Now that it has been a few weeks and I have had time to digest things a bit, I would like to offer a retrospective of the 2025 season for the Philadelphia Union and Union II from the eyes of someone who began as just a fan, evolved into a media member a few years ago, and covers the team because I enjoy not only the sport, but the people and stories that come with it. Along with my other half, Kyle, we at The One Team We Agree On were able to travel to more away matches than we ever have, see different places, and cover so many great stories.
When the 2025 season ended for the Philadelphia Union in their semifinal loss to NYCFC, it closed the book on what was a remarkable season, despite the disappointing ending. Looking back at predictions many had for the squad, expectations were low and many thought the Union would not even make the playoffs. I was not one of those people, to be honest. I thought they could make the playoffs, but perhaps be around 7th or 8th in the standings. From the hopeful vibes of the preseason as Bradley Carnell set the tone, to the way the season kicked off, I felt the team could in fact be something special. It just had that feeling.
New beginnings
Let’s go back to February—to that opening day match in Orlando. To understand where I am coming from, some background information is pertinent. The last few months had been emotional for me. I had lost a beloved aunt in August, and then another aunt, who bravely battled cancer, in November. The Eagles had just won the Super Bowl, which was amazing. However, shortly after that, my (step) grandfather, who really had been just as good as blood since he was part of my life for most of it, had a stroke.
The night of February 22, which was opening day for the Union, I found out he was moved to hospice and would probably pass soon. I spent the evening with him, just being there and hoping he could feel my presence as he was not awake. I finally said my goodbyes and drove to a nearby grocery store as I needed some items before going home to catch the game on TV. As it was time for the lineup to come out and I frankly just needed a moment, I sat in my car in the parking lot, waiting to see who would be in the first starting lineup of the season for the Union.
The lineup popped up on my phone and there was Frankie Westfield in the graphic as a starter, as well as Olwethu Makhanya in the starting lineup. Two players I saw extensively with Union II in 2024, interviewed many times, and thought so highly of getting a huge opportunity and making their MLS debuts. Neil Pierre, who also had yet to make his MLS debut, was on the bench and would not end up playing, but I was still glad to see him listed. Cavan Sullivan and Andrew Rick were also on the bench, but they already had the first team experience. With how much I covered Union II, it made me so proud to see these players graduate to the big stage, and it brought a very much-needed smile to my face. The meme of the groundskeeper from the movie Rudy proudly watching Rudy on the field basically sums it up.
The Union went on to win 4-2, Tai Baribo scored a brace, and Frankie would get his first MLS assist. It was a welcome distraction and a great start to the season. The next day, I found out my grandfather had passed that morning. My grandmother (his wife), my last living grandparent, would follow him less than two weeks later. It was a tough time for my family, but I did what I have found helps me work through grief—I kept busy with writing and doing my day job of teaching.
The Union won their home opener on March 1 against FC Cincinnati on a cold, blustery day where I was unable to attend in person due to coaching at a championship swim meet. It was an impressive 4-1 win with a Baribo hat trick, and the Union were off to a hot start. They won their next match, too, on the road against New England Revolution, and Union II opened their season the same weekend against Revolution II in a scoreless draw/shootout loss.
Some memorable interviews
Shortly after, I was able to attend training at Subaru Park, and while I had many interviews over the course of the season, it was then that I had one of my favorites. I spoke with Andrew Rick, who was coming off an impressive season with Union II and had made his MLS debut and stood tall filling in for Andre Blake in 2024. It appeared to me he had grown a bit since the previous season, but more so, I noticed how he was more well-spoken and had this confidence and poise about him.
We did not know at that time how much time he was going to get with the first team in 2025 due to Blake’s injuries and the staff’s planned management of the goalkeepers. Looking back on that interview, it was great to hear his thoughts on penalty kicks as well, because he had his fair share to contend with during 2025, including a marathon shootout against Chattanooga, and the decisive Open Cup shootout against Indy Eleven. [Check out that interview here]
I finally was in attendance for a Union match when they played Nashville, who many will remember as a match with some refereeing that was “sus” as the kids would say. A tough loss, but it was too early in the season to be very worried.
