Match Recap: Philadelphia Union Drop Points in 2-2 Draw with Columbus Crew
Baribo, Westfield Shine, but Late Columbus Equalizer Denies Union Victory
Chester — The Union thought they had finally broken their four-game winless streak against Columbus Crew until a late equalizer by Sean Zawadzki tied the game at 2-2. Tai Baribo scored his league-tying eighth goal of the season and picked up his first assist on Frankie Westfield’s first career Union goal.
For the second consecutive game, Andrew Rick started in goal for the injured Andre Blake (knee), with Kai Wagner, Nathan Harriel, Jakob Glesnes, and Frankie Westfield completing the backline. In midfield, Danley Jean Jacques and Jovan Lukić started as the two No. 6s, with Indiana Vassilev and Quinn Sullivan as the two No. 10s. Up front, Tai Baribo and Bruno Damiani started together for the third time, the first since the game against NYCFC (April 12).
It looked like the Union had scored the first goal in the 6th minute through Tai Baribo, but he was ruled offside. After some nice passing on the left side of the field among Kai Wagner, Quinn Sullivan, and Jovan Lukić, Sullivan played a low-driven cross to Baribo, who tucked it away first time, but the assistant referee raised his flag for offside.
Andrew Rick was called into action in the 10th minute, making a save on Az Jackson after he sprinted past Jakob Glesnes. Yevhen Cheberko played a long ball over the top for Mo Farsi, who did well to hold up play and lay it to a sprinting Jackson.
The Union struck first in the 45th minute with Tai Baribo finishing first time off a low-driven cross from Quinn Sullivan into the box. Andrew Rick took a free kick inside the Union’s half and found Quinn Sullivan, who made an outside run past Mo Farsi. Sullivan chested down the pass and played an inside-the-foot cross to Baribo.
The Union headed into halftime up 1-0 thanks to Baribo’s eighth MLS goal of the season. The Union stayed disciplined defensively, limiting Columbus to seven shots, with only one on target. Nathan Harriel and Jakob Glesnes each registered one block in the first half, with both centerbacks also recording two tackles won each. The Union outdueled Columbus 19-16 and registered more interceptions, 7-4.
Columbus found the equalizing goal in the 61st minute to make it 1-1, with Max Arfsten finishing off Dylan Chambost’s cross. The Union were caught out of position, with centerbacks Harriel and Glesnes shifting to their right, leaving Frankie Westfield 1v1 against Dániel Gazdag and Arfsten free at the back post.
The Union didn’t have to wait long to make it 2-1, as Bruno Damiani played a forward ball to Danley Jean Jacques, who beat his defender on the dribble and found Tai Baribo with a pass. Baribo held off play and played a backward pass to Frankie Westfield at the top of the 18-yard box. Westfield blasted the shot first time to give the Union a 2-1 lead in the 64th minute. That goal marked Westfield’s first career Union goal.
Bradley Carnell made his first two substitutions in the 69th minute, with Mikael Uhre and Olwethu Makhanya replacing Tai Baribo and Bruno Damiani.
Carnell made two more changes in the 79th minute, bringing on Jesús Bueno and Chris Donovan for Danley Jean Jacques and Quinn Sullivan.
Carnell’s final change came in the 89th minute, with Jeremy Rafanello replacing Jovan Lukić.
The Union had a chance to kill the game off in the 91st minute, with Mikael Uhre getting a chance from a Chris Donovan square pass, but Uhre’s effort went wide, and the game remained 2-1.
Columbus Crew found the equalizing goal through Sean Zawadzki in the third minute of stoppage time to make the score 2-2. The Union were beaten on a set-piece goal once again (just as they were twice last season in Columbus). Nathan Harriel was beaten to a header at the near post by Diego Rossi, who flicked his header to Sean Zawadzki at the back post, where he outmuscled Kai Wagner.
With the 2-2 draw, the Union dropped to third place in the Eastern Conference (7-3-2, 23 points), two points behind first-place FC Cincinnati. The Union have now gone five straight games in all competitions against Columbus Crew without a win (0-3-2).
Homegrown goalkeeper Andrew Rick registered the first assist (secondary assist) of his career. He became the youngest goalkeeper in MLS history to record an assist at 19 years and 100 days old.
Key Moments
10th minute - Andrew Rick makes his first and only save on Az Jackson.
45th minute - Tai Baribo opens the scoring to make it 1-0 Union, with Quinn Sullivan registering his sixth assist of the season.
61st minute - Max Arfsten ties the game at 1-1.
64th minute - Frankie Westfield scores three minutes after Columbus equalized to make the score 2-1 Union.
91st minute - Jesús Bueno plays a through ball to Chris Donovan, who squares the pass for Mikael Uhre, who had a chance to make it 3-1 Union.
