NEW YORK — In an exciting match at Yankee Stadium, Bruno Damiani netted his first two goals of the season, while 16-year-old Cavan Sullivan provided two assists, helping the Philadelphia Union come back from a two-goal deficit to defeat New York City FC 3-2 on Sunday night.
Bénie Traoré opened the scoring for NYCFC (7-7-5) with a penalty kick in the 4th minute, marking his first goal in his fourth match since joining the team from Swiss club FC Basel 1893. The penalty was awarded after Neil Pierre fouled Andrés Perea.
Luighi Hanri Sousa Santos added another penalty two minutes into stoppage time during his league debut, allowing NYCFC to take a 2-0 lead at halftime. The forward, who joined on loan from Brazilian side SE Palmeiras, was awarded the kick following a foul on Union midfielder Indiana Vassilev.
Philadelphia responded early in the second half, with Danley Jean Jacques scoring in the 48th minute, narrowing the gap to 2-1. Sullivan and defender Kai Wagner provided assists on Jacques’ goal, his third of the season and matching last year’s total. Wagner has registered four assists this season and a remarkable 67 assists over his 208 career appearances.
Sullivan set up Damiani for his first goal in the 69th minute, leveling the match at 2-2. This marked all six of Sullivan’s assists this season, achieved in 17 matches with 10 starts, a significant increase from just one start in the previous two seasons, during which he logged only 224 minutes.
Damiani then secured the victory for Philadelphia with a go-ahead goal in the 75th minute, assisted by Cavan’s older brother, Quinn Sullivan, marking his first assist of the season.
Andre Blake made two saves for Philadelphia, who has now won four consecutive matches under interim coach Ryan Richter, following the departure of Bradley Carnell in late May.
For NYCFC, Matt Freese registered two saves.
The Union will host Inter Miami CF on Wednesday, while NYCFC is set to travel to face FC Cincinnati.
Information sourced from The Associated Press was used in this recap.