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If you went to bed early last night you probably got more than the shock of your alarm waking up this morning when you saw the Union scored THREE away goals in the second half. King Julian’s big second half rescued one of the more confounding 45 minutes of soccer the Union have ever played. The Union now return home to start league play and in good shape for the second leg against Saprissa.

In the email today:

1. 👑 King Julian's Big Night in Costa Rica

Though it’s unlikely Julian Carranza will be with the Philadelphia Union when the 2024 seasons ends in late fall, the star forward made sure to put his stamp on how the season started with a second half hat trick in a 3-2 win over Saprissa on Tuesday night in Costa Rica.

The hat trick was the 23-year-old Argentine’s third in a Union shirt – both previous hat tricks were against DC United in the 2022 season – and seventh multi-goal game for the boys in blue. He’s now scored 36 goals in 81 games all competitions for the Union.

“A special player, and a special night for him,” head coach Jim Curtin after the Concacaf Champions Cup win. “Teams don’t come in here and score three goals, let alone three goals in a half so it’s a good achievement.”

Heading into the offseason after a disappointing playoff exit, there was plenty of doubt that Carranza would ever wear a Union shirt again. Despite rumored interest during the January transfer window Carranza returned to the team that rescued him from Inter Miami and gave him a place to rejuvenate his promising career back in 2022.

“He’s a top striker, and one that I don’t know how much longer we’ll have in Philadelphia,” Curtin said on Tuesday, essentially giving an ice bath to any notion that the Union have a chance to keep him much beyond the summer transfer window.

Performances like the one he turned in Tuesday night serve only as another example of his value to European teams with money to spend on adding a striker this summer.

“I thought (he) was excellent on the night, not just the goals that he scores but also the holdup play, combinations, passing and moving,” Curtin said.

Limited in his opportunities offensively in a disastrous first half of soccer for the Union, Carranza still managed to make a big contribution in his own box defensively. That willingness to defend and his relentless pursuit of the ball even when he’s not getting service is a feature that has made him so successful in Chester and should interest teams scouting him.

“He does a lot of the dirty work for the team as well with his pressing and defensive work,” Curtin said. “But when you score goals in the big games – and this was a big game tonight – you know the world is watching… anytime you have a night like this, I’ll just say a lot of scouting eyes are on him so I hope this is just the beginning for him this season.”

2. 📈 Rate the U: Player Ratings

As player ratings go, last night was a bit of a strange one. A brutal first half that could’ve been worse if Saprissa had their shooting boots on followed by a second half where the Union attack looked unstoppable.

The Man of the Match is not even a little bit in question but there were a number of other notable second half performances from players that didn’t see enough of the ball in the first half: mainly Daniel Gazdag and Quinn Sullivan.

Share your player ratings and thoughts on last night in our Community Player Ratings. 

3. 🎩 Tweet of the Day: Hat Trick Hero

4. 💧 Water Cooler: Worst Goal?

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5. 🔗 Link Roundup

• Jared Young previewed the Philadelphia Union season for Philadelphia Soccer Now and American Soccer Analysis.

• 18-year-old Olivia Moultrie had a brace in her first start and the USWNT cruised past Dominican Republic 5-0 to open their Concacaf W Gold Cup campaign last night.

• German World Cup winner Andreas Brehme has died at the age of 63. Brehme scored the lone goal in West Germany’s 1-0 win over Argentina in the 1990 final.

• Long-time St. Joseph’s Prep and Lighthouse Soccer Club coach Jack O’Neill recently passed away. O’Neill coached at the Prep for 36 years, was on the board of directors at Lighthouse and was a member of the North Catholic and EPSA Hall of Fame.

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