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The Union only needed a point to top their Leagues Cup group and advance in their Leagues Cup match on Sunday night so everything after Daniel Gazdag’s 88th minute equalizer in front of a stadium full of Cruz Azul fans was a moot point. Whether we like it or not the Union will be back at The Soob on Friday hosting CF Montreal as rumors of another player incoming swirl.

In the email today:

1. 🏆 Top Draw(er)

Whether you think it’s a good idea or not, the Leagues Cup is pretty unarguably a weird thing. Just as MLS is starting to heat up and get interesting, the season pauses to play a cup competition that mostly seems designed to make money off of Liga MX fans who don’t normally buy tickets to MLS games. Yes, there’s decent prize money and a berth into Champions Cup on the line but it’s also more soccer on top of more soccer with more soccer to come.

The cynical view of the Leagues Cup was all too apparent given the loud cheers for the visiting team on Sunday night at Subaru Park but it was also the flipside to what happened in the stadium earlier in the week. Due to Audi Field’s surface being deemed unplayable DC United’s game against Santos Laguna was moved to Subaru Park. Midweek games on short notice are hard, midweek games moved to another city means you can count the number of fans in attendance. Still, the score line (3-0) was probably even more surprising given DC United’s history of futility at the Soob. You have to go back to 2014 for the last time the Black and Red won in the building. Over that span of being the Union’s dormat, DC United has been outscored 27-6.

The Union had a harder time with their Sunday opponent in front of a much larger and much more partisan crowd in favor of the visitors. Daniel Gazdag’s 88th minute equalizer off a poor pass in the back, a whiffed kick and a botched save secured the top spot in the three-team group, knocking Charlotte out, which brought on the weirdness of losing a penalty shootout that didn’t mean anything.

Maybe getting a chance to practice penalties in front of thousands of fans rooting against you in your home stadium was the real benefit of Leagues Cup. Well that and not having to hear that damn bell ringing against CF Montreal, Friday’s opponent back at the Soob, again.

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2. 🇭🇹 Defensive Midfielder from FC Metz En Route?

Another signing has been expecting and it’s looking more and more like that signing is Hatian international midfielder Daniel Jean Jacques. The 24-year-old holding mid has been with FC Metz since 2022, logging more than 5,200 hours.

As is the case with any rumors, it brings more questions than answers. Is Jacques a Jose Martinez replacement? Or Leon Flach? Or someone else?

It’s hard to say at this point but it should at least be an encouraging sign that there are some additional reinforcements on the way.

3. 🔫 Tweet of the Day: How Could This Happen?

4. 💧 Water Cooler: LC

5. 🔗 Link Roundup

• Video highlights from Sunday’s match.

• David Vazquez was named the top goal scorer of the Concacaf U-20 Championship. Congratulations, David!

• The Philadelphia Union Hispanic Celebration pre-match top is now available for purchase on MLSStore.com.

• U2 slipped to second in the east in MLS Next Pro after a 1-0 loss to FC Cincinnati 2 at home on Friday night. They’ll host Chicago Fire 2 for a 4 p.m. kickoff back at the Soob on Saturday.

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