Wrexham AFC, the Welsh soccer team owned by Philadelphia native Rob Mac (the former Rob McElhenney), is coming back to town this summer.
And this visit will be its highest-profile one yet.
Subaru Park will host a friendly between Wrexham and Sunderland of the English Premier League at 7 p.m. on Aug. 2. And the Red Dragons also could be a Premier League team by then. They’re currently sixth in England’s second-tier Championship with 11 games to go. If they hold on, they’d go into the playoffs for promotion to the top flight.
Wrexham will play three games in the U.S. this summer, all on the East Coast, with the final match here. It also will face Leeds United on July 25 at Tampa’s NFL stadium and Liverpool on July 29 at New York’s Yankee Stadium.
Rob Mac (left) at a tailgate event for his beloved Eagles last fall.
Wrexham last came to Subaru Park in the summer of 2023. At the time, the club had just been promoted from England’s fifth tier to its fourth, League Two, so it played the Union’s reserve team instead of a higher-level squad. But the game still drew around 15,000 fans, with the vast majority wearing red. Mac called it “a dream come true.”
Liverpool’s visits to the United States always draw big crowds, with Philadelphia among the examples. Two years ago, the Reds’ friendly against Arsenal drew 69,879 fans to Lincoln Financial Field, the largest soccer crowd in the stadium’s history. That record likely will stand for a while, since see some seats will removed near the field for security and logistics reasons because of the World Cup.
Leeds coming over also will be of interest. It’s the first time the historic English club has come to the United States since its return to Premier League prominence in 2020. (In fact, it will be Leeds’ first visit to the U.S. in 29 years.)
It could also be the first time Medford native Brenden Aaronson plays in the U.S. with Leeds, if he stays at the club through the summer and depending on his summer schedule post-World Cup.
Medford’s Brenden Aaronson (left) playing for Leeds United against Manchester United in January.
After facing Wrexham, Leeds will play Sunderland in Harrison, N.J., on July 30, just 11 days after the World Cup final in nearby East Rutherford. They’ll then head to Chicago to play Liverpool at Soldier Field on Aug. 2.
The Union are off on July 30, which would make it easier for fans around here who want to see Aaronson play in person.
Kickoff times and broadcast details aren’t set yet.
All of the games are being run by TEG Sport, the promoter that brought Arsenal-Liverpool here. The company will open up presale tickets on March 10, and fans can register here. Sales to the general public will start March 12.
Wrexham’s friendly against the Union’s reserve squad in 2023 drew over 15,000 fans to Subaru Park, the vast majority rooting for the Welsh club.
The full schedule of games in the tour is below.
Saturday, July 25: Wrexham vs. Leeds United at Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Fla.; Liverpool vs. Sunderland at GEODIS Park, Nashville
Wednesday, July 29: Liverpool vs Wrexham at Yankee Stadium, New York
Thursday July 30: Leeds United vs. Sunderland at Sports Illustrated Stadium, Harrison, N.J.
Sunday, Aug. 2:Sunderland vs. Wrexham at Subaru Park; Leeds United vs Liverpool at Soldier Field, Chicago.
NEW YORK — If someone starts making money somewhere, the Big Apple often isn’t far behind trying to claim a piece.
So when Philadelphia’s hosting of Unrivaled’s women’s basketball league banked $2 million in revenue, turning profits for the league and Comcast, it wasn’t surprising that this city wanted in.
Nor was it surprising that Unrivaled wanted it too. The three-on-three circuit and Brooklyn’s Barclays Center had already talked about next season, but a deal quickly came together to move this season’s playoff semifinals here. It was a natural fit for a venue renowned for drawing some of the WNBA’s biggest and loudest crowds to New York Liberty games.
“When this opportunity came up, they jumped right on it,” Paige Bueckers of Breeze BC and the Dallas Wings said. “I played here a couple times before, and the atmosphere in the arena is just electric. [Philadelphia] was everything that we could have dreamed that it would be, and so it’s obviously an opportunity that we want to take advantage of again.”
Paige Bueckers (right) working against Arike Ogunbowale in the Breeze vs. Mist semifinal.
How would this scene compare to Xfinity Mobile Arena’s record crowd of 21,490, as the city unleashed itself from a 28-year-wait to see professional women’s basketball in person?
Natasha Cloud played diplomat, being both a Broomall native and Liberty fan favorite.
“This is just a testament to the demand [for] women’s basketball right now,” the Phantom BC guard said. “This [night] is going to sell out tonight again, just like Philly did. And this is why we’re going to continue to stand on our worth and our value because when you give the product, the demand is there.”
One could guess that New York would deliver more cash. Fans here will pay up for a big show, and the Barclays Center recently added swaths of new luxury seating.
Before Monday’s games, Unrivaled CEO Alex Bazzell met with the media and said, “this is already a profitable trip,” including over $1 million in ticket revenue alone.
Natasha Cloud (left) defending Brittney Griner during the Phantom vs. Vinyl semifinal.
Philadelphia keeps a record
He also was unabashed in drawing a straight line from Unrivaled’s success in Philadelphia to going on the road again a few weeks later. This night came together in just three weeks, from landing the building to selling it out.
“To be honest with you, it was somewhat of an internal split room on, ‘Should we pull the trigger on this? Should we not?’” he said. “Coming off Philly and having that great success was one thing, but it was also we had time to strategize and plan [and] had a great partner like Xfinity come in behind it and help amplify it [as a sponsor].”
In the end, the executives trusted their gut and were rewarded.
“This was all organic,” Bazzell said. “We can look at all the data that you want, but, ultimately, the decision came down to: We didn’t play it safe to build this league, so we don’t start playing it safe now. That’s not in our DNA.”
