Cavan Sullivan Ties MLS Teen Single-Season Goal-Contribution Record as Union Beat Real Salt Lake 2-1

For five long minutes late on Saturday night, Subaru Park held its breath. Milan Iloski had bundled the ball over the line from point-blank range in the 81st minute, the officials went to VAR, and the Philadelphia Union's unbeaten run was suddenly hanging on a replay monitor. Then the call came: goal.

That review-approved strike was the difference in a 2-1 Union win over Real Salt Lake, a result that stretched Philadelphia's club-record unbeaten run to 13 MLS matches. Saba Lobjanidze's goal in the sixth minute of stoppage time made the ending tenser than it needed to be, but the Union are now 11-0-2 during the streak, per the AP. For a team that sat at 1-4-10 after a 6-4 loss at Inter Miami on May 24, that is a full makeover-montage turnaround.

Philly Shakes Off the Rust

Both teams were coming out of a two-week international window, and RSL looked livelier early. Stijn Spierings forced Andre Blake, wearing the captain's armband, into a save in the third minute. In the 28th, Sergi Solans was flagged offside on a move that, according to RSL, would otherwise have teed up an opener for Morgan Guilavogui.

Three minutes later, Philadelphia made them pay. The goal came out of a patient build down the right side. RSL's account had Cavan Sullivan dribbling in from the flank and laying the ball off to Frankie Westfield, whose first-time ball across the box was left alone by Iloski and smashed home by Bruno Damiani with his right foot.

Damiani nearly added a second in the 39th minute, but Rafael Cabral saved his header, and the Union took a 1-0 lead into halftime.

RSL Bring the Fight

RSL head coach Pablo Mastroeni used the break to rework his back line, sending on Juan Manuel Sanabria and Luc de Fougerolles for Samuel Junqua and DeAndre Yedlin. De Fougerolles was making his RSL and MLS debut, per the club.

The changes flipped the energy. Noel Caliskan dragged a shot just wide in the 52nd minute, Aiden Hezarkhani fired over in the 58th, and Blake had to make two saves in three minutes, first on Solans in the 69th and then on substitute Lobjanidze in the 71st. RSL had two more efforts blocked in the 76th.

Philadelphia kept counterpunching. Sullivan tried his luck from distance in the 63rd and 68th minutes and forced Cabral into a save in the 76th. Then came the 81st minute: Cabral parried a long-range shot from Westfield, Damiani headed wide in the chaos, and Iloski finished from very close range. The Union said the review took five minutes before the referee confirmed the goal.

The Turning Point

That VAR call was the hinge of the night. RSL had spent most of the second half pressing for an equalizer, and a wiped-out goal would have kept them one swing from a point. Instead, they needed two late goals and found only one. Off a corner in the sixth minute of stoppage time, Sanabria found de Fougerolles, who slipped Lobjanidze in for a right-footed finish. RSL said de Fougerolles became the ninth player in club history to record an assist on his debut.

Sullivan Keeps Rewriting the Record Book

Cavan Sullivan was not at his sharpest, and his coach was honest about it. "I did not think it was his best game," Union interim manager Ryan Richter said, according to MLSsoccer.com. "He was solid, I would say."

Still, the 17-year-old was in the middle of both goals. ESPN credits him with the assist on Iloski's goal, and by MLS's count Saturday's helper gave him 20 goal contributions this season. That ties Diego Fagúndez's 20 from 2013 for the MLS single-season record by a teenager and moves Sullivan past Alphonso Davies' 19 from 2018. Richter's verdict: "he still finds a way to create both goals that we had tonight."

He arrived fresh off a breakout international window in which, per MLS, he made his first USMNT start against Peru and became the youngest player in USMNT history to score, against Mexico. Not a bad couple of weeks for someone who is still too young to rent a car.

Bruno Damiani put two of his five shots on target and scored a career-high ninth goal, per the AP. The Union said it was his eighth since play resumed after the World Cup break. Milan Iloski now has 17 goals this season, a career high that the AP said was tied for third in the league. Andre Blake made three saves.

For RSL, Saba Lobjanidze put two of three shots on target off the bench. The club said he has scored three times in his last six games.

Stats That Matter

• Shots: Philadelphia led 14-11, with five on target to RSL's four.
• Saves: Blake and Cabral made three apiece.
• Fouls: The Union committed 21 to RSL's 13, and Damiani alone was whistled for six.
• Interceptions: Philadelphia made 16, RSL nine.
• Possession: The Union held 52.1 percent of the ball.

What It Means

Philadelphia improve to 12-6-10 (wins, draws, losses) with 42 points and have now won seven league matches in a row. The Union said Richter officially set the MLS record for the longest unbeaten streak to begin a managerial career. MLS noted that the Union were sixth in the Eastern Conference with six games remaining. Next up is a Wednesday trip to Chicago.

Real Salt Lake slip to 9-5-14 with 32 points and are 1-10-3 on the road, per the AP. Mastroeni kept the same starting lineup that snapped a 13-game winless run with a 3-0 win over New England, but RSL have not won away from home since March 7 at Atlanta, according to the club, which also noted it was RSL's first loss in Chester since April 2019. They host San Jose on Wednesday.

The Closing Take

The Union have turned their season into a Rocky montage, with a 17-year-old sprinting up the art museum steps ahead of everyone else. RSL made them sweat through a five-minute review and a stoppage-time goal, but the run survives. At this point, Philadelphia are not just winning games. They are collecting footnotes for the record books.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quote as reported by MLSsoccer.com. Additional details from the Philadelphia Union, Real Salt Lake and the AP.