{"id":45174,"date":"2022-10-07T16:15:59","date_gmt":"2022-10-07T20:15:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/?p=45174"},"modified":"2022-10-07T16:15:59","modified_gmt":"2022-10-07T20:15:59","slug":"philadelphia-union-and-toronto-fc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/2022\/10\/07\/philadelphia-union-and-toronto-fc\/","title":{"rendered":"Remembering Notable Games: Philadelphia Union and Toronto FC"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>PREVIEW<\/strong> \u2013 With the Supporters Shield having slipped away from Philadelphia Union\u2019s grasp, attention turns to securing the top spot in the Eastern Conference. Their final game of the regular MLS season comes at Subaru Park, to host a Toronto team with nothing to play for.<\/p>\n<p>With an MLS Cup triumph firmly in their sights, preparation could begin with a win against the Canadian visitors. To get Philly\u2019s fans in the mood for Sunday\u2019s showdown, let\u2019s take a look at a trio of classic matches between the two teams.<\/p>\n<h2>Memorable Games between the Philadelphia Union and Toronto FC<\/h2>\n<p><a id=\"XOmujqhnTMZl_CdTWc_CwA\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1236174138\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'XOmujqhnTMZl_CdTWc_CwA',sig:'kQ-GCxWXMfD9OvZsdhXdIRdqZB8NgRaLTLA17wI12QA=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1236174138',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Toronto FC 2-6 Philadelphia Union (Saturday, May 28, 2011)<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>In only the club\u2019s second full season, Peter Nowak\u2019s Philadelphia Union headed north to clinch a record-breaking win in the club\u2019s infancy. The Union reclaimed possession of the first place in the Eastern Conference. How ironic that they\u2019re looking to hold onto it in 2022.<\/p>\n<p>The significance of this victory was huge, as Philly moved onto 20 points at BMO Field. In their inaugural season, it took until August to reach that points total. And, impressively, it was the ninth time in MLS history that a visiting team had scored six goals in a game.<\/p>\n<p>Having raced into a 3-0 lead, it appeared as though the visitors could make the scoreline anything they wanted. But the hosts didn\u2019t give up, clawing it back to 2-3 courtesy of a Maicon Santos brace before three goals in the final half-hour sealed three points.<\/p>\n<p>It was certainly a surprise, given the visitors had only scored six in their opening nine league matches. Braces for Danny Mwanga and Justin Mapp, alongside Gabriel Farfan\u2019s and Kyle Nakazawa\u2019s first-ever career goals, saw the Americans coast past the Canadian outfit in Ontario.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>The Union 1-0 TFC (Saturday, October 5, 2013)<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>So, at first glance, this scoreline doesn\u2019t appear overly impressive. But the magnitude of the match and the importance of a late winning goal, against an already eliminated Toronto team, is a scenario that Philadelphia Union would love to recreate at the weekend.<\/p>\n<p>TFC headed to Chester, with the home side needing a win to hang onto fifth place within the East and make a push toward the playoffs. Ryan Nelsen\u2019s side hung in until the dying embers of the match, adamant that a share of the spoils was heading their way.<\/p>\n<p>Approaching the fourth of six additional minutes, it appeared as though both sides were heading for a stalemate. However, Antoine Hoppenot had other ideas and charged toward the goal before he was taken down outside the area by TFC defender Doneil Henry.<\/p>\n<p>Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Up stepped former Manchester United midfielder Kleberson, on loan from Bahia in his native Brazil. The veteran bent a free-kick up and over the wall, and past goalkeeper Joseph Bendik in a flash to seal three pivotal points.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Philly 5-0 The Reds (Saturday, October 24, 2020)<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Philadelphia Union vs Toronto FC | October 24, 2020 | MLS Highlights\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/syPy65u_P4I?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>In more recent memory, who could forget the biggest win of the 2020 season? That came against Toronto, en route to winning the Supporters Shield and clinching the top spot in the Eastern Conference despite the COVID pandemic threatening to end the season earlier on.<\/p>\n<p>In front of fewer fans, it was a five-star Philly performance. An early Kacper Przyby\u0142ko sitter didn\u2019t phase the hosts, as Sergio Santos glanced home from a superb Kai Wagner cross. Mark McKenzie would double the lead after nodding home from Przyby\u0142ko\u2019s knockdown at a Jamiro Monteiro corner.