Union Cavan Sullivan Quinn Sullivan Playoffs

The Sullivan brothers run Toronto off the field as the Union lock up a playoff date with New England

Cavan Sullivan scored twice, Quinn Sullivan had a goal and two assists, and the Union crushed Toronto FC 4-1 at Subaru Park on Saturday to lock up the sixth seed in the East and an automatic spot in a best-of-three first-round playoff series.

Next up is No. 3 New England.

A family affair

Cavan and Quinn became just the third pair of brothers in MLS history to both score for the same team in the same game, joining Gonzalo and Federico Higuaín and Diego and Yimmi Chará.

Cavan opened the scoring in the 28th minute. Quinn whipped in a cross, Indiana Vassilev settled it and pulled goalkeeper William Yarbrough out of the box, and Cavan tapped it into an empty net.

Quinn buried a penalty in the 41st to make it 2-0. Toronto got one back in first-half stoppage time when Josh Sargent headed in a Djordje Mihailovic corner, but the Sullivans weren’t done.

In the 58th, Bruno Damiani flicked on a header, Quinn took off on a breakaway, and he found a trailing Cavan for a one-touch finish to make it 3-1. Damiani added a penalty of his own in the 73rd to put it away.

Toronto, already eliminated, came in looking for its first road win over the Union since March 2019. Not this year.

Cavan Sullivan is a different animal

Cavan is 17 years old. Let that sink in.

His two goals Saturday pushed his total to 23 goal contributions this season, extending his record for the most by a teenager in a single MLS regular season. The previous mark was 20, set by Diego Fagúndez in 2013.

And just last month, he became the youngest player ever to score for the U.S. men’s national team, finding the net against Mexico.

He’s the best young player this club has ever had, and he’s just getting started.

Ryan Richter deserves the job

The Union finished 14-12-8 with 50 points. But the record doesn’t tell the story of how this team turned its season around.

Since Ryan Richter took over as interim head coach during the World Cup break, the Union have earned 43 of a possible 57 points and outscored opponents 48-22. That’s not a hot streak. That’s one of the best teams in the league for half a season.

At some point, the interim tag has to come off. If this team does any damage against New England, the front office won’t have much of a choice.

One last regular-season goodbye

The night also marked Alejandro Bedoya’s final MLS regular-season appearance. The captain came on late as a sub and got a well-deserved send-off from the Subaru Park crowd.

Now the Union take their best form of the season into the playoffs, with a 17-year-old who looks like the best player on the field every time he steps on it.

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