Washington, D.C. — Philadelphia entered Saturday night’s matchup at Audi Field looking to build on last weekend’s victory as they push toward the playoffs and remain atop the league table. With Miami dropping points in a draw, it meant the Union could control their own destiny for the Supporters’ Shield.
After 90 minutes in the nation’s capital, Philadelphia, led by a brace from Indiana Vassilev and a goal and two assists apiece from Milan Iloski and Mikael Uhre, matched a club record for most wins season at 19 en route to a 6-0 victory over D.C. United.
“Really proud of the guys for a big week that we put in,” said Carnell. “And really just the way we galvanized as a group, grouped together, and stuck together, and we had to ride a few waves early on in the game. And I just thought it was good to see us back at our transition best.”
Bradley Carnell’s lineup for the match included Iloski starting in place of Tai Baribo, who was serving a one-match suspension due to yellow card accumulation. Olwethu Makhanya returned from his two-match suspension on Saturday evening. Nathan Harriel shifted from center back last weekend to right back with Frankie Westfield away in Chile for the U-20 World Cup.
With the rain pouring down at kickoff, D.C. United had two dangerous chances within the first 10 minutes of the match.
Quinn Sullivan appeared to injure himself early. The young midfielder tried to shake it off, running and jumping on the sideline, but went down again as he attempted to re-enter the match. Uhre replaced him in the 12th minute.
The Union struck first when Iloski found a wide-open Uhre down the left side. Uhre pushed forward and squared a pass into Bruno Damiani, who buried his third goal in four matches.
United would battle back in the 26th minute as Jovan Lukic’s turnover would cause the home side to counter on the break. Gabriel Pirani would would find Jared Stroud, who then fired a shot that hit the post.
Stroud would have another opportunity a few moments later as D.C. kept countering Philadelphia in the first half as this attempt would miss Blake’s outstretched arms, but would end up hitting the top of the cross bar making it two dangerous chances as D.C seemed to be building confidence.
The Union would respond to the chances, however, and create their own opportunities as Mikael Uhre had his shot deflected off of Conner Antley’s head and over the United goalkeeper Jordan Farr to make it 2-0 Philadelphia. The goal was initially awarded to Uhre, but eventually ruled an own goal on Antley.
Moments later, Vassilev sliced through six D.C. defenders to capitalize on a mishandled ball by Farr, making it 3-0 at halftime.
“Just to keep pushing, to keep a clean sheet”, Illoski said. “You know, we had it. We knew we wanted to keep a clean sheet in this game. And it was just next goal mentality and really trying to come out and start fast. And I think we did that.”
Once the second half began, it did not take the Union long to continue the onslaught against United as Iloski buried a goal in the 49th minute, and then Vassilev bagged a brace two minutes later to make it 5-0. United were still getting dangerous chances, but the Union’s defense was up to the task.
Uhre put the exclamation point on the match when he scored the “touchdown,” making it 6-0 in the 62nd minute. Iloski had sent him a perfectly placed ball for his second assist of the night that the Danish striker finished in classic Uhre style.
For Mikael, that now marks six goals for him against D.C. United.
“Sometimes you just have teams that you find yourself more likely to score against,” said Uhre. “It’s fun how it works, especially this day, there was some spaces in behind. And again, that’s something I as a player really like to exploit. So yeah, it played well to me today.”
“We know that he’s got such a lethal technical ability in terms of shooting within the box”, said Carnell on Uhre’s performance on the evening. “We challenge him the staff about the defensive side of the game. And it’s a little bit of give, a little bit of take. And right now, he understands exactly his role, and that’s what’s so special about working with with Mika. You know, he’s a DP, but the doesn’t have the DP attitude. He doesn’t. He’s just a real teammate, and whatever he team needs. Mika is a gem of a human being. And see him play like tonight, it makes me a very proud coach.”
As the match wore on, D.C. was still trying to get on the board, and Andre Blake had to make several saves. The defense also had to block several attempts. Seemingly wanting to just get the game finished with the score as it was, no stoppage time was called , and the Union were the 6-0 victors and a clean sheet for Blake. The match brought the team’s goal differential to +23 and kept them atop the Supporters’ Shield race with two games to go.
With the victory, the Union became the first team in MLS history to score at least five goals on the road against a single opponent three separate times:
- 2019: 5-1
- 2022: 6-0
- 2025: 6-0
Philadelphia is now unbeaten in their last four trips to Audi Field (3-0-1), outscoring United 17-3 during that span. The result also set a new club record for most road wins, surpassing the mark set in 2022.
“I see some similarities”, Uhre mentioned about the similaries of these two squads. “I feel like it’s a little bit hard because some of the wins this year have been maybe been a little bit more scrappy, whereas in 2022 we found that momentum in July, and we just absolutely annihilated teams. But then again, it’s a good group, and I feel like one of the things that we have in common is the the way to grind out also the hard wins, because sometimes it gets scrappy and sometimes you need those late goals. And we’ve really shown that this year.”
Still, the victory came with concern for Carnell, who pointed to injuries suffered by Sullivan, Jeremy Rafanello, Vassilev, and Kai Wagner.
“I am more concerned with a couple of guys who had to be substituted and forced out,” he said. “So my mind is not even on the results. It’s not even on the three points and not even on other results. It’s on the status and the health of the team, and that’s first and foremost.”
Their status will be a major storyline heading into the Union’s final two matches and potentially into the playoffs.
Regardless of other results this weekend, Philadelphia will remain atop the Supporters’ Shield standings.
Next up: the Union return to Subaru Park next Saturday for their final home match of the regular season against NYCFC, who defeated the Red Bulls 3-2 in the Hudson River Derby. NYCFC have been in strong form, setting the stage for another hard-fought contest.
Jillian Almoney contributed to this article.
Main article photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Union
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