Wednesday night could go down as a season-defining moment for the Philadelphia Union.
Jim Curtin’s squad routed the New England Revolution 5-1 at Subaru Park, ending their 10-match winless streak. 14-year-old Cavan Sullivan made MLS history in the match, becoming the youngest player to make his regular-season debut among the top North American professional sports leagues.
Sullivan surpassed Freddy Adu’s record by 13 days, playing the final five minutes of the Eastern Conference showdown in Chester, Pennsylvania. Adu proceeded to congratulate Sullivan for breaking his record on social media.
Tai Baribo stole the show by recording his first MLS hat trick while Jakob Glesnes and Quinn Sullivan also found the back of the net. Sullivan’s strike, a powerful right-footed shot in the 84th minute, led to Cavan racing off the end-line to celebrate with his brother.
Cavan showed promising moments in his short home cameo, registering one shot on target, and showing zero fear in possession. The U.S. youth national team standout entered the match with two goals in back-to-back MLS NEXT Pro appearances for Union II.
“Look, this is just the start,” said Sullivan to reporters. “I’m really, really happy to have done this, but it’s honestly the first box checked off, so a long journey ahead. I know it’s all about where you finish, not where you start. So I’m just going keep working, keep developing here. My main focus is on Philadelphia and our season ahead.
“This is just the first chapter in Cavan’s career,” Curtin said postmatch. “For those that don’t know, we do have a plan for him. It’s not just minute by minute or day by day; there is a plan in place. So you guys saw him dominate the academy level, even up three years. You saw him now score some good goals for Union 2 and do really well. You guys don’t get to see him every day in training, but the staff does, and the time was right to give him an opportunity.”
As for the Union, they jumped out of last place in the East, moving ahead of the Revs in the league table. Sullivan will seek continued minutes for the Union, who host Nashville SC on Saturday in their final match before the Leagues Cup schedule begins.
He got garbage time minutes while the team was up 5-1. While still pretty cool at 14, it will be more interesting to see if he gets minutes when the team is looking to get goals against an opponent.
With that being said the kid didn’t hesitate to assert himself into the attack in those 8 minutes on the field. And it was fun to see him and Quinn try to collaborate in attack. Might be seeing more of those two together more frequently in the coming years in attack together. Quinn is pretty good himself and at a young 20 has a long career ahead of him.
That game ended with a 14yo, a 16yo and two 19yos on the field at the same time. Not all of them are destined for greatness or anything, but none looked really out of place, either.
There was talk about having to adhere to child labor laws because he’s only 14, so that might actually limit some of his ability to get minutes once the school year starts again in September when more restrictions set in. The club made a statement that they are aware of the rules and are following them.
Hmmm. I wonder if that would restrict him from playing in late games?
True. We will see how the rest of the season goes for him. I really liked what I saw from him in those 8 minutes. He didn’t come in and be timid. He actually tried to create more goals. And had a shot on goal himself.
Read a little more into it, MLS and Philly are not concerned. One poster said there are exceptions that you can apply for entertainers and they assumed that it would apply here. Think about actors in theater productions. It’s also kind of silly since high school athletes are routinely playing past these hours, the difference being they aren’t being paid.
Have to think they had eyes on, knew the deadline to set that record. Not sure riding the coat-tails pf a 14 year old is the best thing for him or a good sign for the state of team, but… ok. When you’re having a season like Philly, guess you have to do something to get a positive headline. Pulling for the kid to keep grinding.