Cavan Sullivan has the Philadelphia Union firing on all cylinders.
Philadelphia continues to heat up in MLS play, earning their fourth straight victory in stunning fashion, completing a second-half comeback at Yankee Stadium on Sunday night.
Trailing New York City FC, 2-0, the Union managed to flip the script and secure a 3-2 win, courtesy of a trio of assists from the Sullivan brothers, igniting the scoring and setting up a Bruno Damiani brace.
Sensational Sullivans
Philadelphia’s second-half turnaround was sparked by Cavan continuing his fantastic post-World Cup form, providing a pair of helpers to equalize. The 16-year-old has now recorded 1g/3a in his last two matches, proving a clear catalyst for the Union’s playoff push.
“He is one of the guys I challenged. We know about his talent. It is incredible," said interim head coach Ryan Richter. "The things that he can do, the mentality that he has, but [he] can’t only play when the ball is at his feet. He is going to have to find the game in different ways sometimes."
The challenge was more than accepted, as Cavan took over in the second half, assisting not only the first goal of the night with a flicked header to set up Haitian international Danley Jean Jacques, but also an unselfish square pass to set up a tap-in for Damiani.
“He is the guy that, for a young man, can accept this in the moment, put together what he did in the second half, and then have the unselfish play in Bruno’s first goal? That’s what makes him different," said Richter. "This maturity, this mentality… really proud of the way he responded to what I think was his best first half.”
The other half of the Sullivan brothers' partnership, Quinn, who recently returned from a 2025 season-ending ACL tear, was responsible for the assist on the game-winner after entering the match in the 70th minute, an equally unselfish play to find Damiani for his brace on the night.
These are two players that Richter knows extremely well, having seen them grow over many years, well before they were even part of the first team. Like many others around the Union organization, the brothers have a special meaning to him.
“You know in your life when someone is rooting for you? I am rooting for them. I want to see them win, I want to see them be successful and when you see them do well, it makes you proud and it makes you happy for them," said Richter.
“I have known those guys for a long time; I have known the family for a long time…I wanna see them be successful, I want them to win as individuals, and I am proud of the way that they have bought into the team and helped us through these first couple of weeks.”
Dramatic comeback
The Union fell behind in the first half thanks to two penalties, with NYCFC’s latest designated player Bénie Traoré and Palmeiras loanee Luighi each netting their first MLS goals.
However, Richter knew his team could do better and said as much during his halftime talk.
“One or two things tactically, but it was more about challenging the guys to play better, to give more, to be more connected when they didn’t have the ball, challenging some guys individually,” added Richter.
“I’m proud of them, the way they responded to that, accepted that, performed in the second half.”
Since Richter took over on an interim basis, he holds a 4W-0L-0D record in MLS play, making the Union the only team since the restart of league play following the World Cup to maintain a perfect record.
That’s a stark contrast to the first half of the season, when the Union sat at the very bottom of the league, and has Philadelphia (13th in Eastern Conference) firmly in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs race, just five points out of postseason positioning.
Richter and the Sullivans now face their toughest challenge yet since returning to MLS play, welcoming Lionel Messi and Inter Miami CF to Subaru Park on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET | Apple TV) in what will be a rematch of the 10-goal thriller from earlier this season.
