It certainly wasn’t the most dominant performance from Bradley Carnell’s Philadelphia Union side, but thanks to goals from Tai Baribo and Olwethu Makhanya, the boys in blue pulled out a 2-1 victory over CF Montreal on Wednesday night to keep themselves top of the Eastern Conference and Supporters Shield standings.
Starting XI
Bradley Carnell rolled out the same XI against Montreal that put up a dominate 2-0 performance against the New York Red Bulls over the weekend. It was a special night for homegrown defender, Nate Harriel, who made his 100th MLS appearance with his start against Montreal on Wednesday night.
GK: Blake
RB: Harriel, CB: Makhanya, CB: Glenses, LB: Wagner
CDM: Danley, CDM: Lukic
CAM: Q. Sullivan, CAM: Vassilev
ST: Baribo, ST: Damiani
Baribo’s 14th of the season gives Union 1-0 lead
In the 37th minute of the game the Philadelphia Union broke the deadlock by way of Tai Baribo, who else? Danley Jean-Jacques made a darting run through the midfield with the ball at his feet and eventually gained entry to Montreal’s penalty area before being shrugged off the ball.
With fans begging Referee Guido Gonzales Jr. for a penalty to be called, the Union stuck with the loose ball and found the back after Quinn Sullivan played it back into the middle of the penalty area for Tai Baribo to redirect into the back of the net.
The goal was Tai Baribo’s 14th of the MLS season and his 23rd MLS goal all-time for the Union, putting him tied with Ilsinho for the 8th most MLS goals in club history.
Owusu equalizes just before half
The Union were looking a little lackluster prior to the goal from Tai Baribo, but fans were hoping the cobwebs were shaken off now that they held a 1-0 lead approaching halfttime. But in the 47th minute of the first-half, Joel Waterman played a beautiful ball to the back post from along the left sideline which found Prince Owusu unmarked at the back post.
Owusu, who had evaded the coverage from Olwethu Makhanya, got his right foot on the cross and made no mistake with the opportunity, placing the ball into the far corner of the net with his first touch and drawing the game level at 1 just before halftime.
Big Mak’s 1st MLS Goal and Match Winner
After suffering the blow of giving up the equalizer just before half-time, Union needed a big response coming out of the locker rooms if they wanted to end the night still sitting top of the Supporters Shield lead.
Just 5 minutes into the 2nd half the Union regained their lead when Kai Wagner sent a left footed corner into the penalty area which found the head of young Defender, Olwethu Makhanya.
Makhanya rose up around the penalty marker and re-directed the ball with his head, bouncing it off the ground and placing it into the top corner at the far post and passed Jonathan Sirois to give Union a 2-1 lead.
It was huge milestone for Olwethu Makhanya as it was the 21 year old defenders first MLS goal, and ended up being the match-winner for the Union on Wednesday night.
The assist came from the left-foot of Kai Wagner, his 8th of the year and his 60th MLS Assist all-time.
Andre Blake doing Andre Blake things
The Union pulled off a 2-1 win at home against Montreal. It wasn’t the prettiest but they got the job done, making that 10 straight games unbeaten at home now this season for the U. Part of that success both throughout the season and last night can be attributed to goalkeeper, Andre Blake.
Though he wasn’t tested too many times on Wednesday night, Andre Blake’s 3 saves against Montreal helped secure 3 points for the Union at home.
2 of those 3 saves came in the last 10 minutes of he game with the Union grappling onto their 1 goal lead. The first of which came in the 81st minute when a header from a free kick was labeled to sneak inside the back post, but Andre Blake was well positioned and denied the scoring opportunity.
A few minutes later, Montreal got a chance to equalize on a transition opportunity. The ball played over to Prince Owusus rolled behind him and caused him to fall to his backside. Owsusu somehow managed to keep control of the ball and volleyed a shot towards net while laying on his back, but Andre Blake maintained focus and deflected the ball to safety with a diving glove save.
Harriel’s Milestone
It was a big night for Nate Harriel, the 24 year old Homegrown defender who made his 100th MLS appearance on Wednesday night.
Harriel broke into Jim Curtin’s team back in 2022, the season the Union made their run all the way to the MLS CUP Finals. He played 25 games in MLS play that year, and followed up 2023 with another 25 MLS appearances.
In 2024, Nate played in 29 of 34 MLS games and received his first call-up with the US Mens National team, representing his country at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Harriel has appeared 16 times in MLS play so far this season, and once again represented his country and this Summer’s edition of the Gold Cup.
In 126 total games for the Union, Nate Harriel has 9 goals and 5 assists across all competitions for the Blue and Gold.
Home Dominance
The 2-1 win against Montreal pushes Union to 10 straight games unbeaten at home during the 2025 season, with their last and only loss coming against Nashville (3-1) way back in March.
Overall and across all competitions, the Union have a home record of 10W-3D-1L this season and have outscored their opponents by a total of 31GF to 15GA. In their 11 games at home, the Union have secured a cleansheet in 5 (STL, ORL, ATL, DC, NYRB).
What’s Next For The Union
It’s another quick turnaround for the Union as they’ll now head out West to take on former Union homegrown Jack McGlynn and the Houston Dynamo on Saturday night. It’s a long trip on short rest and will be made even tougher by the mid-July Texas heat, but the Union know any points left on the table at this point of the season could come back to haunt them.
Mandatory Credit: Caean Couto-Imagn Images
