DC United couldn’t have come to town at a better time. Beautiful weather. Packed house. Dreadful defense. While the Union have struggled this season and only had three home wins heading into Sunday, their closest rivals continue to be their most sure bet for three points as they showed in a week when they shredded the leaky back lines of playoff pretenders NYCFC and DC United. Now they have a week to soak in the joy of a long overdue home win with Atlanta United coming to town.

In the email today:

1. 🚇 Union Keep Momentum Rolling

By Matteo Ventresca

The Philadelphia Union are firmly back in the playoff picture and riding high after a 4-0 triumph over DC United at Subaru Park on Sunday.

Fresh off a 5-1 win at NYCFC, the Union made it two wins in a row with goals from forwards Mikael Uhre and Tai Baribo, and midfielder Daniel Gazdag, who moved up to a four-way tie for second place in the golden boot race.

Midfielder Quinn Sullivan recorded two assists and Baribo recorded one assist, while goalkeeper Andre Blake recorded a clean sheet with five saves to secure three points for the Union.

“I think we’re in a really good spot right now,” Blake said, answering a question from the media. “We have guys that are really confident and we have guys that are playing at their best right now.”

The first and third goals came in the 13th and 51st minutes with Sullivan dribbling past defenders on the right flank and setting up tap-ins for Uhre and Baribo.

Head Coach Jim Curtin believes the team scores goals when Uhre, Baribo, and Gazdag are close together.

“We’re going to go as far as those guys [Uhre, Baribo, and Gazdag] go,” Curtin stated in a press conference. “They can finish plays off. They’re very dangerous.”

Both teams totaled 37 fouls, 12 coming from the Union. Only two yellow cards were given – to D.C. United defender Aaron Herrera in the 25th minute and to Cristian Dajome in second half stoppage time.

Curtin struck an optimistic tone in the post-game, stating a belief that the Union the way they are playing now is capable of defeating any team they face.

“We can raise our level to play with the best teams,” Curtin stated. “It’s a scary group. A group that knows each other well. It’s played in big games together.”

The Union will get a week of trying ahead of a visit from Atlanta United at Subaru Park on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Atlanta is three points behind the 9th place Union in 11th place.

2. 🇭🇺 Who is the Penalty Merchant Now?

Remember last year when Daniel Gazdag was deridingly dismissed as a penalty merchant? Well that was then and this is now. Gazdag had a brace last night in another drubbing of DC United and is now second in the league (behind just Christian Benteke) in goals with 17.

Of those 17 goals, just 4 have come from the penalty spot. Compare that to Dennis Bouanga who has just 10 non-penalty goals and Gazdag is among both the top non-penalty goalscorers in the league too.

Gazdag’s first goal of the night was his 100th in his senior career and he is now at 70 all competitions in a Union jersey. He had 31 goals in 212 appearances for Budapest Honved FC and 70 in 151 for the U.

Though scoring goals - especially when the other team passes you the ball in the box - has been the least of the Union’s worries this season, Gazdag’s finishing highlights a strength that with Andre Blake leading the way in the back will be an asset as the Union look to nail down a playoff spot and overachieve in the postseason after sleepwalking their way through far too much of the season.

3. ☝️ Tweet of the Day: Victory Monday

4. 💧 Water Cooler:

5. 🔗 Link Roundup

• Union II plays NYCFC II today at 4 p.m. 

• It’s U.S. Open Cup final week. LAFC hosts SKC Wednesday night in LA. Closer to home, nine teams are in local qualifying for the 2025 edition with eight of those teams playing the first weekend of October.

• Conestoga knocked off the unbeaten CB East girls team on Saturday morning in one of the marquee match-ups of the local high school season. Photographer Carl Gulbish was there to capture the action.

• WC Predators and Kensington SC battled to a 3-3 draw in an entertaining EPSL match at YSC Sports on Tuesday.

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