MLS
Cavan, Quinn Sullivan both score as Philadelphia Union soar into playoffs
Cavan and Quinn Sullivan became just the third pair of brothers to score for the same club in an MLS match.
Cavan Sullivan scored twice, Quinn Sullivan had a goal and two assists, and the Philadelphia Union beat Toronto FC 4-1 on Saturday to secure an automatic berth into a best-of-three series in the MLS Cup playoffs.
The brother duo became the third in MLS history to each score for the same club in the same match, joining Gonzalo and Federico Higuaín and Diego and Yimmi Chará.
Philadelphia (14-12-8), which had already clinched its 10th postseason appearance in club history and eighth in nine seasons, finished sixth in the Eastern Conference with 50 points. Since interim head coach Ryan Richter took over during the World Cup break, Philadelphia earned 43 of a possible 57 points while outscoring opponents 48-22 during that span.
Cavan Sullivan has been key to that resurgence. With his two goals Saturday, the 17-year-old extended his record for most goal contributions by a teenager in a single MLS regular season to 23. The previous record was Diego Fagúndez, with 20 in 2013.
Last month, Cavan Sullivan became the youngest scorer in United States men's national team history when finding the net against Mexico.
After finishing sixth in the Eastern Conference, Philadelphia will take on No. 3 seed New England Revolution in the best-of-three game round one playoff series.
Toronto (9-13-12), which was already eliminated from playoff contention, was looking to record its first road victory over the Union since March 2019.
But Cavan Sullivan opened the scoring in the 28th minute. Quinn Sullivan started the sequence with a cross in front of goal that Indiana Vassilev settled and pulled goalkeeper William Yarbrough out of his area to find Cavan Sullivan for a close-range finish into an empty net.
Quinn Sullivan calmly blasted a penalty kick in the 41st for a 2-0 lead. Then, Josh Sargent pulled Toronto within 2-1 in first-half stoppage time by heading in a corner kick by Djordje Mihailovic.
Cavan Sullivan made it 3-1 in the 58th. Quinn Sullivan led a breakaway after a flick header by Bruno Damiani and found a trailing Cavan Sullivan for a one-touch finish.
Damiani scored on a penalty kick in the 73rd to cap the scoring.
Philadelphia captain Alejandro Bedoya entered late as a substitute in his final MLS regular-season appearance.