With a rotated squad in preparation for Tuesday's U.S. Open Cup Semifinal, Eastern Conference leading Philadelphia Union fell to Vancouver Whitecaps FC, 7-0.
"We have enough reps of the 29 previous occasions where we've been very competitive," Head Coach Bradley Carnell said to start off his postgame press conference. "Today, we lost the battle. It's one of those days where the sun sets and tomorrow the sun rises again. We move on. You know, no time to dwell on it. We have a game on Tuesday. Just unfortunate, but we'll accept this in the right way. We'll learn from this in the right way. And we'll make sure we'll bounce back."
Coming off the two-week FIFA International break which saw 12 players from the Union organization earn call-ups with the cross country trip to British Columbia, Head Coach Bradley Carnell made four changes to the starting lineup he sent out for the team's road win against Cincinnati.
Andrew Rick started in net again, but the backline was altered in the absence of centerback Olwethu Makhanya, who was forced to sit out after picking up a red card in the second half of the team's most recent match. Without him, Nate Harriel shifted to centerback paired with Jakob Glesnes, while team captain Alejandro Bedoya played right back opposite Frankie Westfield. Jovan Lukic, Jesus Bueno, Indiana Vassilev, and Quinn Sullivan made up the midfield, while Mikael Uhre returned to the starting lineup, joining Milan Iloski up top.
Facing a side that knew a result would secure their ticket into the MLS Cup Playoffs, the Union's reshuffled backline were tested early and often. In the fifth minute, Rick turned away the first attempt of the match came from none other than German and Bayern Munich legend Thomas Müller, but his shot from the center of the box was saved by 19-year-old.
The homeside broke through in the 18th minute as Mathias Laborda headed home a corner from USMNT midfielder Sebastian Berhalter to open the scoring at BC Place. The Whitecaps doubled their lead six minutes later as Ali Ahmed threaded a cross into the box that was put home by Emmanuel Sabbi.
Mueller, playing on his 36th birthday, collected a first-half brace with penalty kick finishes in the 29th and in stoppage time to give get the home Canadian crowd more to celebrate.
Despite the first half deficit, the Boys in Blue continued to battled with a quick attack getting finished off by Mikael Uhre but after a brief Video Assistant Review, the goal was disallowed as Bedoya was deemed to be in an offside position before playing the cross.
The Union didn't want until halftime to send in its loaded bench with regular starters Kai Wagner, Danley Jean Jacques and Tai Baribo entering the match after the Whitecaps made it 4-0.
Philly came out on the front foot early with Lukic seeing his right footed shot off target while Vassilev had a headed effort blocked in the midst of a scramble in the box. The homesides regained momentum and added another just after the hour mark as Sabbi collected his second of the night.
With the result decided, Saturday's contest was a memorable one for homegrown Neil Pierre as the 17-year-old center back entered in the 70th minute for his MLS debut.
Vancouver continued to push for more goals with one of their youngest players, 18-year-old Rayan Elloumi getting a goal in his home debut, while Mueller completed the hat trick with a headed finish in the 88th minute.
The Boys in Blue turn their attention to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Semifinals as they battle Nashville SC on Tuesday, September 16th. Kick off from the Music City is set for 8PM ET with coverage on CBS Sports Network and Paramount Plus.
