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The long Memorial Day Weekend has ended but the Philadelphia Union’s May still has two games with trips to Toronto and FC Dallas still on the docket. Wednesday’s U.S. Open Cup triumph was followed by another big game letdown when Inter Miami overcame a two-goal deficit and equalized in stoppage time. It was the second time this month a team in the upper echelon of the league sent a packed Subaru Park crowd home disappointed. But the month of May has still been a wildly successful one and it can become an even more emphatic statement of the team’s intent in the coming days.

In the email today:

1. 😔 Big Game Letdown

By Matteo Ventresca

The Philadelphia Union continue to show fans the team’s most frustrating flaw: the inability to finish strong. Despite taking early leads, the Union have repeatedly failed to secure wins in high-stakes matches, most recently against Columbus on May 10 and Inter Miami on May 24.

In both matches, the Union jumped ahead, only to collapse late.

On May 24, in front of a packed Subaru Park crowd, the Union dominated the first half against a stacked Miami side. Quinn Sullivan opened the scoring with a beautiful strike into the top-right corner, and Tai Baribo capitalized on a deflection to double the lead. At halftime, Union looked every bit like a top contender, heading to the locker room up 2-0.

But the second half told a different story.

In the 60th minute, Miami’s Noah Allen delivered a perfect cross to an unmarked Tadeo Allende, who cut the lead to one. Though Baribo answered in the 72nd with his second goal, pushing the score to 3-1, the Union’s defense began to unravel.

In the 87th minute, Jakob Glesnes fouled Lionel Messi just outside the box. This was a mistake that proved costly. Messi buried the free kick with world-class precision, cutting the deficit to one. From there, Miami piled on pressure. The Union couldn’t hold their shape, and in the 95th minute, Telasco Segovia split the defense and slotted home the equalizer past a helpless Andrew Rick.

It was a meltdown that mirrored the Union’s performance two weeks earlier.

Against Columbus on May 10, the Union also led in the second half, 2-1 by the 64th minute. But again, defensive mistakes cost them. Columbus’ Sean Zawadzki was left unmarked on a corner and headed home the equalizer, sealing another disappointing draw for the Union.

Two leads. Two blown opportunities. One clear message: if the Union wants to contend for the top of the table, they’ll need to fix their late-game collapses as soon as possible.

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2. 🥤 Red Bull Derby Heaven

Hating on the Red Bull never gets old and thanks to the Philadelphia Union making a run in the U.S. Open Cup for the first time in a long time, fans will get to see the North Jersey Energy Drinks come to town twice in July.

The Union drew the Red Bull for a midweek quarterfinal of the Open Cup on July 9 after their 4-1 win over the Pittsburgh Riverhounds Wednesday night. It was the first meeting between the two Pennsylvania sides in any competition but sets up one of the more familiar rivalries - in league and cup play. Insert commentary about Red Bull fans saying the Union aren’t their rivals here.

Going into the season with expectations low, the return to the U.S. Open Cup offered a real chance for the Union to win hardware but now with their place at the top of the standings the oldest competition in American soccer presents an opportunity both for head coach Bradley Carnell and for a team poised to do more than just make the playoffs again.

Jim Curtin made three Open Cup finals when the team was otherwise underachieving and not really contending in league play but with the offseason additions to the team and the form they’ve been showing in the first half of the season this might be the best the team has ever been positioned to win a trophy and at last bring the Open Cup back to the Keystone State.

To do so the Union will need to win on the road after beating Red Bull, traveling either to DC United or Nashville for the semifinal in September and to Minnesota, Austin, San Jose or Chicago for the final on October 1.

3. 🐍 Social Post of the Day: River Snake

3. 💧 Water Cooler: Players Ratings Poll

Weigh in on the performances and share your reactions to Saturday’s 3-3 draw with Inter Miami in our Player Ratings Poll.

4. 🔗 Link Roundup

• Quentin Hall was back from a trip to the FA Cup final to share his thoughts on the Inter Miami draw.

• Owen Boyle profiled a South Jersey native who started following Leeds United when they signed Brenden Aaronson and is helping to grow a Leeds United supporters group in Portland, Ore.

• Villanova grad Jorge Garcia had an unforgettable moment for the Riverhounds in his return to the area on Wednesday.

• Todd Lewis of The Free Kick had plenty to break down in terms of goals from Saturday’s draw.

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