Philadelphia Union sit top of Supporters Shield standings after 1-0 win in Matchday 5: “Im glad we could show exactly what we’ve been building over the last couple of weeks”

While missing a handful of important players due to International Duty and Suspension, an early goal from Ian Glavinovich goal and a clean sheet performance from Homegrown goalkeeper Andrew Rick pushed Union to a 1-0 victory at Subaru Park on Saturday night, defeating Bradley Carnell’s former team in Philadelphia Louis City SC, and leaving Union top of the 2025 Supporters’ Shield standings after Matchday 5 of the campaign.

“Really happy for the group, tonight we asked the players to put on display what every doesn’t see really behind the scenes and that’s a group of committed guys, the whole roster growing together, enjoying each other, committing to a philosophy, many people thought we were a lot weaker than we were last week in terms of personnel, and Im glad we could show exactly what we’ve been building over the last couple of weeks.” – Bradley Carnell on Union’s 1-0 win against St Louis City SC

Starting XI

The Union were without 10 players overall last night between international call-ups, injuries, and suspensions, forcing Bradley Carnell to tinker with his starting XI for the first time this season

Unavailable Players:

-Andre Blake (GK) – International Duty
-Tai Baribo (ST) – International Duty
-Daniel Gazdag (CAM) – International Duty
-Jesus Bueno (CM) – International Duty
-Danley Jean-Jacques (CM) – International Duty
-Frankie Westfield (RB) – International Duty
-Neil Pierre (CB) – International Duty
-Olwethu Makhanya (CB) – Red Card Suspension
-Markus Anderson (ST) – Injury
-Ale Bedoya (CM) – Personal Obligation

Formation: 4-2-2-2

GK: Andrew Rick
RB: Olivier Mbaizo, CB: Jakob Glesnes, CB: Ian Glavinovich, LB: Kai Wagner
CDM: Jovan Lukić, CDM: Indiana Vassilev
CAM: Nate Harriel, CAM: Quinn Sullivan
ST: Bruno Damiani, ST: Mikael Uhre

Yes, you’re reading that right—Nate Harriel was lined up as a #10 on Saturday night. What originally looked like a 5-2-1-2 ended up being the same 4-2-2-2 formation we’ve seen Carnell use so far this season, with Nate Harriel replacing an absent Daniel Gazdag.

Andrew Rick, Olivier Mbaizo, and Nate Harriel made their first starts of the 2025 season under Bradley Carnell, while Ian Glavinovich, Indiana Vassilvel, and Bruno Damiani all made the starting XI for the first time in their Philadelphia Union careers.

“Nate serves a duel purpose, he’s excellent in the air for set pieces, and also just his ability, and his repeated sprint-ability I would say. You know how St Louis want to build up and how they want to play the game, I thought it was a perfect scenario for him, he emptied the tank, he committed to a lot, I think he had insane numbers in term of his running data, and credit to him, he’s been working hard to get back to full fitness, so I’m happy for him and his performance” – Bradley Carnell on Nate Harriel playing as a #10

Glavinovich Gives Union Early 1-0 Lead

After staring the game on the front foot and forcing STL’s keeper, Ben Lundt, into a couple of saves early, the Union opened the scoring in the 8th minute thanks to 23-year-old center-back Ian Glavinovich.

After just making a save on a header from Bruno Damiani, STL’s keeper was put under pressure again on the ensuing corner when Kai Wagner sent a darting ball towards the middle of the penalty box for Ian Glavinovich to get on the other end of.

Glavinovich, through traffic, got his head on the ball just outside the 6-yard box and redirected it to the far post, beating Ben Lundt to his right and giving Union an early 1-0 against Bradley Carnell’s former side.

The goal from Glavinovich was the first goal St Louis City SC had conceded in the 2025 season after keeping a clean sheet in each of the first 4 matches.

Andrew Rick keeps the game 1-0

In the 34th minute, Conrad Wallem played a beautiful ball that split Union’s Center Backs and sent Simon Becher behind the defense and in on goal.

Becher let the ball run across his body, which took him away from the net and towards the sideline. He eventually dropped a back-heeled pass back into the center of the penalty area for Cedric Teuchert, but his attempt on net was stopped by the diving glove of a scrambling Andre Rick.

Lundt Leaves Union Looking for 2nd Goal

Between the 36th and 43rd minutes, the Philadelphia Union put St Louis City SC under an abundance of pressure as they hunted for their second goal before halftime, but STL’s Ben Lundt made some huge saves.

