Philadelphia Union has just three games remaining on the regular season schedule – two away and one at home on Decision Day. On Tuesday, the team will depart for a five-day trip to face Orlando City and Columbus Crew on the road. The team's final push for the postseason continues with a midweek matchup in the sunshine state -- tune in MLS Season Pass on Apple TV to watch the action!
The stretch ahead won’t be an easy one as each of the team's three upcoming opponents sit in the top five of the Eastern Conference standings, but the playoffs are still in reach. There are three Eastern Conference postseason spots up for grabs, and it'll all come down to October play.
The Boys in Blue have been impressing across the roster as of late, from promising front three production to Homegrown heroics like defender Nate Harriel's goal against Atlanta United and midfielder Quinn Sullivan's two-assist showing against D.C. United. Philadelphia Union has picked up 10 points over their last 5 games, landing them at ninth place with 37 points between Toronto FC and CF Montreál who share that same total.
The team has put together a string of strong performances, and they'll have to maintain that form to take points from high-caliber conference opponents like Orlando, who’s won four of their last five games. Head Coach Oscar Pareja's top scorers in 2024 have been Facundo Torres and Duncan McGuire, who’ve tallied 13 and 9 goals respectively, while Martin Ojda, Nico Lodeiro, and Iván Angulo have played the facilitators topping the club's assist leaderboard.
"Oscar's teams are always very brave, they're always very physical, they're always very strong defensively, and they're very, very good in the attack," Head Coach Jim Curtin said during his matchday -1 press conference. "I always like teams that are are brave and aggressive and proactive rather than reactive. And I think Oscar's teams are always that way. It will be very difficult again to break them down when you do get chances against them in the transition moments, because they are aggressive, pushing both outside backs high."
The last time the pair met was in May, when Orlando City left Subaru Park with all three points after a brace from Luis Muriel and a goal from McGuire made for a 3-2 final score. That was just their third win of the season, and they've found their stride since then, climbing up the standings after a rocky start to the year.