On one count, Brooklyn always was going to land far short of Philadelphia. The Barclays Center is a much smaller venue than Xfinity Mobile Arena, and its full house Monday was 18,261.
So Philadelphia gets something to claim while it waits for its own WNBA team in 2030, and it’s a mark that could stand for a while. Just three pro basketball arenas nationwide have larger capacities: Detroit, Washington, and Chicago.
“Philly was amazing, from everything that I saw and from talking to everybody that came back,” Brittney Griner, a star of Vinyl BC and the Atlanta Dream, said after watching those games from afar. “It looked amazing on TV — they packed out that stadium. It shows how much women’s basketball is growing and there’s a love and there’s a need and people want to come and watch.”
Breanna Stewart, one of Unrivaled’s cofounders, said, “the conversation from the players was just a tremendous amount of appreciation” for the turnout.
“What I think is probably the coolest about Philly is we went to a non-WNBA city,” she said. “People came, and they cared, and whether they had to travel in [or] all those types of things, it showed how big of a deal it is.”
Looking at a return
Of course, the superstar of Mist BC and the New York Liberty admitted her bias toward Brooklyn, as one would expect. And since this was a playoff game, she had to earn the right to play in it.
“Ever since I knew that this was possible … for it to come to fruition and full circle that fast is something that I couldn’t wait to be a part of,” she said. “Like, my team needed to be here in the semis. I didn’t want to come as a spectator; I wanted to be playing.”
Stewart duly delivered, willing Mist to a 73-69 win with a fourth-quarter comeback that had the crowd roaring. She piled up 23 points, eight rebounds, and five assists, dishing the last to Arike Ogunbowale for a game-sealing three-pointer on the Wings star’s birthday.
Bazzell confirmed there are plans to keep touring next season, and there’s a lot of “inbound interest” from potential hosts. He didn’t name specific cities, but he did say preliminary talks with the Barclays Center had started with looking at next year instead of this one.
— Unrivaled Basketball (@Unrivaledwbb) March 3, 2026
He also said “going to cities that really don’t get to see these stars up close” matters. And he threw the door wide-open to a return to Philadelphia, though it might not happen next season
“We want to find our way back to Philly,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s next year, the following year, or the year after — we do want to hit new markets. … There’s obviously other NBA markets we still want to think about going to. So I would anticipate new venues, new cities next year when we do announce our [schedule].”
The last word goes to a player who was a star of both touring nights. Kelsey Plum led Phantom BC to a win in Philadelphia and another here, this time scoring 31 points in an 83-75 victory over Vinyl. A longtime villain in Brooklyn from past years with the Las Vegas Aces, this time she was roundly cheered.
“Basketball cities, right? And I think they just love the game,” she said. “I thought everyone put on a show, and that’s what you want for the fans.”
As the Union inflicted another loss upon themselves Sunday night, Matt Freese mostly got to just stand there and watch.
The Wayne native wasn’t really challenged until the late stages of his side’s 2-1 win at Subaru Park. In his sixth game for New York City FC against the team he grew up with, Freese didn’t face an official shot on target until the 54th minute, and the biggest save of his five didn’t come until the 80th.
Sure, there was Indiana Vassilev’s penalty kick equalizer in the 89th, followed by 10 minutes of stoppage time. But once Olwethu Makhanya was sent off for a second yellow card three minutes later, the field tilted back the other way, leading to Tayvon Gray’s eventual winner.
It might be a while before Freese has another day that easy, whether a Sunday or any other. In fact, many will soon be quite the opposite.
Three weeks from now, the 27-year-old goalkeeper will head to the U.S. men’s soccer team’s last training camp and games before the World Cup roster is set. Freese will arrive in Atlanta as the expected starter, a position he has done enough to keep while others have done too little to challenge him.
Along with the internal competition, Freese will be challenged by world powers Belgium and Portugal on the 28th and 31st. Both games will draw big crowds to Mercedes-Benz Stadium, with a sellout expected for the latter since it could be Cristiano Ronaldo’s first game on U.S. soil in 12 years.
Of all the positional battles to come in that camp, goalkeeper won’t be the most-watched. Centerback, central midfielder, attacking midfielder, and striker will all rank higher – which is every position except outside back.
But there will still be plenty of scrutiny on the net. Critics will pounce if Freese slips up, whether or not Matt Turner, Patrick Schulte, or any other candidate steps up to challenge him. Goalkeeper has been the U.S. team’s most solid position for decades, and it remains quietly awkward that right now it isn’t.
Matt Freese (center) in net during the U.S. men’s team’s game at Subaru Park last November.
Excitement for ‘big stages’
Freese isn’t thinking about that yet. He has enough on his plate with a New York team that hopes to silence its own critics, who see a starless roster.
“I’m just thinking about taking everything day by day, game by game,” he told The Inquirer. “I’m going to play some soccer today, and I’m going to play some soccer tomorrow, and [am] just going to continue on like that. So I’m really just focused on being present and improving every day, and making sure I’m ready for anything.”
“It’s a big stage, but I love big stages, I love big moments,” Freese said, “And the thing with big moments is, great preparation leads to great opportunities, and so that’s what I’m focused on: the preparation part.”
Matt Freese jumping to catch a ball in the air during the first half.
As it happens, Freese’s pre-World Cup schedule with New York is stacked with storylines. He’ll face the league’s three biggest stars, starting with Lionel Messi’s Miami on March 22 — the day before he goes to U.S. camp. Not many people these days get to face Messi and Ronaldo in a span of 10 days, and even fewer get to say they’ll host one of them at Yankee Stadium.
