Teenager Cavan Sullivan continued his standout rookie season with two goals and the visiting Philadelphia Union extended their red-hot unbeaten run to 10 games with a 5-0 victory over San Diego FC on Sunday.
Bruno Damiani and Malik Jakupovic added goals as the Union (9-10-6, 33 points) won for the eighth time since the World Cup break to go along with a pair of draws, moving into playoff position in the Eastern Conference. It is the second-longest active unbeaten run in MLS behind a 15-game streak from St. Louis City SC.
Andre Blake made five saves in his third consecutive clean sheet and his sixth on the season.
Duran Ferree failed to make a save for San Diego (8-11-6, 30 points), which saw its losing streak extended to three games.
The first half was nearly scoreless when San Diego FC’s Alejandro Alvarado was initially given a red card for kicking the ball off the head of the Union’s Milan Iloski. Upon a VAR review, the foul was downgraded to a yellow card for a reckless play rather than a dangerous one.
The Union ended up benefiting anyway with five more minutes added to the first half. Sullivan used the extra time to give Philadelphia a 1-0 lead, extending his goal-contribution streak to seven games.
The 16-year-old Sullivan was at it again in the 62nd minute when he scored from a sharp angle from the left side of goal past Ferree. It gave Sullivan the first multi-goal game of his career on his sixth tally of the season.
Damiani made it 3-0 in the 67th minute with a right-footed shot from the center of the box. Frankie Westfield and Sullivan each recorded assists on the play.
The Union scored for a fourth time on an own goal from San Diego’s Anibal Godoy in the 87th minute, while Jakupovic’s goal came just before the final whistle.
Philadelphia has outscored its opponents 10-0 in its past two games, 12-0 in the past three and 15-1 over the last four going back to Aug. 29.
–Field Level Media
