The Philadelphia Union are heading to the playoffs for the sixth straight season after clinching with a come-from-behind 2-2 draw at Charlotte FC last night.
Philadelphia native and former Fishtown AC youth star Quinn Sullivan led the comeback off the bench, cutting the 2-0 lead in half with a curling, goalkeeper-freezing strike in the 70th minute. Daniel Gazdag's 11th penalty of the season in second half stoppage time secured the point and the playoff berth.
“There used to be champagne and beers flowing after a playoff clinch and now it’s… when I say nothing, you can walk in (the locker room) and it’s crickets,” Curtin said post-game. “They’re mad that we didn’t get a win so that’s a good change in mentality.”
The Union are in fourth place in the Eastern Conference with six games remaining. A fourth seed would guarantee home field advantage in the best-of-three first round (new this year).
“We want to finish top four and push as much as we can to get as many home games as possible,” Curtin said.
The 8 and 9 seeds in each conference will play each other in a single elimination wild card game on Oct. 25-26. The first round will be played Oct. 28-Nov. 12. The higher seed hosts the first and third game (if needed).
Single-elimination conference semifinals and finals will be played Nov. 25-Dec. 3 and the MLS Cup final on Dec. 9.