Cavan Sullivan and the Union Erase a 3-0 Hole, Stun Sporting KC 4-3 With Four Goals in Nine Minutes

Sixteen minutes into Saturday night at Sporting Park, the Philadelphia Union were down 3-0 and the highlight package belonged to André Luiz. Fifty-seven minutes later, Sporting Kansas City had been flattened by a nine-minute collapse nobody in the building saw coming.

Philadelphia beat Sporting KC 4-3, scoring four unanswered goals between the 64th and 73rd minutes. Bruno Damiani, 16-year-old Cavan Sullivan and Milan Iloski scored in a five-minute burst, and a Zorhan Bassong own goal finished the job. Per the Union, the win stretched their MLS unbeaten run to 11 matches, tying the longest league unbeaten streak in club history.

Luiz Lights Up Kansas City

Sporting started like a team that had read Philadelphia's mail. In the fifth minute, Lasse Berg Johnsen sprang a fast break and Luiz finished from a tight angle on the right into the bottom left corner. Five minutes later, Calvin Harris teed him up again and Luiz hammered a left-footed shot from outside the box into the same corner. The Union site noted it was only Luiz's third start for the club since arriving from Olympiacos, and MLS calls him Sporting's club-record signing.

Then came the third. Andre Blake parried a Luiz shot in the 15th minute, Emir Karic delivered the resulting corner, and Wyatt Meyer headed it into the top of the net in the 16th. 3-0. Philadelphia, which had won its previous four league matches by a combined 15-1, looked stunned.

The rest of the half was mostly Philadelphia shooting from range and Stefan Cleveland catching. Kai Wagner tested him in the 20th minute, and both Indiana Vassilev and Cavan Sullivan were stopped in the 44th. At the other end, Blake kept it at three by diving to deny Harris in the 29th. The half ended with tempers flaring: Kwaku Agyabeng was booked for a foul on Vassilev, and the Union said an altercation near the benches after the whistle earned Jesús Bueno a yellow card.

The Nine Minutes

Ryan Richter sent on Quinn Sullivan for Vassilev at halftime, and the substitute immediately tested Cleveland from more than 35 yards. Sporting still had chances to kill the game. Blake saved from Stephen Afrifa at very close range in the 58th minute, and Meyer headed a corner high and wide a minute later.

Then the floor gave way. In the 64th minute, Frankie Westfield got into the box on the right and Damiani got the final touch, steering a left-footed finish into the bottom left corner. 3-1.

Two minutes later, Danley Jean Jacques cut the ball back and Cavan Sullivan rolled it into the bottom left corner. 3-2.

Two minutes after that, Quinn Sullivan supplied Iloski, with a rabona according to the Union, and Iloski smashed a right-footed shot from a tight angle into the top right corner. 3-3.

Wicky tried to stop the bleeding by sending on Bassong for Berg Johnsen in the 71st minute. Two minutes later, off a Philadelphia corner, the ball went in off Bassong for an own goal. 4-3. Sporting's best late look came from Seymour Reid in the 81st minute, and it sailed over.

Sullivan Steals the Spotlight

Cavan Sullivan was the face of the comeback. The 16-year-old had both of his shots on target, scored once, and by MLS's count it was his sixth goal in as many games. Per the Union, he was due to leave the next morning for his first US men's national team camp. He plays like he has never heard of pressure, which at 16 might literally be true.

Per the Union, Damiani and Iloski had combined for 19 goals this season before kickoff, and both added to the pile. Iloski put both of his shots on target, Damiani scored with his only effort on frame, and Quinn Sullivan turned a halftime introduction into an assist. Cleveland made five saves for Sporting and still conceded four.

On the losing side, Luiz was electric: four shots, three on target, two goals. MLS named him to the Team of the Matchday bench. It just was not enough.

Sporting's postgame mood was brutal. "When we conceded the first goal, the team just crumbled. That is obviously unacceptable," head coach Raphael Wicky said, per the club. Berg Johnsen was even more blunt. "At 3-0 in football, the game should be over," he said. "We played a good first half for nothing."

The Turning Point

Damiani's goal in the 64th minute flipped everything. Before it, Philadelphia had pushed without reward and Sporting was comfortable. After it, Sporting stopped keeping the ball, and the Union smelled blood. Wicky's own diagnosis was simple: "Now we're sitting here and I cannot believe what happened in the second half."

Stats That Matter

• Shots on target: Philadelphia 8, Sporting 6, from just 11 and 10 total shots.
• Saves: Cleveland 5, Blake 3.
• Possession: Philadelphia had 55 percent.
• Interceptions: The Union made 14 to Sporting's 8, a sign of how aggressively they hunted the ball.
• Goal burst: Four Philadelphia goals in nine minutes.

What It Means

Philadelphia improved to 10-6-10 with 36 points and has now won five straight in league play. MLS counts 11 unbeaten since the World Cup pause, with nine wins and two draws. Orlando City visits next, and the club says five of Saturday's starters are heading off to international camps: Blake, Neil Pierre, Westfield, Jean Jacques and Cavan Sullivan.

For Sporting, it is a second 4-3 defeat in three weeks after the loss at FC Dallas on Sept. 5, and it followed a 3-1 win over LAFC the previous weekend. At 5-3-17 with 18 points, the club keeps finding ways to score and still lose. Berg Johnsen even took some blame for the equalizer, saying he should have done better on the third goal.

Closing Take

This was an M. Night Shyamalan ending, except the twist was a 16-year-old with a USMNT call-up and a team that refused to believe the scoreboard. Sporting led 3-0 and lost. Philadelphia trailed 3-0 and won. Somewhere, a Sporting fan is still staring at the replay wondering where the floor went.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes as reported by sportingkc.com. Club notes from philadelphiaunion.com and mlssoccer.com.