Union II had their home opener the next day with a shootout win over New York Red Bulls II that included a Cavan Sullivan golazo and a thrilling performance by Andrew Rick in the penalty kicks. After a tremendous run to the MLS Next Cup in 2024 with Marlon LeBlanc at the helm, they had a new head coach but a majority of the same players. It was the first time I met Ryan Richter in person when I interviewed him post-match. I could tell Union II was in good hands from watching how he handled the players and the match, and with his very knowledgeable, thoughtful responses to my questions. The experience with the developmental side was very apparent, and as someone who is in a parallel (albeit not professional level) capacity in swimming, I appreciated that.
I also interviewed Cavan for the first, but not the last, time this past season. He’s an exceptional player for his age and it was pretty apparent to me he was growing taller, but he was just 15. The young man has so much hype and such high expectations surrounding him, but I work with kids around his age on a daily basis, and to me, it was like talking to one of my students or athletes. That being said, I thought he handled himself well, and the next time I would interview him during the season, he did very well answering questions. With those young Union II players, if I can play any part in helping them to be professionals and prepare them for speaking with the media in hopefully long and successful careers, I am glad help in that capacity.
March, Miami, and Messi
The season continued with the Union getting back on track by having a gritty win over Bradley Carnell’s former team, St. Louis with Ian Glavinovich’s lone goal. The Union were missing a ton of players due to national team call ups and Olwethu Makhanya on a red card suspension, so we saw a bench that was mostly Union II (Isaiah LeFlore, CJ Olney, David Vazquez, Nick Pariano, Stas Korzeniowski, Cavan Sullivan…) which certainly made it interesting—not that those players got any minutes in the match.
Kyle and I made our first away trip at the end of March, heading down to Ft. Lauderdale to see the Union play Inter Miami. I have some family that lives down there, so we stayed with my cousin and his wife for the weekend. On the flight down, we spent basically the entire time watching Union II play at Huntsville. It was perfect timing, actually—the penalty kicks (which Union II lost) finished right as we were landing.
We had applied for media credentials for the match at Chase Stadium, but were unfortunately denied, as was our friend Todd Lewis, of The Free Kick, who had flown down. The Messi effect, I guess. We were told their press box was too small (fair), but there was of course room for someone who would end up asking Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano an asinine question in the post-game presser that had nothing to do with the match at all (and I’ll leave it at that). We watched from the stands instead. When Messi subbed on, and any time that he got the ball, the crowd got insanely loud. It made me wonder how many of those fans even knew who any of the other players were. There was also the moment that went viral with Messi and Makhanya having a little shoving.
Little did we know that when Dániel Gazdag scored the lone Union goal against Inter Miami, that would be his last in a Union jersey. He was traded less than two weeks later to Columbus Crew. I was at work and got the notification about the trade, and stepped out of my classroom to see one of my students (a big Union fan who is probably reading this) and simply said, “Gazdag was traded to Columbus Crew.” The shock on his face was probably similar to my face when Kyle walked into the area I was at during a swim meet in the beginning of February and told me Jack McGlynn was traded to the Houston Dynamo.
Heating up
One particularly memorable day was April 12. The night before, my niece, Lainey, came into the world. Kyle and I, as well as Todd and our friend José Nuñez, were all planning to attend the Union’s away match at Citi Field against NYCFC. Kyle and I stopped at the hospital to see my sister, brother-in-law, and newborn niece before leaving for the match. The match would not be great, with the Union losing 1-0, but seeing my first niece was incredible. Todd and José—well, mainly Todd—had quite the trip by train with nearly missing it… but that’s their story to tell. Todd probably still has PTSD from it.
Not to be forgotten, Union II were starting to find their footing and were honestly getting pretty fun to watch. Like 2024, they had a great group of personalities and skill sets. After a trio of draws, they finally got a huge 5-1 win over Atlanta United 2 and then a 4-1 win over NYCFC II. The Union were also heating up and this was starting to rack up the wins.
