
Jovan Lukic added a late second-half insurance goal for Philadelphia to secure the dominant win at home.
The Sons of Ben and other Union faithful brought the noise and passion all night long and Union coach Carnell thanked the fans post-game for supporting the club in the conditions, “First I’d like to thank the fans. It’s never easy coming to Chester when it’s raining and miserable. Credit to the fans who came out. We really appreciate that.”