<\/p>\n<p>The Dutch-born Cape Verde international made it three with half an hour still to play, thundering home from the edge of the area via the crossbar following an intelligent dummy from current Leeds United midfielder Brenden Aaronson.<\/p>\n<p>Having kicked off proceedings, the Brazilian went on to grab a hat trick. Again, he linked up with Wagner, this time sweeping home a low cross from the German before a late counter saw Aaronson break free with Santos square to ultimately seal the deal.<\/p>\n<p>Despite losing to Toronto \u2013 in Canada &#8211; just three weeks earlier, the hosts responded with a comprehensive victory which saw them ultimately pip the visitors by three points in the Eastern Conference standings and win their first title.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>The present-day<\/strong><\/h3>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">See you on Sunday.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/DOOP?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#DOOP<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/nF6Ww7wQrs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/nF6Ww7wQrs<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Philadelphia Union (@PhilaUnion) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PhilaUnion\/status\/1577277605593628679?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">October 4, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Philadelphia Union plays host to one of the two Canadian sides in the Eastern Conference. The other is waiting to potentially pounce and nick the top spot on the final day. Should they better the Union\u2019s result, CF Montr\u00e9al will have leapfrogged them at the worst available time. The <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/2022\/04\/17\/toronto-fc-improves-bmo-field\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Union faced TFC earlier this year, losing 2-1 at BMO Field<\/a> back on April 16.<\/p>\n<p>It would be a massive kick in the teeth, given Philly\u2019s dominance from July onwards. However, credit must be given to <em>L\u2019Impact <\/em>who have pushed Jim Curtin\u2019s team all the way, continuing to make strides under William Nancy.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">We go again on Sunday<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/CLTvPHI?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#CLTvPHI<\/a> 4-0 | <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/DOOP?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#DOOP<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/UkTmSutPWZ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/UkTmSutPWZ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Philadelphia Union (@PhilaUnion) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PhilaUnion\/status\/1576354000898662400?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">October 1, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The East\u2019s top two are amongst the most improved sides in Major League Soccer over the last few years. Youth development, long-term vision, and shrewd recruitment have them towards the top of the table and potential final-day drama. The <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/2022\/10\/03\/supporters-shield-slips-union-rios\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Union will also want to avoid a game as they had against Charlotte FC on the road last week<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>What is for sure is that The Union would settle for a Kleberson-Esque cracker on Sunday, never mind a five-star performance or hitting TFC for six. The game will kick off at 2:55 p.m. ET and it will be televised nationally in Canada on TSN.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>PREVIEW \u2013 With the Supporters Shield having slipped away from Philadelphia Union\u2019s grasp, attention turns to securing the top spot in the Eastern Conference. Their final game of the regular MLS season comes at Subaru Park, to host a Toronto team with nothing to play for. With an MLS Cup triumph firmly in their sights, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4315,"featured_media":45176,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[119,3507,7,3508,5],"tags":[485,3947,5290,2974,4470,5291,5289,3980,5288,4447],"class_list":["post-45174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mls","category-northamericansoccer","category-union","category-soccer","category-tfc","tag-bmo-field","tag-brenden-aaronson","tag-gabriel-farfan","tag-kacper-przybylko","tag-kai-wagner","tag-kyle-nakazawa","tag-maicon-santos","tag-mark-mckenzie","tag-peter-nowak","tag-subaru-park"],"modified_by":"Raheem Bashir, Site Manager","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4315"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45174"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45174\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45176"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}