Happy Friday! Warm weather is finally coming but Sunday doesn’t look great for an afternoon kickoff. No worries though. The Union are winning and the party has returned to Chester.

In the email today:

1. 🐍 The Slithering Snake

By Owen Boyle

After smacking a wonder goal off the post and in, Union midfielder Jovan Lukic celebrated like a slithering snake before being mobbed by his teammates. 

“This goal is for Philly, for the Union, for the fans,” said Lukic in a post-match interview with Union Digital Club Reporter Sage Hurley. “I am so proud that I can show that to them.”

Union Manager Bradley Carnell had Lukic recreate his snake-inspired celebration in the locker room following the team’s 2-0 road win over the New England Revolution on Saturday, March 8. Lukic’s first MLS goal in the seventh minute of second-half stoppage time sealed all three points and earned him a starting spot on Major League Soccer’s Team of the Matchday.

The 23-year-old Serbian has made a great first impression with his teammates, the coaches, and the fans. Since leaving his native country and signing for the Union in early February, Lukic has not looked back, doing everything possible to integrate with his new squad and smoothly transition to a new culture and city. 

“I came to this club, and I’m so happy with the people inside,” Lukic said. “This is all for them and because of them. That’s all I want to say because I fell in love. I’ve only been here for a month and I fell in love already with the fans, with the staff, with the players. We have a relationship like I’ve been here for two years.”

2. 🎸 BJ’s Homecoming

BJ Callaghan’s return to the stadium he started his professional coaching journey on 11 years ago is one of the more talked about storylines heading into Sunday afternoon’s match with Nashville SC.

For Callaghan, a Ventnor, N.J. native who played at Ursinus College and coached in multiple clubs and environments in the region before working his way up through the Philadelphia Union organization, Sunday will be a chance to say “thank you.”

“I think about it because I get a lot of text messages from people from Philadelphia, but yeah, listen, it was a it was a space that myself and my family spent 20 years in and around the city,” Callaghan said at his weekly press conference.

“It was a team that I was a fan of before I was a professional soccer coach and it's a club that I would say gave me my first opportunity,” Callaghan said. “So you're always going to have those moments, but it'll just be nice to see people that kind of supported me along the way in the coaching journey.”

3. 🙌🏼 Social Post of the Day: Friends

4. 💧 Water Cooler: Player Ratings Results

Tai is the Man of the Match again!

5. 🔗 Link Roundup

• Greg Oldfield talked with Juventus and Italy National Team legend Alessandro Del Piero about the FIFA Club World Cup coming to Philadelphia and more.

• Hot dog-eating champ Joey Chestnut is going to be at Subaru Park on Sunday.

• Lots of familiar faces on the latest USMNT roster but one noticeable absence was Brenden Aaronson.

• April 12 is going to be a big day for college soccer in Philadelphia. The women are holding a play date earlier in the day at Penn and the men are hosting three matches simultaneously to conclude the Philly Soccer 6 Cup down at WSFS Bank Sportsplex.

• Speaking of WSFS Bank Sportsplex, the deadline to enter a team in their new adult league has been extended to next week.

• Luke McClung has a new U.S. Open Cup poster for Tuesday’s first round game between West Chester United and Loudoun United at YSC Sports. Posters (8.5×14) will be available for $2 at the game but you can also grab a much larger version online.

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