Wednesday night’s 5-1 stunner against New York City FC was a complete team effort, and while the spotlight shined especially bright on each of the team’s five goal scorers and 18-year-old keeper Andrew Rick, Kai Wagner was an unsung gamechanger, just as he has been all season long.
The 27-year-old German left back signed a long-term contract in Philadelphia during the 2023 offseason, and since putting pen to paper, he’s continued to prove just how important he is the team’s success on both ends of the field. With his second half assist to Jakob Glesnes, Wagner took one step closer to becoming a record-breaker, tying Sebastian Le Toux as the club’s all-time assist leader with his 50th in MLS play.
With 11 assists so far this year and five games to go, Wagner could boost his total beyond 50, etching his name in Union history books.
“It’s a huge achievement that I've made for myself,” Kai Wagner said after the match. “I think, as a defender, it's even greater to get such a number of assists. I don't think a lot of defenders can say they have these numbers and I'm really happy about it. I couldn't do it without the team or without the fans, but it's a lot of hard work. It's a lot of hard work I do by myself. I just want to keep going and hopefully pass him soon.”
It’s no easy feat to impact a team’s attack the way Wagner has sincing arriving in Philadelphia in 2019 – especially as a defender. When asked what about his play makes him an effective facilitator, Wagner cited both his left foot and his genuine enjoyment while contributing on both ends of the field.
“I love to defend, I love to attack, but I think I have a really good left foot. I work a lot on my left foot, and I take a lot of corner kicks and free kicks, of course,” Wagner said.
As of matchday 33, Kai Wagner sits at the top of the stat sheet in third place among the entire league in key passes made. He’s completed 81 passes that have directly lead to a shot so far this year. Only Luciano Acosta and Ryan Gauld have more, but Wagner is the only Major League Soccer defender in the top 10 of that statistic.
"It's unique that our left back is our one of our bigger chance creators, probably our biggest," Head Coach Jim Curtin said in his postgame press conference.
"Fom the left back spot, that is special. Obviously restarts help add to that total, but the assists for a left back, that left foot on service and crosses, and the work that [Assistant Coach] Frank Leicht does with our set pieces, it pays dividends. Kai is a real weapon. I love his defending, frst and foremost. He's very, very steady. Cerebral. Wins his battle almost every night out, and has been in really good form down the stretch here. I hope that continues into the playoffs."
Wagner's achievement is an impressive one, and so was the team’s dominant performance at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday. While his personal goal is to add one more assist to his total before the season’s end, Wagner emphasized that his primary focus is on Philadelphia Union’s team success as they push for a spot in the playoffs.
“I want to pass him this year. My assist record in one season is 15, so I hope I can hopefully get a little bit closer there. But now I just want to help the team. I want to get in the playoffsand just get the city what they deserve. We need to get ourselves all the way up in the table and just go back to winning,” Wagner said.
“I think nobody should ever count us out. I think we all said it was a must win game for us. I think now every game should be a playoff game for us. We want to push all the way into the playoffs. We took the first step. Now Sunday is going to be step two. That's a huge game. I think if we have the same fight on Sunday, and get the next win, I think that's a big one.”
Wagner and the rest of the Boys in Blue battle D.C. United for a national TV showdown at Subaru Park. The match presented by Widener University, will serve a Kick Childhood Cancer Night and Phang's Birthday. Limited tickets for the conference clash can be purchased by clicking here with kick off set for 6:15PM ET.