Later in the spring, Freese will visit Thomas Müller’s Vancouver, and host Son Heung-Min’s Los Angeles FC in Queens, the heart of New York’s big Korean population. He’ll also line up across from Schulte’s Columbus Crew, though he won’t face Turner’s New England Revolution until later in the year.
And for good measure, he’ll cross paths with Downingtown native Zack Steffen for just the second time. Steffen is out of the World Cup race at this point, but at least the duo might have some stories to swap.
On top in a growing rivalry
“Really, again, just focused on taking everything game by game,” Freese said. “In order to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best, and obviously this league at this point has, really, some of the best players in the world. It’ll be some big moments in the next two months of the games you’re talking about, but really just more focused on preparing for Orlando now [New York’s next opponent] after relaxing tonight.”
His use of “relaxing” was timely, given how much he could relax during the game. No one knows better how much of a rivalry the Union and New York City now have, except for maybe his old teammate Andre Blake.
“I think it’s just a matchup that brings the best out of each other,” Freese said. “I think it’s interestingly conflicting soccer philosophies, and I think that creates a really interesting game where we have to find different parts of us, and they have to find different parts of themselves. I think it really results in the two teams growing interestingly.”
This time, once again, the Union did not find different parts of themselves. After winning six of seven games against the Pigeons from 2022-24, New York has now won three of the last four, with Freese in net for all of them. And this time, he didn’t have to work too hard for it.
“It’s just part of the position, and that’s why I do so much work on staying in the present,” he said. “And just feeling the moment, and staying mentally engaged, staying vocally engaged, and physically engaged, following the game, and being ready for anything.”
He’ll have to be ready for a lot from now until the summer, and perhaps beyond.
March was six hours away when the ball was tipped at the Palestra on Saturday, and it had been a while since that mattered for Penn’s men.
Fran McCaffery’s squad has clearly improved over the course of this season, but just how much has been hard to tell at times. A senior night showdown with tied-for-first Harvard offered a proper test, and a win would clinch the Quakers’ first Ivy League tournament berth in three years.
Which Penn team would show up?
The one that fell behind Dartmouth by 12 points a night before, or the one that rallied to win? The one that nearly threw away a late lead to Princeton at the start of the month, or the one that finally ended a 14-game, eight-year losing streak to its historic rival?
All of them, it turned out. Penn trailed 31-21 at halftime, then charged back to lead 56-50 with 5 minutes, 37 seconds to play. But the Quakers almost gave it up before holding on to win, 64-61.
There was plenty of noise from the 2,877 fans on hand at the buzzer, a reminder that even a paltry crowd can make a great atmosphere at the 99-year-old shrine. It might have been as much out of relief as anything else, but it was still a release.
“I think that’s what makes it emotional, is we’ve been so close,” senior forward Ethan Roberts said after his Palestra finale. “So to see these wins and the season transpire the way it did, we’re in a great spot, and we just learned from it. We kept fighting, and it was ugly at times, but it just makes it all worth it.”
It’s easy to say that this Penn team goes as far as TJ Power takes it. He took it to an extreme on Friday, scoring 38 of his team’s 80 points against the Big Green. But Roberts matters too, and this was his best game in weeks: 21 points, three assists, and four rebounds, including the game-sealer in the closing seconds.
“I kind of blacked out after the buzzer hit,” Roberts said. “Our team, our entire year since last summer when we had the coaching change [and] we see coach McCaffery is coming here, it’s like, ‘All right, we’re winning.’ And to see we’re in this position today … this is literally all we’ve worked for. This has been our north star.”
Penn’s AJ Levine (left) and forward Ethan Roberts celebrate after the final buzzer.
AJ Levine, the sophomore starting point guard, is another big factor — and not always in a good way. He’s a tenacious defender, and is capable of great passes and shots. But he’s also capable of driving into any lane in front of him, even if it’s a trap.
It’s not a coincidence that he played much more within himself in the second half of conference play, and that Penn went 6-1 in those seven games.
“He’s always going to have an aggressive mindset, and you don’t ever want to take that away from him,” McCaffery said, with a towel draped over his shoulders after a postgame water-dousing in the locker room. “He gets emotional, and you don’t want to take that away from him either, but you can’t let it get you to where you’re focused on, ‘I got a bad call,’ or ‘He [a teammate] should have cut backdoor.’ When he’s under control and he’s locked in like he was in the second half, he’s really good.”
What to know about the Ivy League tournament
Now, after the regular-season finale at Brown on Friday, it will be off to Cornell’s arena for a rematch with the Crimson in the Ivy tournament semifinals. All four seeds are set with a game to spare.
AJ Levine drives for a layup during the second half.
“It’s great feeling as a coach when you know you have a group of guys that have bought in from day one since I got here, and want to experience success,” McCaffery said. “And then to see them celebrate in the locker room — the thing we have to do now, and they both [Roberts and Levine] said it, which is good, is we have to stay locked in. We earned an opportunity. We have to play well next week, and then get ready to play well against two really good teams.”
(If you’re wondering, there’s no word when the event will next be at the Palestra. All that’s known is the 2027 edition will be at Dartmouth, and Hanover, N.H., is as glamorous as central New York is in mid-March.)
No. 1 Yale will be the favorite on paper, No. 66 in the NCAA’s NET rating while the other three teams are all in the 150s. But the top seed has only won the tournament twice in its seven editions, as the five-time finalist Bulldogs know well.
This time, they’ll have to beat the hosts in the semis. Yale won its home game vs. Cornell in a 102-68 blowout, then the Big Red won the regular-season round in Ithaca on Friday on a last-second three.
