Philadelphia Union end Matchday 14 Top of the Supporters Shield Standings After 1-0 Road Victory Against Atlanta United

Thanks to a second-half Tai Baribo goal from the penalty spot and a clean sheet performance from 19-year-old goalkeeper Andrew Rick, the Philadelphia Union defeated Atlanta United by a score of 1-0 on Saturday night. They have officially matched the total number of wins they had all of last season with 9.

The narrow victory over Atlanta marks the first in the regular season for the Union at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The Union is now unbeaten in their last five matches against their Eastern Conference opponent, outscoring them by a total of 10-5 across those games.

With their ninth win of the season, the Philadelphia Union will officially end Matchday 14 as the leaders of the Eastern Conference and the Supporters’ Shield standings.

“We had to be creative tonight, we planned for a ‘Smash and Grab’ win and I think that’s exactly what we got.” – Bradley Carnell.

Starting XI

With their Round of 16 US Open Cup Match against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds at Subaru Park on Wednesday night, Bradley Carnell elected to go with a bit of squad rotation down in Atlanta on Saturday night

Andrew Rick made his 4th consecutive start between the posts while Andre Blake is still dealing with fluid buildup in his knee.

Veteran leader Ale Bedoya made his first start of the 2025 season, while Makhanya, Bueno, and Donovan all made their way back into the starting lineup. Saturday’s clash against Atlanta was just the fifth of nine games for the Union across the month of May.

New midfield acquisition, Ben Bender, also made the matchday squad for the first time in his Union career Saturday night.

GK: Rick
RB: Westfield, CB: Harriel, CB: Makhanya, LB: Wagner
CDM: Bueno. CDM: Lukic
CAM: Donovan, CAM: Bedoya
ST: Uhre, ST: Damiani

Baribo’s League-Leading 11th Lifts Union to Victory

In the 54th minute, Kai Wagner sent a ball over the top of Atlanta’s defense that sent Mikael Uhre in behind the backline. Atlanta’s keeper, Brad Guzan, came flying out of his box and tried to get a touch on the ball just north of the penalty area, but didn’t get enough on it to put a stop to the threat.

Mikael Uhre ran past the last defender and onto the loose ball, with Guzan now out of his goal. With his first touch, he attempted to swipe the ball into an empty net, but the shot was blocked away by a sliding Luis Abram. Uhre immediately made his case for a handball on the block from Abrams and protested for a Penalty with the referee, who eventually made his way to the VAR monitor.

After being awarded a Penalty by Referee Chris Penso, Tai Baribo stepped up in the 59th minute of a scoreless game, and buried the penalty just under the diving gloves of Brad Guzan to score his 11th goal of the season and to give Union a 1-0 lead on the road.

The goal from Tai Baribo was his league-leading 11th of the season, and his 27th goal in his last 36 games.

Brick Wall Rick Earns a Clean Sheet Win For Union

With Andre Blake still out due to injury, Andrew Rick has stepped up in a big way and did so again on Saturday night, making 3 total saves and keeping a clean sheet against Atlanta United.

The first of his 3 big saves came in the first half on a Pedro Amador volley, which Andrew Rick kept out of the net by diving to his left and fully extending to palm the ball away to safety.

The 2nd came in the 71st minute when the ball fell to Saba Lobjanidze inside the penalty area. Lobjanidze received the ball about 12 yards out, squared up a right-footed shot, and tried to beat Rick with a low, fizzing blast, but Rick got down quickly and swept it away from the net with his right glove.

The biggest save of the night for 19-year-old Andrew Rick came in the 98th minute when a ball into the penalty area found Latte Lath, who laid the ball off for Center Back Derrick Williams to blast into the net.

Williams, less than 6 yards out and in traffic, poked the ball on his first touch with his left foot looking to equalize for Atlanta late in the game, but a quick reaction waved away the shot save from Andrew Rick, who was in good position on the play.

“Credit to the boys, happy with the way [Andrew] Rick played tonight, he’s been patient in the background until he gets his chance, and today he had a chance to shine. Phil Wheddon works tirelessly behind the scenes to get him up to speed and to be ready for that moment, and tonight he had 3 big moments.” – Bradley Carnell on Andrew Rick.

What’s Next For The Union

The 1-0 win on the road brings Union’s 2025 record to 9W-2D-3L for a total of 29 points through 14 games, 78.37% of the total points they collected all of last season. With that win and helpful results around the league, the Philadelphia Union will officially end Matchday 14 at the top of the Eastern Conference Standings and the Supporters Shield race.

Next, the Philadelphia Union will head back to Chester on Wednesday night for a midweek Open Cup Round of 16 clash against USL’s Pittsburgh Riverhounds. They hope to punch their ticket to the competition’s Quarterfinals for the first time since 2018.

“We set out a mission to survive until half. We know this field, we know this surroundings, we know these fans, this environment, it’s never easy to come here and play, so the more you can frustrate them, the more you can create space – they’re expecting a certain picture they’re going to have to solve and we gave them a totally different one and then they start to figure that out and then they expose us a little bit, and then when changed formation at the end of the half – so within the game we had 4 formation changes.”