The Philadelphia Union are headed back on the road for another cross-conference clash, facing Sporting Kansas City on Saturday, September 19th at Sporting Park. The match is set to begin at 8:30pm ET, tune in on Apple TV to watch the action.
Unbeaten in 10
The Philadelphia Union are unbeaten in 10 straight matches, recently extending their streak with a dominant result against San Diego FC on Sunday night away from home. In four days time, the Union earned back-to-back 5-0 victories, defeating FC Cincinnati at Subaru Park on Wednesday, then taking their momentum across the country to California, where they won with the exact same scoreline in their first-ever match against 2025 MLS expansion team San Diego FC.
In their latest rout, Cavan Sullivan bagged his first MLS brace, scoring a backheeled goal to make it 1-0 before the half. In the second ‘45, the 16-year-old teenaged star added another with a perfectly placed shot through 19-year-old San Diego keeper Duran Ferree’s legs in the 61st. Bruno Damiani added a third in the 67th, before an own goal and one off the bench from 17-year-old Malik Jakupovic for his first in MLS made it 5.Â
Should the Philadelphia Union avoid a loss in Kansas City, they'd tie the club's all-time unbeaten streak set in 2025.
Homegrown Heroics
The Philadelphia Union has scored a league-high 28 goals since the World Cup break, with nine different Union players finding the back of the net. They now have 46 goals on the season, and 67% of those were scored or assisted by Homegrowns. The Union have had a teenager score or assist in each of the last 10 games, which is the longest streak in MLS history. The next-closest was only four games.
The success of the team’s academy products has grabbed the attention of USMNT Head Coach Mauricio Pochettno – 16-year-old Sullivan, 18-year-old Neil Pierre, and 20-year-old Frankie Westfield were each called up to the Senior National Team for the very first time. They’ll join the Stars and Stripes during the September/October FIFA Window for training plus friendlies against Peru, Chile, Mexico, and Canada.
As it stands
The Union’s recent success catapulted them to 7th in the East with 33 points. Before the World Cup break, they sat at the very bottom of the league standings. This weekend’s opponent, Sporting Kansas City, now occupies that spot, with just 18 points over five wins, 16 losses, and three draws so far in 2026. It’s been a uninspiring stretch for the side led by Raphaël Wicky, but they did find a recent boost over the weekend, defeating LAFC 3-1 in front of home supporters. The three-point result was just their second win since MLS play resumed in late July. It was also their second three-goal outing, falling to Dallas FC 4-3 on September 5th.
"They're coming off a good result, and then also a good performance the week before. This isn't the team that put them in the record that they're in. They've signed some really good players that have come in, and the guys are aware of that. So, that piece helps as far as -- we're never going to take a game lightly," Richter said in his Friday morning press conference.Â
Players to watch
- Sporting Kansas City signed 24-year-old forward André Luiz from Olympiacos in a club-record transfer in August. In just his second start, he scored his first MLS goal, opening scoring in the team’s win against LAFC.
- 24-year-old forward Taylor Calheira is in his first season in MLS with Sporting Kansas City, and he's had a recent offensive surge as of late, scoring three goals in the team's past two matches.