FIEGEN CALLED GAME.
Jake Fiegen's game winning 3⃣ secured a 72-69 win for the Big Red over Yale. @cornell_mbb improved to 6-6 in league play with the win and remains in the thick of the Ivy Madness race. 🌿🏀 pic.twitter.com/Mu4E99K3sg
Penn and Harvard also split their games, with the Crimson winning by 64-63 in Boston on Jan. 19.
“There’s the frustrating losses, there’s the hard-fought wins like today,” Levine said. “When that buzzer went off and I realized what we’ve done — and how it’s just the start, really, because we’re going to go compete there — I mean, it felt amazing to just see that hard work pay off a little bit. But it will really pay off when we go up there and we do what we do.”
Those words might have been a little too accurate for their own good. Still, they have a chance, and that’s more than Penn could say the last two seasons.
When U.S. Soccer Federation sporting director Matt Crocker asked for the youth game’s help at last month’s United Soccer Coaches Convention, not a lot of people were in the room to hear it.
But that doesn’t mean his message wasn’t received.
There was significant interest, including from two of the most prominent figures in the Philadelphia region’s youth soccer scene.
“Our soccer ecosystem has needed this for a long time,” Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer CEO Chris Branscome said. “There has been a growing chorus of voices supporting more direction from the top. The current administration at U.S. Soccer, led by Cindy Cone and JT Batson, have heard us and has taken on the responsibility.”
Branscome’s counterpart across the Delaware River, New Jersey Youth Soccer CEO Evan Dabby, agreed.
“I have been in my role at New Jersey Youth Soccer for about 12 years now, and I don’t recall a time that U.S. Soccer has been more engaged with the youth soccer members,” Dabby said. “As a leader at a state association, I believe New Jersey Youth Soccer can benefit from a clear national vision and more national alignment, and those themes are present in Matt’s words.”
It’s noteworthy that state-level leaders are willing to be led from the top. That hasn’t always been the case, and it doesn’t necessarily mean that every local youth club has the same view.
But there’s a long history of youth administrators telling U.S. Soccer to stop ordering them around, and this time the tone does seem different. From the room where Crocker spoke in January to the one where he spoke at last year’s coaches’ convention, the reception has been, if not always warm, at least quite a bit warmer.
“It’s important to us that he’s not just focused on the national teams; he’s focused on all players at all levels,” said Branscome, who also serves as one of 10 commissioners on U.S. Soccer’s youth council. Its chair is U.S. Youth Soccer board of directors chair Tina Rincon, and co-chairs include veteran U.S. Club Soccer CEO Mike Cullina.
“We’re working collectively and collaboratively to define our player pathways and provide more resources,” Branscome said. “It won’t be easy, but it’s necessary. It’s a major focus for us over the next few years. We’ve seen that dollars over development doesn’t necessarily help us grow the game or make players better.”
He added that “the game inherently doesn’t require high costs, but that’s what’s happened here.”
Those words undoubtedly will get lots of agreement, even if there’s perennial disagreement on how to bring costs down. Whatever the cost to a player’s family, there’s still a bill being paid somewhere.
One obvious way to make things cheaper is to reduce travel distances for teams. More than once in Crocker’s speech last month, he noted how difficult it is for clubs to play local opponents because they’re in different leagues.
“That team can’t play that team, and they go all the way past them and jump on a plane and spend hundreds of dollars to go and play [another] team because that league fell out with that league,” he said. “Just crazy. This is about children. This is about the best opportunities for children.”
Dabby found those words “motivating,” as he did when he heard another of Crocker’s speeches to U.S. Soccer donors and sponsors in December.
He noted that New Jersey Youth Soccer recently launched an Open Cup tournament for teams from any league in the state. MLS, where Dabby used to work, gave an assist to get clubs in its MLS Next leagues into the event. But he made it clear that the competition was created with “not just the New Jersey Youth Soccer community.”
Eastern Pennsylvania Youth Soccer makes regular use of the Union’s WSFS Bank Sportplex in Chester for its tournaments.
Branscome said Eastern Pennsylvania would like to have a similar event, but it hasn’t been able to get the entities that would be involved to agree on a schedule.
“It’s unfortunate that your neighboring club doesn’t play your rivals anymore because they are in other member organizations of the Federation,” he said. “It’s almost like the Big 5.”
‘Saying these things out loud’
The most significant point Crocker made — and the one that will be hardest to execute on — was calling on the youth game to value player development more and winning less.
He knew, as does everyone around the game, how tall a hill that is to climb. Can Crocker be the one who finally convinces a youth club coach to risk their job by winning less or convinces a parent who believes winning is the best way to a college scholarship?
“Soccer in the U.S. has entrepreneurialism and a culture of winning attached to our player development,” Branscome said. “Matt knows that’s not the right learning environment and wants to raise the standards. It’s great that someone in Matt’s position is finally saying these things out loud and providing support to the grassroots.”
Matt Crocker (left) walking with U.S. men’s national team manager Mauricio Pochettino at a game last year.
If you’re an outsider to this, it might be hard to believe there’s so much fuss. But there is, and has been for a long time.
Crocker is the latest of U.S. Soccer’s leaders to try to untangle the knot. So far, his effort has been a bit more polite than some of his predecessors. Will it work?
“What I might appreciate above all else is Matt refers to children, not players,” Branscome said, and Crocker has done that emphatically in some of his remarks. That the Wales native has come in as an outsider has led him to say things that insiders perhaps wouldn’t say aloud. One of them is that for a lot of people in youth soccer, the children playing matter less than the adult decision-makers.
