Despite having a short-handed squad on Saturday night, Ian Glavinovic’s goal propelled the Philadelphia Union to a 1-0 victory against Bradley Carnell’s former side, St Louis City SC, and has the Blue and Gold sitting atop of the Supporters’ Shield standings following the conclusion of Matchday 5.
Missing a total of 10 players due to international duty, suspensions, and a family obligation, here’s who Union leaned on in order to get a professional bounce-back win in front of the Subaru Park crowd against St Louis City SC.
3rd Star – Jakob Glesnes
After raising his hand and taking blame for all 3 goals in the loss against Nashville last weekend, Jakob Glesnes led by example on Saturday night and put together a great performance in Union’s clean sheet win.
With 11 Defensive Actions (team high), 5 Clearances (team high), 8 Duels Won, and a number of perfectly timed interventions with St Louis in dangerous positions, Jakob Glesnes looked much closer to the version of himself that won MLS Defender of the Year in 2022 on Saturday, and was a big factor in the U keeping St Louis scoreless.
“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
2nd Star – Kai Wagner
Kai Wagner had another impressive performance for the Union on Saturday night, providing the assist from a corner-kick on the lone goal scored by Center-Back Ian Glavinovich.
In addition to his League-Leading 5th assist of the season, Wagner’s 78 total Touches (game-high), 16 Key Passes (game-high), 29 Accurate Passes (team-high), and 7 Recoveries (team-high) played a big role in Union getting all 3 points with a rotated squad, and is another example as to why he’s one of the best Outside Backs in all of Major League Soccer.
1st Star – Ian Glavinovich
With Olwethu Makhanya unavailable due to a late Red Card against Nashville SC, 23 Year-Old Center-Back Ian Glavinovich got the opportunity to make his first start for the Philadelphia Union on Saturday night, and wasted no time making an immediate impact for the club.
Scoring in the 10th minute off a corner from Kai Wagner, Glavinovich’s early goal marred the first STL had conceded in the 2025 season after keeping a clean sheet in each of their first 4 contests, and was the eventual match-winner for the Union.
In addition to finding the back of the net, Glavinovich logged 71 Minutes Played, 30 touches, 9 Defensive Actions, 4 Clearances, 4 Duels Won, 2 Interceptions, 2 Recoveries, and a spot on Major League Soccer’s Team of the Matchday for Matchday 5.
“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
Honorable Mention – Quinn Sullivan
Overall, Quinn Sullivan might have been the best player on the pitch the other night and was only kept out of the 3 Stars because a number of big saves by STL’s goalkeeper, Ben Lundt kept Sullivan from impacting the game on the scoresheet.
With 5 Total Shots (game-high), 0.36 Expected Assisted Goals (game-high), 6 Touches in the Opposition’s Box (game-high), 3 Chances Created (game-high), 65 Total Touches, and 5 Passes into the Final Third, Quinn Sullivan kept St Louis City’s stingy defense on their heels all game long, and on another night likely helps Union find the back of the net a 2nd time.
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
Image Credit: Philadelphia Union
