Happy Monday, readers. It’s game day eve again already after a wild (and cold) Saturday night at Subaru Park. Quinn Sullivan has been the feel-good story early into the season and the Union attack is buzzing. Bring on Saprissa.

In the email today:

1. 🤩 Quinn Sullivan Makes an Impact (Again) in Chicago Draw

Quinn Sullivan has been one of the early emerging stars of the Philadelphia Union two games into the season and it really shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone.

The 19-year-old is a disrupter and a creator and he’s done both of those things - especially in the second half when his team has needed goals - in the Union’s first two matches of 2024.

His partnership with Nathan Harriel - who looks much improved over last year in the final third - was a thorn in the Chicago Fire’s side on Saturday night. Twice the visitors got the lead and both times it was that right-sided duo that refused to quit.

One of the many benefits of the Sullivan/Harriel show is that it forces teams to adjust their attention away from the team’s big hitters and gives the Union multiple different ways to beat teams with players not named Gazdag, Carranza or Wagner.

Sullivan’s work rate and positioning - Lori Lindsey referred to him as a winger in her high praise of him on the broadcast - is tough to match up against and the more minutes he gets the more polish he’ll be able to put on his game.

For the last couple years it’s been a matter of time for Sullivan to break out and him getting minutes and doing what he’s done with them so far will go a long way in him realizing his potential.

Of course, the better he plays the more likely he is to be on the plane to Paris with Harriel and Jack McGlynn but that’s a subject for another day.

2. 📈 Union Player Grades

Oliver Semmle C+
It was a rather mixed debut for the second-choice goalkeeper, and I was prepared to be a bit harsher before his huge save in stoppage time. He could have done better on the first and absolutely should have held onto the ball in the build-up to the second goal.

Kai Wagner B-
After years of consistently performing at a high level and earning a big contract this winter, I have huge expectations for Kai each week. His attacking contributions were solid, but he was badly beaten down the wing a handful of times. An average night at best.

Damion Lowe - B
Another mixed night. Damion saw a ton of the ball and was solid with it, doing particularly well on the second disallowed goal. Not a bad defensive night by any stretch, but a bit sloppy at times, much like Tuesday.

Jakob Glesnes - C+
Nowhere near as catastrophic as Tuesday, but I wanted more from Jakob last night. Like Lowe, he saw a lot of the ball, and did well with it. However, the defensive confidence appeared to be lacking again. I'll be concerned if this keeps up.

Nathan Harriel - B-
Nate was solid. Once again, the ball found its way to the left side far more often, and that left Nate with the least to do of any defender. Did very well with the ball and found the net well, too, despite it not counting. Few complaints, few praises.

José Martínez - A-
100x better than whatever we saw on Tuesday. So good with the ball, a monster defensively, and a wonderful assist at the death.

Jack McGlynn - B+
So good on the ball all night. Really good in duels, as well. Did everything you expect of a box-to-box guy at a very high level.

Quinn Sullivan - A-
Excellent night all-around from Quinn. A great assist to cap off a night of constant threats. Nearly scored a few times. Looked really confident, but took too long and tried to do too much a few times. Would rather have that problem than most others, though.

Dániel Gazdag - A
Another monster night from Gazdag. Struggled to get into the game in the first half but was elite in the second frame. A huge goal off a great run at the end, and both a second goal and an assist taken away by VAR. A constant threat who was great on the ball.

Mikael Uhre - B+
Uhre looked lively after a frustrating night in Costa Rica midweek. A really well-taken goal that was the product of a perfect run and continued to get into dangerous spots. Stretched the backline really well all night long, too. Should've scored at the death.

Julián Carranza - C
Not Julián's best night by any stretch of the imagination. I really enjoyed his hold-up play in the first half, but it led to absolutely nothing. He fell out of the game in the second half and missed a really, really good chance the one time he did pop up.

(SUB) Alejandro Bedoya - B
Ale was solid in his short showing. Was far from perfect when passing, but found a perfect ball when it mattered at the death.

-Evan Cohen

Weigh in with your own ratings in the Community Player Ratings Poll.

3. 🎥 Video of the Day: Goal Breakdown

4. 💧 Water Cooler: Goals vs Saprissa

5. 🔗 Link Roundup

• Matt McClain writes about Quinn Sullivan’s performance Saturday and his budding partnership with fellow academy grad Nathan Harriel.

• Joe Lister has three takeaways from Saturday’s night 2-2 draw.

• Paxten Aaronson scored his first goal for Vitesse finishing off a big deflection with a tidy finish in the box.

• Congratulations to Sporting PA 2009 boys, which qualified for the US Youth Soccer National Championships and won the championship pool at the National League P.R.O. event in Tampa over the weekend.

• Philly native John McCarthy made his LA Galaxy debut in a 1-1 draw with Inter Miami. He talked afterwards about facing Messi again and his late goal that tied the game.

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