“Soccer provides various opportunities for children and they learn and mature at different speeds,” Branscome said. “Matt knows coaches need to be educators and keep development at the forefront of the experience.”
Crocker has a long way to go to get to where he wants to be. But it’s always nice to have support, and he’d probably be pleased to know he has it around here.
It took a long time to seal the deal, but the Union finally have their new starting left back.
The team’s signing of Philippe Ndinga, a 20-year-old from Swedish first-division club Degerfors, became official on Friday. A source with knowledge of the matter told The Inquirer that the Union agreed a transfer fee of around $1 million, plus incentive-based bonuses.
“Philippe is a dynamic defender with the ability to play confidently with both feet, which gives us valuable flexibility in the back line,” Union manager Bradley Carnell said in a statement. “His aggressive style of defending fits our system well, and we’re excited to welcome him to the club.”
Because of Ndinga’s age, he qualified for MLS’s Under-22 initiative, which means the transfer fee won’t affect the salary cap. (Transfer fees usually count in the budget math for MLS teams, but under-22 players get preset cap hits of up to $200,000.)
3-1 Degerfors! Philippe Ndinga med en dunderträff 🎯
Ndinga was born in Libreville, Gabon, and spent his late teens coming up through French lower-league clubs. His international affiliation is with Congo, and he played three games for the country’s under-23 team last summer.
He took his first professional step last August when he signed with Degerfors of Sweden’s top flight. It didn’t take long for him to get attention from elsewhere, with suitors reportedly including Los Angeles FC, the Houston Dynamo, and Greece’s Panathinaikos.
Ndinga hasn’t finished all of the required visa paperwork, even though the contract is signed, so he can’t play in a game for the Union yet.
“I would say a couple of days still before we can welcome him here to Philly,” Carnell said in a news conference Friday afternoon, ahead of Sunday’s game against New York City FC (4:30 p.m., Apple TV). “Still a couple of things to iron out and a couple appointments to be had in Sweden. I don’t want to put days on it, but probably another week, week and a half.”
Carnell also referred to “dealing with visas, and applications, and timelines from embassies and governments and what have you.”
Ndinga also hasn’t played in an official game since Nov. 9, so he might need some time to get back to full fitness.
Welcome to Philly, Philippe!
Philadelphia Union have acquired defender Philippe Ndinga on a permanent transfer from Degerfors IF.
“We’ll put that in the hands of Ryan Cotter to do the baseline testing,” Carnell said, referring to the Union’s head of performance. He added that Cotter and Ndinga have already been in contact.
“If he now joins in 10 days’ time and then it takes a week or two to get up and ready — I mean, yeah, it’s possible to start [and] hit the ground running,” Carnell said. “We’ve seen it with players who’ve left into other leagues and not been match-ready and play already [in] games. So it is possible, just depending on the individual and depending how fit they are coming in.”
Frankie Westfield will stay atop the left back depth chart until Ndinga is settled in, though he’s currently sidelined with a minor hamstring injury. Once Ndinga gets going, Westfield will be able to switch to right back.
The Union loaned forward Markus Anderson to Brooklyn FC of the second-tier USL Championship. Midfielder CJ Olney also likely is going on loan there, a source with knowledge of the matter told The Inquirer.
Brooklyn’s manager is former Union reserve team coach Marlon LeBlanc, so he knows both players well.
If you wondered why this Union game, out of all of them, landed on a good TV channel, you weren’t alone.
The answer wasn’t just because FS1 had some time to spare at the hour when the Union’s second leg against Defence Force FC kicked off. Or just because Fox wanted to showcase the Concacaf Champions Cup, though that’s always welcome.
No, the appeal was in televising (there’s that word again) Cavan Sullivan. He’s on the list of MLS players whom people want to see, and on Thursday, they could see him on a channel that also shows the Phillies and Villanova.
The game was another blowout win, 7-0, to make a 12-0 aggregate score. But the audience, including a sparse crowd at Subaru Park, got what it came for.
CAVAN SULLIVAN SCORES HIS FIRST GOAL FOR THE PHILADELPHIA UNION 🇺🇸👏
A fantastic night for the 16-year-old, who finished the match with a brace and two assists in his first start of the season. The USMNT might have a new star on their hands ⭐️pic.twitter.com/Ihi7kOuZl8
Sullivan scored his first two goals for the Union’s first team, and delivered two well-placed assists, too. Even better, not only were his parents, Brendan and Heike, and brother, Quinn, in the stands, but so were his uncle, Danny; cousin, Jackson; and grandparents, Kathleen and Larry — the latter the dean of Philadelphia soccer’s most famous family.
The goals will get the most attention, especially the first one. In the 76th minute, Sullivan teamed up with Ezekiel Alladoh to force a turnover off pressing, then ran into the open space with the ball and shot home. His second tally, in the 88th, was a close-range slide on the goal line to cap off a counterattack he led upfield.
But the assists bear highlighting because those plays were part of why the goals could come later. The first assist was a back-heel in tight space to Stas Korzeniowski in the 12th minute, and his second was a floated pass to Ben Bender in the 53rd. They were good plays, but, importantly, they were part of teamwide actions.
Last week, after Sullivan played very well in the first game of this series, Union manager Bradley Carnell said he had “seen a lot more maturity from Cavan over the last couple of weeks.” Thursday’s first hour or so was another example.
Sullivan mostly kept it simple with good passing and movement. He did the defensive work too, with a few tackles and the pressing that the Union demand from every player.
“I’m still very critical in certain moments,” Carnell said with a laugh, but he definitely was pleased. “You can see Cavan tries in the final third to make every moment a moment that counts, which is great, and we like that about Cav.”
