Milan Iloski, Cavan Sullivan and Neil Pierre each scored goals Saturday night as the visiting Philadelphia Union continued their surge up the East table with a 3-1 decision over Red Bull New York.
Iloski added an assist for Philadelphia (6-10-6, 24 points), which improved to 5-0-2 in its seven matches since the World Cup break. The Union moved within two points of RBNY (7-10-5, 26 points) for eighth in the East.
Philadelphia came within 16 minutes of a clean sheet before Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting scored in the 74th minute for New York. But it wasn’t enough to keep it from falling to 1-5-1 in its seven matches since the World Cup break.
Despite New York owning possession for 58.7% of the fixture, the Union boasted a 20-13 advantage in shots and put five shots on frame to RBNY’s four.
The prematch storylines concerned the matchup of teenage stars. The 16-year-old Sullivan has fueled Philadelphia’s fine form lately and 18-year-old Julian Hall, who earned a four-year contract extension earlier in the week after scoring 12 goals across all competitions this year, has become the face of RBNY.
Hall made a pair of dangerous runs early, although offsides flags rendered one useless and the other one resulted in a corner kick that RBNY couldn’t cash into the initial goal.
Moments later, Iloski initiated scoring when the Union overloaded the six-yard box. Indiana Vassilev set him up at the goal mouth for a tap-in goal in the 21st minute.
Sullivan upped the margin to 2-0 in the 50th minute. Taking Danley Jean Jacques’ pass, Sullivan dribbled towards the middle of the 18-yard box and wired a shot into the left corner.
Pierre converted off a pretty set piece in the 65th minute. Iloski took a free kick that was headed by Bruno Damiani to the right foot of Pierre, who tapped it into the right corner.
It was Philadelphia’s second 3-1 win over RBNY in just over a month.
–Field Level Media
