Highlights: Philadelphia Union 3–0 win against Columbus Crew SC ⚽️

3 goals for us and 2 red cards to the other guys in a wild one against Columbus.

New Record

What a night for CJ Sapong. The Union had three goals, and Sapong was involved in every single one. In the first half, Sapong tracked down a rebound from a Marcus Epps shot in the 20th minute. He biked a pass to Ilsinho, who rocketed the volley home for the Union’s first goal of the match. Then in the 36th minute, Sapong went in for a breakaway, where he was taken down from behind by Columbus’s Jonathan Mensah, who was given a straight red card. Unfortunately, the Union missed the ensuing penalty.

In the second half, it was more of the same. In the 66th minute, Sapong headed a pass from Giliano Wijnaldum on net, which hit the post. Sapong chased down his own rebound and buried it into the back of the net, setting a new career-high for goals with 10. And he still wasn’t done. In the 81st minute, Sapong sent a cross over to Marcus Epps, who found twine for Sapong’s third assist of the night.

Sapong’s two goals and assists were the most combined goals and assists in a single game since his hat-trick against New York Red Bulls on May 6th. Along with his new career-high in goals, Sapong’s two assists gives him five on the season, tying a career-high.

Go for Goals

Ilsinho started off the Union’s goal run with his beautiful volley in from Sapong in the first half. His goal was his third of the season, and his three goals are the most he’s had in a Union kit. Ilsinho was effective all night for the Union, as in addition to his goal, he had one key pass and went 28-of-31 in passing for a 90% passing accuracy and five recoveries defensively.

First is Best

Not to be out done by his offensive counterparts, Epps found the back of the net for his first goal of his career. Epps crashed the far post as Sapong hit him with a cross, and going against the grain, Epps chipped his shot over the diving Columbus keeper to find twine and to give the Union a 3–0 lead. His goal came on his final of eight shots in the match, and he could have had at least two more, but just barely missed the back of the net. Epps finished the night with 77 percent passing and five recoveries defensively.

Clean Sheet

McCarthy continued to play well for the Union and got the win he deserved. McCarthy earned his first shoutout since the 2015 season, making one save in the match. While he wasn’t tested too much by Columbus, he helped the Union start its counter attack, making 12 recoveries in the match. Once again, McCarthy showed how valuable of a goalkeeper he can be for the team when called upon.