The second goal also was part of a teamwide move and had Sullivan thinking about something he’d learned beyond the Union’s film room.
“It’s something I’m working on every day, just slowing the game down, learning when to drive and accelerate, and learning when to just find the safe space,” he said. “It’s something I work on with my dad a lot and with the coaches.”
Later in the play, the voice in his head became that of Lieutenant Larry, as generations of players from St. Joseph’s, Villanova, Father Judge, and Camden Catholic called him.
“Like my grandfather always says, ‘Get in the box,’” Cavan said, “and I was there to just tap it in.”
Yes, sir, and Larry was there to see it. Cavan spoke about that too, with some emotion.
“I think it embodies what us Sullivans are about, in being there for each other,” he said. “Being there when we’re down, but also when we’re up. I’m thankful that they were all here to watch me play, and I dedicate this to them because without them, I wouldn’t be here.”
Malik Jakupović’s first-team debut
Sullivan wasn’t the only big-time teen to play for the Union on Thursday. Striker Malik Jakupović made his first-team debut as a substitute in the 59th minute.
Though the 16-year-old is on a reserve team contract, Concacaf rules allow him to be on the Champions Cup roster. So the Union added Jakupović and 20-year-old outside back Giovanny Sequera, and the latter started at left back.
Jakupović has garnered media attention and continues to turn heads among scouts. His last game action before Thursday was with the U.S. under-17 national team earlier this month, where he scored eight goals in three games to lead the Americans through Concacaf’s World Cup qualifying tournament.
“We knew he was in a good way with us in preseason, and he goes and shows that with the national team,” Carnell said. “That’s what I said to him tonight, ‘I want to see a bit of what you showed with the national team for us as well.’ He came close once or twice and he worked well to come back in the game and found a good relationship with [Alladoh].”
Malik Jakupović tries a shot on goal that didn’t miss by much.
The next under-17 World Cup is in November in Qatar, and Jakupović could be on a first-team contract before then. He didn’t find the net in this game, but he showed his skill with a pretty cutback in the 69th for a shot that he put just over the bar.
“It’s good to be noticed really young, and now I’m just trying to fight every single day to get more and more, and try and to get better every single day. And at the end of the day, be with the first team fully,” Jakupović said, “… It’s surreal — I mean, I’m a professional, but not professional because I still have to do school and everything — but, yeah, I’m really happy.”
Sullivan and Jakupović got the most attention Thursday, but Korzeniowski also deserves some. In his third game for the Union’s first team, he scored his first two top-flight goals.
Two years ago, he was playing college soccer for Penn on an artificial turf field tucked between Walnut Street and the Amtrak tracks. Now the 23-year-old is making it as a pro.
“For me to go from there to where I am now, it’s a position not many people get to be in, and I recognize that privilege,” he said. “But I’m so excited to be in those positions, and I’m really not afraid by it. If anything I’m very encouraged, because there’s really nothing to lose. It’s just more experience, more opportunity, and to grow from that is all I want to do.”
As for the sparse crowd? That won’t be the case for Sunday’s first MLS home game of the year, a rematch of last year’s playoff game against perennial rival New York City FC. Nor will it be the case when the Union play in the next round of the Champions Cup later in March, against Mexican juggernaut Club América.
The first game of the series will be March 10 at Subaru Park, and the second will be March 18 in Mexico City.
As with the last time these teams met in the tournament, in 2021, the atmosphere should be vibrant and overwhelmingly pro-América. But that is for down the road. Thursday was about talented young players getting a shot, and they took it.
A new behind-the-scenes series on NWSL players features Voorhees native Riley Tiernan as one of the main characters.
NWSL: The Final Third is co-produced by ESPN and two firms the network knows well, Words + Pictures and Omaha Productions. The former has done many 30 for 30 documentaries — and women’s soccer content for other platforms like Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video — and the latter has done a raft of shows with ESPN, including the Monday Night Football Manningcast. (Peyton Manning is one of Omaha’s co-owners.)
The three-episode set is centered on Tiernan, Angel City teammate Christen Press (in her last season as a pro), Kansas City’s Lo’eau LaBonta, and Washington’s Trinity Rodman, Hal Hershfelt, and Esme Morgan.
“I always say the key to making series like this successful is choosing characters who are excited by the opportunity and understand that there is a level of vulnerability that’s required,” said Marie Margolius, the show’s director, who’s a devotee of the sport and played at Harvard. “Riley, specifically, certainly understands that. And I think her trajectory in the league has sort of resonated with people because of her vulnerability and because she’s opened up about the challenged road that she’s had.”
Many viewers will pay attention to Press, a longtime U.S. national team star; and Rodman, the American game’s newest phenom. (Among the series’ fun stories is Rodman’s first-person account of how she met her boyfriend, tennis pro Ben Shelton.) LaBonta also is widely popular among women’s soccer fans, thanks to her vibrant personality and viral goal celebrations.
Tiernan isn’t as well-known yet, partially because last year was her pro debut. But this miniseries might help change that.
‘South Jersey is more gritty’
“It was such a cool opportunity,” Tiernan told The Inquirer. “I think any chance I’m given to do things like that is really important to take. They were great people, and they wanted me to just be as raw and authentic as possible, so I just tried my best to to do that.”
Riley Tiernan with some individual brilliance to shake her defenders and fire it home! pic.twitter.com/UgNbLjRZOh
— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) May 25, 2025
We see Tiernan at her southern California apartment with her boyfriend, former Rutgers pitcher Gavin Stellpflug. They met when Tiernan played soccer for the Scarlet Knights, and he moved west to join her last summer.