I finally got my sister, Kendall, to come to a Union match when they played at home versus Columbus. She is an Eagles-Phillies-Flyers fan who likes to pooh-pooh soccer even though she was a pretty good soccer player herself up though her teenage years, and probably would have been a fan of José “El Brujo” Martínez since she was physical and racked up the yellow cards like him. She actually admitted that she had a good time and would maybe go to another. It was a pretty exciting match, after all, as Frankie had his first MLS goal when he had an absolute golazo that probably would have taken someone’s head off in the River End had it not gone in the net. Easily a top goal of the year, along with Quinn Sullivan’s goal at home against Inter Miami with his emphatic celebration.
Summer training and travel
Once my school year was over, it allowed me to get down consistently to Union and Union II training during the week and see first hand the hard work the coaching staff and players were putting in. While members of the media only get to see a snippet of training, it does bring perspective. I especially consider seeing Union II’s training and interviews with Ryan Richter over the course of the summer as valuable for gaining insight into their squad.
June brought some particularly memorable matches. Markus Anderson and Eddy Davis both scored in the friendly against Atlas, and even though it was a friendly and featured a lot of Union II players, it was special to see those two have their big moments. Again, two young men I have been able to interview and observe in training and matches a ton, and you can’t help but be happy to see them have those moments. It would not be the last for Markus as he had the game-winner at the death against Charlotte a week later, assisted by Frankie. Between that and the purely comical way Frankie got in Wilfried Zaha’s head during the match, it was another fun one. It was also great to see Eddy make his MLS debut at the end of the match at Chicago.
Kyle and made another trip to Columbus to cover that match for the second year in a row. We drove out there because to us, if it is under 10 hours, just drive, and it really was not bad. We always enjoy going around and trying different restaurants, markets, and breweries when we travel. We had a great time as always visiting the market, hanging out with Dave Leno and fellow Lancastrian and friend Conrad LeBlanc at the North Market, getting some amazing pizza and a nearby spot that is a Columbus Crew hangout, and walking through ComFest in Goodale Park. What a lot of people probably don’t realize is we don’t get paid to cover the team, and travel is totally on our own dime. We so appreciated how gracious Conrad was sharing an AirBnB with us.
We actually got to walk around Columbus a lot more than last year as I was not recovering from a broken foot this time. While not a big city, we enjoyed seeing what Columbus had to offer. They also have an incredible atmosphere in the stadium and their press box was very nice. Though the match was a loss and ended an 11-game unbeaten streak (the team had been pretty thin in some areas, to be fair) we did get to see David Vazquez and Sal Olivas make their MLS debuts. With Eddy Davis having made his MLS debut during the prior game at Chicago, seeing Bradley Carnell give those players a chance in tight games was great to see.
On the Union II side of things, Malik Jakupovic made his professional debut against FC Cincinnati 2 in June and scored after subbing on. It was the start of a scoring streak for the teen, which was really something to behold as the season went on. I talked to him and Willyam Ferreira after they made their debuts, as well as Pierce Holbrook. Getting to hear their stories and them talk about their debuts—the beginnings of their professional journeys—it was just special. A fun part of my role as a reporter covering Next Pro is seeing these kids grow into the professionals they are striving to be.
After that trip to Columbus, where the match was on a Sunday, we hightailed it back home the next morning and I headed pretty much right to Subaru Park to cover Union II’s match against Orlando City B. Isaiah LeFlore had a tremendous goal from outside the box that he chested to his foot and booted it in. It was his first (and only) goal for Union II. Speaking with him post-game, he had said he just had a feeling he was going to score that day. We discussed his knee injury and coming back from that, and what it meant to him. After getting injured in preseason in 2024, missing the entire season, and then playing with Union II in 2025 until he was loaned to Detroit City FC, he never took the field for the first team in MLS play. He did a solid job at left back, but it is tough being behind Kai Wagner in the depth chart. A nice young man that I hope lands somewhere where he can excel.
Houston and Jack McGlynn
We went on another away game trip in July to Houston, and our second time in Texas within the calendar year (after Dallas for the Next Pro Cup). Yes, Texas in July is HOT. This was a trip we had decided on soon after Jack McGlynn was traded there. We were able to check out some really great restaurants and bars, including places near the stadium, and also meet up with Dave Leno for brunch.
