Matchday 23 was absolutely wild, folks, with four-goal thrillers rocking the league in places like our own Emerald City, New Jersey, and San Diego. We even saw the runaway league leaders pin four unanswered goals on a pretty good team over at GEODIS Park. But while goals were flying everywhere, a couple of stories absolutely exploded off the pitch, giving us a new Golden Boot leader and showcasing a phenom nobody in the league is ready for.
Philly’s 16-Year-Old Phenom Is on Fire
Listen, everyone talks about the big names, but 16-year-old wunderkind Cavan Sullivan is making the entire league pay attention. This kid just bagged the winner with gusto for the Philadelphia Union in a dominant 3-1 victory over Red Bull New York on Saturday. That’s his second goal in as many games, his fifth goal contribution in Philly’s last four, and puts him at 10 goal contributions in league play. Ten! That ties Freddy Adu for the most-ever in an MLS season by someone his age or younger. Are you kidding me?
Interim head coach Ryan Richter wasn’t shy about it, saying Sullivan “has gained the respect of his teammates” and they “give him the freedom that he can go into these moments, because he can create something out of nothing.” The Union are flying right now, still unbeaten in MLS action since the FIFA World Cup break, and they’re just one paltry point out of the Eastern Conference playoff places after being stuck at the bottom for most of the season’s first half. With Cavan and fellow teenage homegrown Neil Pierre, who also scored yet again, being so central to this resurrection, you have to wonder if USMNT boss Mauricio Pochettino can even leave them off his roster for the September/October international window.
Messi’s Miami Explodes After Coaching Drama
Meanwhile, down in South Florida, things had been rough for Inter Miami, with just one win in their first seven matches of a very busy August. Things clearly came to a head with last week’s shock 2-1 home loss to scuffling Toronto FC, because that prompted a new head coach: former Rosario Central manager Cristian “Kily” González, replacing Guillermo Hoyos. You know what’s wild? Neither coach was even on the touchline for Saturday’s visit by CF Montréal! González was waiting for paperwork, and Hoyos was serving a disciplinary suspension for repeated violations of the League’s Late Kickoff Policy.
But you know what? It didn’t matter one bit. Sometimes it feels like Lionel Messi is just out there playing a video game, and no one on the opposing team even has a controller. It was one of those nights for CF Montréal, who were only down 3-1 going into the 80th minute, yet still found themselves on the wrong end of a 7-1 beatdown. The GOAT himself ripped the net four times in a vintage display. Montréal coach Philippe Eullaffroy said it all postgame: “For 15 years, many teams and players have been trying to stop him. It’s not easy. We could have solved this problem collectively, but today, the last 30 minutes were nonexistent.” Yikes.
This league is getting wild, folks, and Matchday 23 just cranked up the heat. Can Sullivan keep breaking records and push the Union into the playoff picture? Will Miami continue this insane form under their new, albeit off-field, leadership? We’ll be watching every single move as the season keeps rolling!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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