For the first time in 2025, Philadelphia Union will welcome fans back into Subaru Park for their home opener against FC Cincinnati on Saturday, March 1st.
The match ahead is a long-awaited one for Union faithful who’ve spent months watching from afar as the club made momentous changes throughout the offseason. From a new head coach, to new signings, and even new premium areas within the stadium itself, Philadelphia Union had a busy winter, and fans will have a first glimpse of it all in person this weekend.
Just like the fans are, new Head Coach Bradley Carnell is looking forward to the unmatched environment that is matchday at Subaru Park.
“Playing here, I'm excited. As an opponent, coming here, for many, many years, I always hated the DOOP song. Now I can't wait for the DOOP, and I'm hoping we can reward the fans that come out, and hopefully we show them a bit of our signature and the way we want to play and entertain,” Carnell said.
Saturday will be the team’s first action in a stadium packed with Union faithful in more than four months, and they’ll reunite with fans after a strong start to this year's campaign, defeating Orlando City 4-2 on the road. In 2024, the side from the sunshine state had defeated them twice, but Carnell’s new-look squad put together a dominant three point showing that featured four debuts.
Frankie Westfield, Olwethu Makhanya, Jovan Lukic, and Ian Glavinovich each earned their first minutes on the Major League Soccer first team stage, and there could be more debuts on the way.
In his Thursday press conference, Carnell announced that three faces that weren’t available against Orlando City will be in the mix for the home opener. Nate Harriel, Bruno Damiani, and Indiana Vassilev are all available to play, and should they get in the game, it’d be the latter two’s first minutes as Union players.
Just like Orlando, Philadelphia Union’s next opponent also finished at the top of the Eastern Conference table during the 2024 regular season. Cincinnati finished in third place, defeating the Union in Chester on Decision Day, but they ultimately fell short of what many expected, exiting in Round One at the hands of New York City FC.
While the Union’s last home match was against Cincinnati, the meetup will look much different this time around. Former Union assistant turned Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan comes to town with a new crew – between their short-lived playoff run and now, they’ve made some major MLS and international moves, most recently adding 26-year-old Brazilian attacking midfielder and former Portland Timbers star Evander and 24-year-old striker Kévin Denkey from Belgian side Cercle Brugge.
Favorably for the Union, rest will be a factor in this match as FC Cincinnati is competing in Concacaf Champions Cup. They played on Wednesday, advancing to the Round of 16 after claiming a 4-1 win and a 1-1 draw against FC Motagua.
Between those two CCC matches, they kicked off their regular season with a 1-0 win against New York Red Bulls at home.
“They have Evander and Denkey, so there's some really good players that have joined them. So, we're gonna have our hands full for sure. It's a real quality team. I don't care about scheduling and games and overloads. They're ready to play, and they're gonna be ready for sure.”
Denkey’s scored in all three, and he’ll be the player to stop.
“He's strong, he's explosive. He can put you under pressure as well. He can press, he can repress, he comes back in the game. The biggest danger is when we have the ball and we lose it, if we're not on top of our principles and they find Evander. Evander finds Denkey running behind them, then it becomes a problem, right? When you allow him space to run in onto, he's very physical, he’s very direct. They play very direct through the middle. That's going to be our main objective is to stop Denkey.”
The 2025 home slate for the Philadelphia Union kicks off on Saturday night at Subaru Park. Limited tickets remain for the 2025 home opener so click here now to secure your seats!