“He’s been one of the most supportive people throughout my journey here, especially,” Tiernan said. “So just being able to have him not only be here with me in California, but to also want to be involved in all the opportunities I get, I think it shows how much he really cares and how he’s willing to show up for me — even in times where he might not feel super comfortable being on camera and stuff like that. But, yeah, I can’t thank him enough for just being there for me in every way possible through the good and the tough times.”
The show takes viewers through Tiernan’s rookie season in LA, but also back in time a bit through her growth in South Jersey and at Rutgers.
“I would say South Jersey is more gritty, putting in the dirty work,” Tiernan says in the show, amid a montage of old photos and video clips. It was an easy line for TV to seize, but also one of a few that could draw attention from casual viewers who might see the show and decide to tune in to games. The NWSL craves that audience as much as any other sports league does.
“I’m super wild and crazy and a little bit fearless too, so I think that helps me with sports a lot and difficult situations,” Tiernan says later.
The series includes one of those situations: surviving a preseason tryout with Angel City. That was the only way she could get there, since last year was the first after the NWSL abolished its college draft.
Her debut season included eight goals, the most by any rookie in the league, and a Rookie of the Year nomination. That drew praise from interviewees, including former U.S. women’s national team star Sam Mewis, who now hosts a popular podcast on the Men In Blazers media network.
“You may think she’s going to go out on the field and she’s going be dainty and fast, and she’s going to flick her ponytail,” Mewis says. “Riley is the toughest player on the field. … I just think it’s so impressive what she’s brought to a franchise that is really important to the league.”
Riley Tiernan's 8th goal of her rookie season was a beauty with the left foot 👏 pic.twitter.com/fO68aKZVbI
We also see Tiernan on the night of the NWSL’s inaugural awards show, where she was nominated for Rookie of the Year, though the award ultimately went to Gotham FC defender Lilly Reale.
“She’s a star,” Stellpflug says in one of his cameos. “It’s been crazy to watch. She has a look, she’s got the spirit, she’s got the hunger, the tenacity, and, of course, the talent.”
Julie Uhrman, one of Angel City’s cofounders and its CEO, consoled Tiernan at the event: “You will be MVP next year if I have anything to do with it. You’re amazing. You’re f— amazing. OK? You’re amazing.”
Uhrman will step down from the CEO job at the end of March, transitioning to an advisory role and a seat on the club’s board. But Tiernan isn’t going anywhere: last month, she signed a contract extension through 2028.
What happens next is beyond Hollywood’s control because sports is the ultimate reality show. The NWSL regular season starts March 13, Angel City’s opener is two days later, and from there, Tiernan will get to write her own story on the field.
“Her journey to being a contender for Rookie of the Year is one that is full of resilience and mental fortitude and physical strength that I think is really inspiring,” Margolius said. “She also just has this casual, fun vibe to her that I think is going to be really beneficial for the league and the sport. People are going to root for Riley Tiernan — everybody on the production team, by the end of production, was rooting for Riley Tiernan.”
All three episodes went live in ESPN’s streaming app on Wednesday. They will be televised on ESPN2 on Monday starting at 9 p.m. and will also be available to Disney+ subscribers from March 2-31.
There shouldn’t be too much to worry about at Subaru Park on Thursday in a Concacaf Champions Cup game against Defence Force FC of Trinidad (7 p.m., FS1, TUDN), with the Union bringing a 5-0 aggregate lead into the second leg. But that doesn’t mean all is well.
Outside back Frankie Westfield, centerback Finn Sundstrom, and forward Agustín Anello are dealing with minor injuries at the moment. Westfield is the biggest concern, both because of how his absence impacts the starting lineup and because it’s a hamstring tweak.
“Frankie’s still working on the side, getting closer to the team day by day, and I think that’s his status: day by day,” manager Bradley Carnell said Wednesday. “It’s pretty much all day-to-day stuff [with the trio], and hope to have them back pretty soon.”
Although the Union have a commanding lead in the series, Carnell isn’t taking this game lightly, especially after a loss Saturday at D.C. United in the MLS opener. Another game also quickly follows this one, against rival New York City FC at Subaru Park on Sunday (4:30 p.m., Apple TV.)
“Tomorrow’s halftime of the series, and we have to be fully focused,” he said. “We have a lot of things that we need to work on, and we have a lot of things that we are still not really happy with right now, with our own performance and putting things in our own control. … Regardless of opponent now, we have to take the baton in the hand and really focus on ourselves right now.”
Milan Iloski, who sat next to Carnell on the podium, concurred.
“I think we’re never going to be where we want to be,” Iloski said. “We’re always going to be chasing perfection, but soccer’s a game where it’s never going to be perfect, I think we’re working every day to improve and to get better — of course, there’s still a lot of good faces, and we’re building chemistry and we’re building relationships every day.”
Carnell also said he has spoken with Ezekiel Alladoh about the striker’s red card on Saturday, and with officials who confirmed it was for “inappropriate language.”
WASHINGTON — On another night, the Union might have at least found an equalizer against D.C. United. Even down a man, the attacking substitutions were clearly wearing down D.C.’s defense in the final minutes Saturday.
But there was no equalizer, and when the final whistle blew, the biggest talking point from the Union’s side wasn’t Tai Baribo’s goal against his old team. Or the fact that United looked the most competent they have in years, against a new group of Union players that was further upended when Frankie Westfield was scratched from the lineup just before kickoff.
It wasn’t surprising that Baribo scored, since the “law of the ex” is as strong in soccer as in every other sport. He was polite after the game about the screams he released in the goal celebration, but one word he emphasized got a point across.