93rd minute - Columbus finds the equalizer, this time with Sean Zawadzki, to end the game at 2-2.
First Points Dropped of the Season
Coming into the match, only two teams in MLS hadn’t dropped points this season: Charlotte FC and Philadelphia Union. This was because the Union had rarely conceded equalizing goals this season. Before the game, the Union had conceded an equalizing goal only once, last week against CF Montréal, when Giacomo Vrioni scored in the third minute of stoppage time in the first half to make it 1-1. The Union have been a much better defensive team this season under Bradley Carnell than they were last season under Jim Curtin. Prior to the game against Columbus, the Union were tied for the third-fewest goals conceded, at 10.
Despite dropping two points, Bradley Carnell was very aware of what his team had just done. He was proud of how his team approached the game and went pound for pound with one of the best teams in MLS.
“Pound for pound, we held our own. Very proud of the boys that we go ahead and, unfortunately, can’t bring it over the line,” said Carnell. “This is gut-wrenching, disappointing. You know, on the one side, I’m so happy for the boys that they stuck to the game plan, and I appreciate their effort, and we had many chances to actually maybe get the third or the fourth. So, credit to them for coming back, and it just was a great advert for the league, I think, and, yeah, it feels like we lost two points here tonight.”
If you had asked Union fans before the match if they would have taken a point against a red-hot Columbus Crew team, the majority would have signed up for it. But because the Union conceded not once, but twice—and even worse, in the 93rd minute of four minutes of stoppage time—the result stings.
Carnell’s game plan for this match was brilliant. As expected, the Union saw very little of the ball (30-70), as Columbus is a possession-based team under Wilfred Nancy. Columbus is an extremely disciplined defensive team, and they rarely give up meaningful chances. They make you work for your goals, and that’s exactly what the Union did for both of their goals: one from a dead-ball situation with Andrew Rick playing a perfect pass to Quinn Sullivan, and the second from good movement off the ball and attacking space. The Union limited Columbus to seven shots in the first half, blocking several of those shots and allowing only one on target. In the second half, they conceded even fewer shots (three). But of those three shots, two resulted in goals due to miscommunication in tracking runners and conceding a set-piece goal. Both goals were avoidable, but good teams find ways to punish mistakes, and that’s exactly what Columbus did in the second half against the Union.
Limiting Dániel Gazdag in His Return Against the Union
Dániel Gazdag returned to Subaru Park for the first time since he was traded on April 11. Gazdag received a thank-you message from the Union on the big screen before the match and a loud applause when announced in the Crew’s starting XI. Gazdag, the Union’s all-time leading goal scorer with 72 goals, played 78 minutes for the Crew and was limited to just two touches inside the Union’s penalty box. He finished the match with 45 touches, 27/33 passes completed, zero shots, and zero chances created. There were moments when Gazdag combined well on the right touchline with teammates through give-and-goes, but for the most part, he was quiet.
Frankie Westfield’s First Career Goal Is a Golazo
Frankie Westfield has had a remarkable last 10 months. He was moments away from attending college at Penn State last season but signed a Union II contract on July 5. His strong performances with Union II led to him earning a spot in MLS Next Pro’s Best XI and a call-up to the U.S. U-20s for a training camp in Chile. On February 8 of this season, Westfield signed a Homegrown contract with the Union through 2028, with an option for 2029.
Westfield, 19, has played in 11 games this season for the Union (10 starts) and earned his first career assist in his very first start against Orlando City during Week 1. A few weeks ago, he earned his second assist, this time against D.C. United, and now he has his first professional goal—a goal he couldn’t have hit any better.
Despite all the attention he has garnered in recent months, Westfield said he’s focused on staying ready and humble.
“Just staying ready. Like I said, someone can take my spot. Staying ready and staying sharp and staying humble,” said Westfield. “Always wanting more, never wanting less. Always wanting more, staying humble, staying grounded.”
Westfield said that despite the disappointing result and the team’s failure to secure three points, he couldn’t have scripted his first career goal any better.
“Unlucky that it wasn’t a winner, but I’m very happy. I’m happy with how it went in,” said Westfield with a grin. “[It was a] great hit, great banger. It felt really good when it went in. I didn’t know what to do when I was celebrating. I just kind of blacked out, but yeah, was very happy for myself. Not about the result, but to score my first goal.”
What’s Next?
The Union return to action this Wednesday, as they take on LA Galaxy at Subaru Park for the first time since 2018. The Galaxy have been by far the worst team in MLS this season, with a record of 0-9-3 (3 points). The Galaxy lost over the weekend to New York Red Bulls by a score of 7-0. The Union will be hoping for their second-ever win against the Galaxy on Wednesday night, as they look to extend their current unbeaten streak to five.
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