Nathan Harriel needed just three minutes to find the back of the net and added an assist nine minutes later, setting the tone for Philadelphia Union’s 3-1 victory over Club Necaxa on Sunday night at Subaru Park.
Playing three days after a 1-0 setback to Cruz Azul in their Leagues Cup opener, the Boys in Blue delivered the response they needed with Harriel, Bruno Damiani and Cavan Sullivan all finding the back of the net.
Harriel started the scoring in the third minute, finishing off a quick Union counterattack to give the hosts an early advantage. The Homegrown captain was involved again just nine minutes later, sending a perfectly weighted cross into the box that Damiani redirected into the back of the net to double Philadelphia’s lead.
Necaxa looked for a response late in the opening half, but Homegrown goalkeeper Andrew Rick was up to the challenge, including an impressive stop on a dangerous free kick before the halftime whistle.
With goal differential serving as the first tiebreaker in Leagues Cup, Philadelphia continued searching for more after the restart. The third arrived in the 53rd minute when 16-year-old Cavan Sullivan met Indiana Vassilev’s service with a powerful volley to put the Boys in Blue firmly in control.
Necaxa eventually pulled one back later in the second half, but Philadelphia managed the closing stages to secure three important points and rebound from its opening Leagues Cup defeat.
Philadelphia Union wraps up Phase One of Leagues Cup with a third-straight match against a Liga MX side on Thursday, August 13th. Kick off for the match between the Boys in Blue and Santos Laguna is set for 7PM ET with tickets available by clicking here.
How The Match Unfolded
LINEUP NOTES
Richter made multiple changes to the XI for his team's second Leagues Cup match -- Andrew Rick started in net again, but the backline was altered. Nate Harriel shifted to right back opposite Kai Wagner, while Japhet Sery Larsen joined the lineup paired at centerback with Neil Pierre.Â
Danley Jean Jacques, Jovan Lukic, Cavan Sullivan, and Indiana Vassilev made up the midfield, while Ezekiel Alladoh and Bruno Damiani started up top -- a physically imposing striker selection from Richter.
Pregame | The match marked the return of Julian Carranza for the first time since his transfer to Eredivisie side Feyenoord in June 2024. Now a player for Necaxa, Carranza's named was announced as part of the side from Aguascalientes' starting XI, garnering emphatic applause from Union faithful -- an unsurprising warm welcome back for a player who made a major mark on the club during his 2.5 seasons in Philly. He responded with a gesture of appreciation of his own -- in addition to dropping both 'Go Birds' and 'Go Sixers' in his prematch interview on Apple's broadcast, the 26-year-old Argentinian went down the line to greet every Union starter and staff member moments before first kick.
3' Union's Quick to Score! | Three minutes into the match, Philadelphia Union opened scoring for an early 1-0 lead. Harriel, back in his natural right back position and sporting the captain’s armband, calmly placed a far post shot from the top right corner of the box to the back of the net, capitalizing on a pass from Sullivan.
9' Union Save | Necaxa's Javier Ruiz went for the equilizer, but it was swiftly saved by Rick.
11' Union Yellow Card | Pierre was shown yellow card of the night for a foul on fouling
12' Union strikes again! | A powerful pass from Lukic upfield found Harriel for the Homegrown’s second goal contribution of the night – he found Damiani with a pass across the box, who placed it to make it 2-0 by the 12th minute. ​
35' Necaxa Yellow Card |Â Pedro Pedraza recieved a yellow card after tripping Sullivan on fask break.
40' Union goes for three | Sullivan nearly added to the Union's lead late in the frst half but saw his effort sail over the crossbar.
49' Union Goal Attempt |Â Bruno Damiani went for a header, but missed just right of the net.Â
53' Union makes it three! | Sullivan made it three for the Boys in Blue in the 53rd minute, scoring at the right post off a chipped pass from Vassilev.
56' Necaxa substitutions | Head Coach MartÃn Varini made some changes to his lineup, exchanging Miguel RodrÃguez for Ricardo Monreal and Raúl MartÃnez for Kaiky Naves.
60' Union's make a change | Richter made changes of his own in the 60th with a quadruple substitution, putting Quinn Sullivan in for his younger brother, Frankie Westfield for Wagner, Ezekiel Alladoh for Iloski, and Jesús Bueno for Jean Jacques.
64' Necaxa sends two more | Varini puts two more new faces on the pitch, exchanging Owen González for Javier Ruiz and Lorenzo Faravelli for Pedro Pedraza.
73' Union Exchange Another | Richter made another substituion, exchanging Damiani for 17-year-old Philadelphia Union Academy standout turned Homegrown Mailk Jakupovic.
79' Necaxa Scores Its First | The Liga MX side broke through with just over 10 minutes left in the match with Matias Espindola sending a low shot past Rick to trim the scoreline to 3-1.
80' Necaxa's substitution | Varini's final change of the night saw a triple digit player hit the pitch with No. 207 Omar Dominguez coming on for Vargas.
87' Necaxa Yellow Card | Faravelli recieved his first yellow card with three minutes remaining in the half.
90+ Stoppage time | Four minutes were added to the contest with both sides pushing for another goal. Philly earned a corner with two minutes remaining that saw the Boys in Blue turn to a little play off the training ground that ended with Quinn Sullivan's shot blocked.
