Thanks to goals from Indiana Vassilev and Mikael Uhre, The Philadelphia Union’s 2-1 win on the road against CF Montreal gives the Blue and Gold their 3rd consecutive win on the bounce, and their 7th of the 2025 season over all.
Union’s 7W-1D-3L record through the first 11 games of the season has them on 22 total points, already 59.45% of the total DOOP collected in 2024, and is the best start to a season in Philadelphia Union club history.
“Everyone put in a real shift tonight, we found a way to win in the end and that’s always a sign of a good team. I’m happy we could have sealed the 3 points for the players tonight and put on a big performance and dig deep.” – Bradley Carnell on Union’s effort and execution vs CF Montreal
Starting XI
With their mid-week US Open Cup clash against Indy Eleven coming up on Wednesday night, Bradley Carnell elected for a bit of rotation against Montreal over the weekend, most notably with Olwethu Makahnya and Chris Donovan coming into the starting XI
“We knew Montreal have the ability to stretch you side to side, and make you run, and put in a shift, and we just thought [Chris] Donovan is the perfect candidate to kind of empty the tank for the team in the first half, and this is something that he did. He’s been playing well, we wanted to read him, we have a big month ahead and there’s a lot of opportunities to be had” – Bradley Carnell on the reasoning to start Chris Donovan
GK:Blake
RB:Westfield, CB: Glesnes, CB: Makhanya, LB: Wagner
CDM: Jean-Jacques, CDM: Lukic
CAM: Q. Sullivan, CAM: Vassilev
ST: Baribo, ST: Donovan
Vassilev Opens Scoring with First Union Goal
No more than 2 minutes into the game, It was Indy Vassilev who opened the scoring for the Union with his first as a member of the Blue and Gold. After turning Montreal over in their own defensive half, the Union strung together a number of progressive passes that sent Danley Jean-Jacques on the break and looking to score early.
With a great off-ball run from Tai Baribo to pull the defender out of place, Danley Jean-Jacques waited for the late runner, Indiana Vassilev, to enter the fray and fed him the ball at the top of the box. Vassilev put his boot into the ball with his first touch, placing it neatly into the far right corner of the net, and giving Union the early lead on the road with his first since joining the club.
“For me it was a thing of beauty in our own half how we combined and progressed through the lines and played calm under pressure. We knew they [Montreal] have a bit of a man-marking detail, so in terms of luring out the opponent, playing through the opponent, and then accelerating the play and isolating on the week side, it was excellent from top to bottom.” – Bradley Carnell on Union’s 1st goal
Vrioni Equalizes before Half-Time
Just seconds before the half-time whistle blew, Giaccomo Vrioni brought Montreal level after a defense lapse from Olwethu Makahnya and the Union. After playing a short corner, Montreal’s Dante Sealy sent a fizzing ball into the penalty area that Makahnya swung at but couldn’t get a foot to.
Vrioni collected the errant clearance inside the box that deflected off Kai Wagner, took one touch to settle the ball, and stabbed it into the near side of the net to draw CF Montreal and Union level heading into the half-time break.
VAR Saves Union From Sealy PK Shout
It looked like the match had reached a pivotal moment when Dante Sealy barreled down the right side of the pitch and tried dancing his way through the box and into a scoring opportunity but appeared to be tripped up by Jovan Lukic inside the penalty area.
Amidst shouts for a Penalty, Referee Marcos DeOliveira was sent to the monitor by VAR official, Kevin Terry Jr to take another look at the potential PK, but DeOliveira ultimately deemed that Sealy was already on his way down when Lukic made contact with a cutting-back Sealy, and no Penalty was awarded.
Uhre Gives Union Game Winning Goal
Just 4 minutes after Marcos DeOliveira made a trip to the VAR monitor and deemed ‘No Penalty’ for CF Montreal, Mikael Uhre found himself in on goal and with an opportunity to give Union a late lead north of the border.
After collecting a loose ball in Montreal’s own defensive-half, Jovan Lukic picked up his head and immediately played a ball that split Montreal’s center backs and sent Uhre behind with only Jonathan Sirois to beat. Uhre took one touch to settle the ball, opened his hips, and let a right footed shot go which just barely snuck under Jonathan Sirois and into the net, giving Union a late 2-1 lead on the road.
The game-winning goal from Michael Uhre was the his 34th as a member of the Philadelphia Union, putting him tied with Julián Carranza for the 5th most goals scored in Philadelphia Union history.
Union’s Best Start to a Season
I’m not sure anyone in the world of MLS soccer could have predicted this, but after their 2-1 win in Montreal on Saturday night, the Philadelphia Union are officially off to their best start to a season with a record of 7W-1D-3L and 22 pts after the first 11 games of the campaign.
The 2-1 win against Montreal is the first coming north of the border since 2022, and the Union’s first win at the Stade Saputo since 2015. In a position to get points on the road late in the game, Union stuck to their principals and found a way to grind out all 3 points in a tough away match, and Bradley Carnell is proud of that.
“This is massive, if you could just see the guys and their faces and how relieved they are because they know they put in a big shift tonight. To find the quality in the key moments to put them [Montreal] under and when we scored the goal I thought the next 10-12 minutes and how we managed the game – it was fun to watch. Everyone brought in had a specific job to do and we did that excellently, a real team effort tonight.” – Bradley Carnell
What’s Next?
It’s a really great start for the Union, who now will turn their attention to their first US Open Cup Match at Subaru Park since 2018 coming mid-week against USL’s Indy Eleven.
The Union will enter the competition in the Round of 32, with just 5 wins separating them from lifting the US Open Cup trophy for the first time in club history
“Your next game is your most important game, and then with the Open Cup, it’s four games to a final, and five games to a title. So, for sure, there are some exciting times and prospects and opportunities, and I think for each challenge and opportunity there [in front of you], I think we have to embrace it, I think we have to enjoy it.” – Bradley Carnell on US Open Cup Hopes
Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images
