The Philadelphia Union clinched Swields Soccers Soccer Soccer Soccer on Saturday after a 1-0 win over New York FC saw them claim their best regular season record.
Danish striker Mikael Ure scored the only goal of the game to spark wild celebrations in front of the Park Park home crowd in Philadelphia.
40 minutes Ukhrana after an extensive counterattack was all that separated the two teams in a tense contest in which New York threatened to snatch a late equalizer.
The victory means Philadelphia will enter the postseason as the top seed, securing the league's best one-game record in the Eastern Conference.
The result also marked a stunning achievement for South African Union coach Bradley Carnell, who only took over as Philadelphia coach in January. Carnell was fired by St. Louis City SC midway through last season.
“It's nice, it's been building from day one of the match,” Carnell said afterwards. “These guys invested in the very beginning, and today they are getting rewarded.
“You just have to tip your hat to everyone here at the club. It starts with the organization and goes down, everyone pulling in the same direction. It’s just a fun, fun season.”
The result marks a rapid transformation for Philadelphia, which had been unable to achieve MLS Cup playoffs last season.
“This is a winning team and it just needed to be rebuilt – the funds just needed to be filed and polished,” Carnell added.
After the mailing increase
Elsewhere in MLS, Inter Miami returned to winning ways on Saturday with a 4-1 sweep of the New England Revolution in Fort Lauderdale.
Lionel Messi was at the center of the victory in Miami, providing assists for three of Inter's four goals, which were shared between Tadeo Allende and Jordi Alba.
The result leaves Miami in third place with 59 points, seven adrift of Philadelphia, which leads the Eastern Conference with 66 points with one regular-season game to play.
