Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Sullivan Brothers Lead Union Past Toronto 4-1 to Lock Up Sixth Seed

CHESTER, Pennsylvania (Orbit Post) The Philadelphia Union beat Toronto FC 4-1 at Subaru Park on Saturday, closing the MLS regular season with a Decision Day win that locked up sixth place in the Eastern Conference and an automatic place in a best-of-three playoff series.

Cavan Sullivan scored twice for Philadelphia. His older brother Quinn Sullivan scored once and set up two goals. The brothers became the third pair in MLS history to each score for the same club in the same match, joining Gonzalo and Federico Higuain and Diego and Yimmi Chara, the Associated Press reported.

The brothers take over the first half

Philadelphia pushed forward from the start and thought it had scored in the 11th minute, when Quinn Sullivan finished a flowing move. A video review found him offside and the goal was wiped out.

The goal that counted came in the 28th minute. Quinn Sullivan crossed in front of goal, Indiana Vassilev settled the ball and pulled goalkeeper William Yarbrough out of position, and Cavan Sullivan finished from close range into an empty net.

Quinn Sullivan made it 2-0 in the 41st minute. Richard Chukwu brought down Cavan Sullivan in the box, and Quinn drove the penalty into the top left corner.

Toronto answered in the seventh minute of first half stoppage time. Josh Sargent headed in a corner kick from Djordje Mihailovic to cut the lead to 2-1 at halftime.

Philadelphia pull away after halftime

Andre Blake gave way to Andrew Rick in the Philadelphia goal at halftime, and Yarbrough denied Bruno Damiani early in the second half to keep Toronto close.

The third goal came in the 58th minute, and the brothers made it together. Quinn Sullivan led a breakaway after a flick header by Damiani and found Cavan Sullivan trailing the play for a one touch finish. The Union said it was Quinn's first primary assist to his brother.

Damiani scored from the penalty spot in the 73rd minute to make it 4-1. Philadelphia finished with 19 shots to six for Toronto despite having less of the ball, and Rick made a late save from a Mihailovic free kick to protect the margin.

What the win means

Philadelphia finished 14-12-8 with 50 points. The club had already clinched its 10th postseason appearance and its eighth in nine seasons, and the win kept the Union out of the wild card round. Philadelphia will face the No. 3 seed New England Revolution in the first round. New England will host Game 1 and, if needed, Game 3, and Subaru Park will host Game 2. Match dates and kickoff times are still to be confirmed by the league.

The turnaround behind the finish is stark. Since interim head coach Ryan Richter took over during the World Cup break, Philadelphia earned 43 of a possible 57 points and outscored opponents 48-22, the AP reported. The win also ended a four match winless run.

Captain Alejandro Bedoya entered late in his final MLS regular season appearance. Bedoya, who joined Philadelphia in 2016, has said he will retire when the Union season ends, so the playoff series is his last run with the club.

Toronto finished 9-13-12 and its season is over. Toronto had been looking for its first road win over the Union since March 2019.