By Franco Domínguez
Philadelphia Union knew it deserved more from its Leagues Cup opener, and on Sunday night, the team responded in emphatic fashion. An explosive start against visiting Necaxa saw the Union score twice in the opening 12 minutes, setting the tone for a convincing victory at Subaru Park.
Nathan Harriel opened the scoring on Philadelphia’s first attacking move of the match. A well-worked sequence involving Kai Wagner, Indiana Vassilev and Cavan Sullivan ended with Sullivan providing the final pass for Harriel to finish and give the hosts an early lead.
Less than 10 minutes later, the Union struck again. This time, Bruno Damiani finished off a direct attacking move that began deep inside Philadelphia’s own half and reached the Necaxa penalty area in just two passes, doubling the advantage before the visitors had a chance to settle into the match.
The early deficit proved too much for Necaxa to overcome, as its struggles away from home continued at Subaru Park. Philadelphia maintained control through the remainder of the first half, taking its two-goal advantage into the break.
The Union came out of halftime with the same intensity and pressure it showed in the opening minutes. Philadelphia recovered the ball quickly, pinned Necaxa inside its own half and gave the Liga MX side little time to build any sustained possession.
That pressure eventually produced a third goal in the 53rd minute. Cavan Sullivan capped off an impressive performance by finding the back of the net himself, with the 16-year-old connecting with his left foot to beat Luis Jiménez and extend Philadelphia’s advantage to 3-0.
From there, the Union shifted into cruise control, allowing Necaxa more possession while protecting its advantage. The visitors improved as the match progressed and eventually found a consolation goal through Matías Espíndola with 11 minutes remaining in regulation.
It was a commanding response from Philadelphia, which collected its first three points of Leagues Cup 2026 and kept its quarterfinal hopes alive. Necaxa, meanwhile, was eliminated from contention after suffering back-to-back defeats against MLS opposition.
REACTIONS
- Philadelphia Head Coach Ryan Richter
- "It was important for us to bounce back from the loss at home and make sure it doesn't turn into a streak so the way we responded and the way we started the game..ultimately to get the result it was very important."
- (On Cavan Sullivan) "He's going to score a lot of goals at this level so I was happy to see him get in the right position and get the easy goal, hopefully take confidence from it."
PLAYERS OF THE MATCH
- Philadelphia
- Nathan Harriel and Cavan Sullivan both had very round performances, scoring and also assisting to lead their team towards victory.
GAME NOTES
- The match marked the first official game between Philadelphia Union and Club Necaxa in their history.
- Bruno Damiani scored for the second time in his last five matches after going 16 games without a goal.
- This was Cavan Sullivan´s second goal ever with Philadelphia Union.
- Matìas Espindola was the shot leader of the game from both teams and capped it off with his first goal in Leagues Cup.
CARDS/INJURY REPORT
- Yellow Cards:
- Philadelphia: Neil Pierre, Indiana Vassilev, Japhet Sery
- Necaxa: Pedro Pedraza, Lorenzo Faravelli
LOOKING AHEAD
- Philadelphia: Aug. 13 vs. Santos Laguna
- Necaxa: Aug. 13 vs. New York City FC