The press box at the stadium was low and close to the field, but in the corner. We had a great view of Alejandro Bedoya’s goal (and he and his teammates doing Jack McGlynn’s celebration, which was not seen on TV apparently). When the Union conceded a penalty kick, we knew right away who was going to take it—Jack, of course. When he buried it, he did a celebration that involved kissing the badge, which drew the ire of some Union fans, but it was all in good fun amongst Ale, Jack, and the other players who have lots of love for one another. The game ended in a draw after it got dicey at the end after Frankie Westfield was ejected for headbutting a Houston player, and then Kyle and I had a memorable press conference with Bradley Carnell in this little office where it was just us and the Union’s staff.
I have to say that the PR people from Houston were top notch. We had great communication, they were so helpful, and they not only made sure I got into the Houston presser that included Jack speaking to the media, but they brought Jack out to Kyle and me for an interview. We had a great interview with Jack (if you have not read it, I recommend it) and what made it funny was how his former Union teammates kept interrupting and joking with Jack. It was a quick weekend trip to Houston, but so worthwhile.
A lot of Red Bulls in August
As we moved into August, there were some ups and downs. Union II got into a bit of a rut, including a 2-0 road loss against Red Bulls II that was really uncharacteristic of their play. It was the first Union II regular season away match for Kyle and me as we traveled to Montclair State University. It was a unique “press box” experience in that we were not in one. We were seated on the bleachers in front of the press box, amongst the fans, and with our laptops on our laps. After the match, as we were heading to do post-match interviews, the stadium lights got turned off on us, so we essentially spoke with Ryan Richter in the dark. All that being said, the PR contact with Red Bulls was also great to us, as he was when we went to matches at Sports Illustrated Stadium for the first and second teams.
The Union had their rescheduled Open Cup match against Red Bulls, making it a lot of play against that organization in a short span. After the first try got rained out in July where the field looked like a swimming pool, and my coworker, Erica, was joining me for her first Union match, the second try was successful (after yet another rain delay) with the Union winning 3-2 behind Milan Iloski’s first Union goal and a late game-winner from Olwethu Makhanya. It ended up being worth the wait.
Kyle and I traveled to the away Red Bulls match with our friend Todd Lewis of “The Free Kick” to cover the match, and our friend Jimmy King also attended as media. While the match was a downer as Andre Blake had to leave the match due to injury, and the Union lost 1-0 (their first loss to Red Bulls in a long, long time), Andrew Rick did a solid job coming in cold. After a rough outing against Red Bulls II less than a week prior, he showed a lot of poise and confidence, and gave us a good post-match interview.
Speaking of post-match, we had one of the more bizarre things we have seen in our time doing media. As we were in the press conference room with Bradley Carnell, the Red Bull mascot opened the door to the room and stood there bobbing his head in what seemed like a mocking fashion. It was so weird.
The home stretch
We had thought about making the trip to Vancouver to see the Union, but we decided to save our money in case they made the Open Cup final, which we would attend if that were the case. We were glad we did not make that trip because the 7-0 slaughter was hard to watch. Of course, the Union would get bounced by Nashville in the Open Cup Semifinal so that travel did not happen either.
We did make one more away trip for the first team when we went to Audi Field with Todd Lewis once again for the Union at DC United. It was my first time in that press box. That 6-0 drubbing was entertaining, but it came at a huge cost as Quinn Sullivan injured his knee early in the match, ending his season. From our vantage point, we saw him leave the field after going down, go back and forth on the sideline, looking as if he would be good to go back in, and then all of a sudden drop down to the ground. It was heartbreaking to see that, and Quinn would be greatly missed the rest of the season.