“It’s not because of Philly,” he said. “I love Philly, I love the fans, I love the club. But here I celebrate with my club, and I love the club here, and I love the fans here.”
It was even less surprising that the Union player most responsible for the play was Finn Sundstrom, the 19-year-old centerback who got thrown in the deep end at left back in his first MLS game. D.C.’s Gabriel Pirani snatched Sundstrom’s dinner money with a great bit of holdup play before feeding João Peglow to start a three-on-two break that Baribo finished with aplomb.
No, the thing that ended up mattering most was Ezekiel Alladoh’s red card in the 59th minute. The Union’s new record signing was battling for the ball with D.C. centerback Lucas Bartlett near the end line, shoved Bartlett over, then appeared to lean toward him and offer something. After that, as Alladoh walked away, he turned back toward Bartlett, pointed at him, and said a few more words.
The only replay shown on the Apple broadcast was from a camera too far away to make clear exactly what was said. But referee Guido Gonzales Jr. heard it — in part because Audi Field was far from full — and did not hesitate to send Alladoh off.
In a written statement to the pool reporter from Washington’s WTOP radio station after the game, Gonzales said Alladoh “directed an obscene gesture and language” at Bartlett, and was ejected for “offensive, insulting, abusive language/actions.” No further details were given, and it remains to be seen if specifics will be published.
He did say Alladoh was taught during the preseason about MLS’s rules on derogatory speech, as all players and staff are.
“It’s easy when you’re in a classroom and on your zoom and you go through it, and you have a cold drink in your hand, and it’s all good,” Carnell said. “But when it’s the emotions, and there’s fans and everything, under those stress-pressure tests, I would call them, we just have to usher and nurture our guys within that environment. And hopefully they get to a point where they can regulate and then move on from one moment to another play.”
One moment from the aftermath bears highlighting for a positive reason. As a few Union players pleaded their case to Gonzales, Olwethu Makhanya went into the middle of them and pulled Alladoh out, telling him he needed to leave the field no matter what.
“Obviously we didn’t want it to get into our heads,” Makhanya said. “As soon as you realize you’ve got a red card — and he’s a new guy, he doesn’t understand some of the rules — but knowing the rules that as soon as you get a red card, you need to be off the field as soon as possible, that’s why I had to rush to him and try to get him off the field.”
The moment was the latest sign of Makhanya’s growth as a leader on this team.
“He’s leading by doing, he’s leading by talking, and just his professionalism through the preseason,” Carnell said. “You can see a lot of growth from him over the last two months, assuming this role as a leader in that group.”
The Union’s Olwethu Makhanya jumps for a header during the first half.
Why Sundstrom?
It raised a few eyebrows that Carnell turned to Sundstrom when Westfield said he couldn’t play, citing lingering effects of the hamstring tweak he suffered in Trinidad on Wednesday.
Carnell liked Sundstrom’s work in the preseason, and Sundstrom was serviceable in his late-game run at Defence Force. But starting an MLS game is a different beast.
Sundstrom played only the first half Saturday, withdrawn at halftime due to what Carnell said was a swollen ankle. Both Carnell and Japhet Sery Larsen praised Sundstrom’s overall work in the game, but that moment stands above everything else.
“Coming in today, thrown in, I think Finn did quite well,” Sery Larsen said. “He did his best. He was playing out of position as well. … It’s not easy, but we appreciate the job he did.”
Finn Sundstrom on the ball during Saturday’s game.
And for the record, it did not raise eyebrows that Westfield wasn’t fully healthy. Grabbing a hamstring during a game needs little interpretation, even if there isn’t major damage — and even though Carnell said last Thursday that “it should be good.”
Westfield was walking gingerly as he left the Union’s locker room Saturday night. Although he said he’d be fine, his tone of voice gave the rest of the context.
At least help is on the way. The Union’s acquisition of left back Philippe Ndinga is over the line, a source with knowledge of the matter told The Inquirer. It’s just a matter of time until the official announcement, and crucially until Ndinga’s visa paperwork is settled.
Unfortunately, that is not to be taken for granted these days with the Gabon native who plays internationally for Congo — just as it’s unfortunate that the Colombia-born Geiner Martínez also faces visa issues. The club can only hope that both matters are settled quickly, given how much of the process is out of its hands.
Philippe Ndinga (right) is on the way to the Union from Swedish club Degerfors.
At the attacking end
The Union held an 11-7 edge in total shots, and 3-1 in shots on target. But the expected goals sums went 0.91 to 0.41 in D.C.’s favor, and the eye test went United’s way as well until the late stages.
“We won’t get too low on this result, but for sure we understand what teams are expecting against us, and how they’re going to play against us,” Carnell said. “And that’s something for us to be tuned into and dialed into from the very get-go.”
Striker Bruno Damiani was clear-eyed about what didn’t work.
“Mostly we were always playing through the right side, and [D.C.] realized really quick,” he said. “So they [were] in to jump every time the ball went to that side. We created a very predictable attack, and I think that was our mistake.”
Bruno Damiani (center) making a point to teammates on the field.
Damiani did not mention Westfield’s absence from the left side, but the rest of us could guess that it affected the balance. He did praise Cavan Sullivan’s positive contributions as a 70th-minute substitution, with impacts in open play and on a few well-served set pieces.
“I’ve been really, tough with him, because I want him to improve,” Damiani said. “I think he has everything that he needs to have success. … I’m happy that he is improving. I wish he keeps going that way, and maybe scoring a goal or getting more assists will still give more and more confidence to him.”
