Just before the holiday break, Philadelphia Union learned its entire 2023 MLS Schedule after the league announced it on Tuesday. MLS fans can watch every 2023 league match on AppleTV MLS Season Pass. No blackouts. No restrictions.
We are taking a deep dive into each month of the season to look at each of the matchups! Today we're focused on the Union's September schedule which sees the Boys in Blue busy as they prepare for the postseason with three big home matches at Subaru Park highlighted by a MLS Cup rematch.
September starts off with a rivalry showdown at Subaru Park on Sunday, September 3rd, as the Union battle rivals New York Red Bulls.
Matching styles, philosophies and add in some bad blood and it all adds up to a great rivalry between the Union and New York Red Bulls. The rivalry has been quite one sided in recent years with the Union walking away with a positive result in 12 of the last 14 contests which stretches back to 2017! With such similar styles, the matches have been one or two play games with the Union getting a 2-0 road win last season after a 1-1 draw earlier in 2022.
After time off due to the FIFA International Window, the Union set up a playoff rematch from the 2022 Eastern Conference Semifinals with FC Cincinnati coming to Subaru Park on Saturday, September 16th.
With a familiar faces on the sideline, on the pitch and designing the future of the roster, FC Cincinnati made huge strides in 2022 to go from bottom of the league to a getting a victory in their MLS Cup Playoffs debut. While the Orange and Blue ended its losing streak to the Union with a 3-1 result in August, their biggest clash came in the postseason where the Union prevailed via a Leon Flach golazo in the second half to jumpstart Philly’s memorable run in the playoffs.
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No longer the new kids in the league, Charlotte FC and the Union have only one year of matchups to reflect upon with the home side taking all three points in each of them. In April the Union racked up a 2-0 win at Subaru Park behind goals from Julian Carranza and Daniel Gazdag however Charlotte got its revenge with a 4-0 thumping before Decision Day.
When the schedule was announced this was the game that all Union fans quickly circled and how could you not. The Union and LAFC don’t play normal games, they see unbelievable goals via Jakob Glesnes, Julian Carranza and of course the MLS Cup Final last year to end the season. While Head Coach Jim Curtin and the team will say it’s just another match on the schedule, the matchup in September could very well be another taste of a MLS Cup Final repeat down the line. This time the contest is at Subaru Park, where the final would have been if goal differential had been the tiebreaker for Supporters’ Shield and not overall wins.
September concludes on the road as the Boys in Blue battle the Columbus Crew on Saturday, September 30th.
After missing the postseason in 2022, the Columbus Crew are under new leadership with 2022 MLS Coach of the Year Runner-Up Wilfred Nancy making the move from CF Montreal to take over the Ohio side. Regardless of who is in charge, the Union and Crew are always one play games and last year was no exception with only one goal scored across the pair of league contest. That goal wasn’t even scored by the winning side as Jose Martinez floated a cross into the box two minutes into the contest that Crew goalkeeper Eloy Room fumbled into his own net.