Supporters’ Shield and playoffs
A week later, the Union secured their second Supporters’ Shield in club history after an intense 1-0 win over NYCFC at home. The stadium was electric, and the tension was palpable as the Union fought to hang on to the 1-0 lead courtesy of a Mikael Uhre goal. With NYCFC goalkeeper (and former backup to Andre Blake) Matt Freese pushed up all the way into the scrum on the last play, the two goalkeepers leapt up with Blake getting the upper hand. The Union finished it out and the joy on the field and the stands was something to behold. Whatever happened the rest of the season, the Union at least had a trophy to show for their incredible efforts.
Union II closed out their regular season the next day in an intense match with NYCFC II. After relinquishing the lead with about ten minutes left, Neil Pierre scored his second goal of the match late in stoppage time, sealing the win. He had a tremendous season, and was deservedly named Defender of the Year for MLS Next Pro. It will be interesting to see if he gets more first team time in 2026.
Union II forged through the playoffs with wins against FC Cincinnati 2, whose number they really had this past season, and wisely chose them as their opponent. Huntsville City was a battle, but Stas Korzeniowski’s hot streak continued. He buried the only goal, a PK, in… wait for it… the 67th minute. Cue the kids in the stands doing the 6-7 thing (yes, they actually did it).
The Union, meanwhile, could not make the first match of the playoffs easy. After having a 2-0 lead, and “you know what they say about 2-0 leads” going off in my head, the Union coughed up two late goals, sending the match to penalties. When Jesús Bueno stepped up to take what would be the winning shot, visions of Chuchu scoring the winning PK in Leagues Cup in 2023 flashed through probably everyone’s mind. Bueno delivered once again, sealing the victory.
Kyle and I did not get to watch the away playoff match against Chicago very closely when it was live as we were en route to the MLS Next Pro Eastern Conference Final, where Union II were facing New York Red Bulls II at Sports Illustrated Stadium. We actually had an interesting day as I had to coach at a swim meet in Mercersburg (two hours west of our hometown of Lancaster) while Kyle was in York for work. We met up near Allentown and rode up to Harrison, New Jersey together.
We were in the car and almost there when Tai Baribo scored his first goal, and then walking toward security when he scored his second. We were then in the stadium for Andre Blake’s PK save and Bruno Damiani’s goal. We pulled a little double duty for a bit with Union II getting started in their match, but we made it work.
Union II unfortunately came up short this year in the Eastern Conference Final, and after nursing a 1-0 lead, gave up two goals. The young men battled, but it was not their night. After seeing them fall in the MLS Next Pro Cup last season, we hoped they could get back to that to have another go, but it was not meant to be. Still, considering all the changes the squad went through and the challenges that came with that, it was an impressive season. Ryan Richter discussed the story of the season when he was on our podcast recently, and it really put the season in perspective.
I am not sure how much more needs to be said about the Eastern Conference Semifinal loss for the Union. It was a disappointing way to end the season, but also they would have run into the buzz saw that Miami was in the playoffs. The three week layoff was unfortunate, and I think a lot of people almost expected that to have a negative impact.
Final thoughts
When I look back at the 2025 season for the Union and Union II, I look at the journey. I look at the little moments that added up to the Supporters’ Shield in a season where people thought they would be lucky to make the playoffs. They surpassed expectations and won a trophy. With Union II, they grew, they learned, and like the first team, had a plethora of contributors throughout the season. There is not just one superstar. They were a collective.
The memories that will stick with me are not just the wins. I enjoyed all the weekday mornings that I drove down to Chester in the summer. (I also have to shout out the Union PR staff who have been great to work with in getting us media access, interviews, and more throughout the year.) I would often start off by watching Union II practice before doing interviews, and follow up with the same for the first team. I could see some of the inner workings, like how players were at training, and witnessed many a humorous moment (but will not be sharing those anecdotes). The staff and players were always so pleasant to interact with as well, and I could name a bunch that went out of their way to say hello and shake my hand, because that was the kind of character that was instilled. They are in good hands with coaches like Bradley Carnell and Ryan Richter. [Check out our recent interview with Richter]
So it is time to reset, recharge, and get ready for what 2026 holds during the short offseason. It was a memorable ride in 2025, and The One Team We Agree On team looks forward to bringing our readers more the stories—not just recaps—that make the Union worth following.
Main article photo credit: Philadelphia Union
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