The first came in the 36th minute when Bruno Damiani ran onto a back-heeled pass from Quinn Sullivan near the top of the penalty box and let a left-footed shot fly toward the net. Lundt dove to his right got two hands on the ball, and made a 2nd save on a follow-up chance from Union’s new #10, Nate Harriel

3 minutes later, Mikael Uhre went flying down the left side of the pitch with the ball at his feet and runners entering the box. Uhre played a left-footed cross into the box which found Bruno Damiani, but his first-touch attempt was also pushed away by a diving Ben Lundt.

On the ensuing corner, Kai Wagner sent a dangerous floating ball towards the back post where a demanding Jakob Glesnes was waiting to get his head on the cross, but Lundt reached up and knocked the ball away at the last second with an outstretched hand.

Finally, in the 43rd minute, Quinn Sullivan let a right-footed blast go from just inside the penalty area, which was also saved by a diving Ben Lundt. This was his third such stop in quick succession for St Louis.

Red Car Ends Eduard Löwen’s Night Early

Still down 1-0 and looking for a way back into the game, St Louis City SC would be handed a huge blow in the 66th that would only make the hill in front of them that much steeper to climb.

Already on a yellow card, Eduard Löwen was shown his second of the game and sent off early for kicking the ball away in frustration after STL had been called for a loose ball foul on Mikael Uhre. This left Mellberg’s side with just 10, resulting in their first loss of the 2025 season.

Quotes from Carnell

It was a great bounce-back performance from a short-staffed Union on Saturday night. They beat St Louis City SC by a score of 1-0, notched their second clean sheet of the season, and ended Matchday 5 as Major League Soccer’s Supporters’ Shield Leaders. Bradley Carnell says it’s all down to the entire group being committed to what he wants them to do.

“We just committed, we did exactly what we do, every Monday we reset the board, the magnets go back to neutral and we prepare a game plan, and based on principles and how we like to defend and that’s forwards on the front foot. When we get it right, and we’re not going to get it right all the time, but when we do, it’s massive outcomes for us and it’s usually positives.” – Bradley Carnell on Union’s commitment to the game plan

A big reason Union got all 3 points on Saturday night was the impressive performance from Jakob Glesnes, who raised his hand and took responsibility for all 3 goals against Nashville last weekend. With a game-high in Defensive Actions (14) and Interceptions (7), Glesnes looked like he had something to prove after his mistakes last weekend, and Bradley Carnell took notice of that.

“Jakob’s committed to this process and he was excellent tonight, he was a true leader, he played with passion and pride, and you could tell he wanted to right something that he felt went wrong last week. I’m proud of him as I am the whole group.” – Bradley Carnell on Jakob Glesnes

Partnering Jakob Glesnes from the start of the match was 23-year-old Argentina Center Back, Ian Glavinovich, notching his first start for the Philadelphia Union and making an impact right away with his goal in the 10th minute. As he has been whenever asked this season, Carnell has a lot of confidence in Ian and believes fans are seeing exactly why Union went and signed him this off-season

“He’s composed, he sees the game, he knows if he should hit it up the field or take it down on his chest, he’s a routined professional, and you could see [that]. I think you could see exactly why we got him.” – Bradley Carnell on Ian Glavinovich’s first Union start

The 1-0 win pushes Union to a 4-0-1 start. The 12 points not only put Union top of the East as we wrap up Matchday 5 but also top of the Supporters’ Shield standings, edging out the 4-0-1 Vancouver Whitecaps on goal differential.

If you’re a fan of the Philadelphia Union, it’s been a dream start to life under Bradley Carnell. Saturday night’s win with a short-handed squad should only help fans feel confident in what this team is building early on.

While Bradley Carnell’s job is to figure out how to keep the good times rolling and the fan’s job is to sit back and enjoy it, Union’s new head coach is making sure to take some time to enjoy what his team is accomplishing so early on himself.

‘We’ve been creating a lot over the last couple of weeks and we’ve shown this with one stack of players and now we’ve shown it tonight with another set of players. I’m just happy that we are continuing to create and play fluid, attacking football, and I’m enjoying every process with the guys. It was a lot of fun to watch.” – Bradley Carnell

What’s Next For the U?

It’s a big one next weekend for Carnell and the Blue and Gold, as the Philadelphia Union will head down to South Florida for an early Supporters’ Shield battle with a potentially Messi-less Inter Miami

Who: Philadelphia Union @ Inter Miami
When: Saturday, March 29th @ 7:30 PM
Where: Chase Stadium – Fort Lauderdale, FL