A teenager at the centre of it
San Diego FC lost 5-0 at home overnight. Philadelphia Union did the damage at Snapdragon Stadium, and Cavan Sullivan scored two of the five.
The opener arrived in the fifth minute of first-half stoppage time. Indiana Vassilev sprang a counter, Sullivan took it inside the box and finished with his left foot into the bottom right corner. A goal at that exact moment is worth more than one on the scoreboard, and San Diego went in behind after a half that had given them no warning of what followed.
Sixteen minutes into the second half Sullivan struck again, this time from a tight angle on the left, once more set up by Vassilev. Two goals, two assists, one partnership doing most of the damage.
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San Diego fell apart after the hour
San Diego had already made a triple change on the hour, sending on Cedric Bakambu, Anibal Godoy and David Vazquez. Sixty seconds later Sullivan made it 2-0. Six minutes after that Bruno Damiani converted a Frankie Westfield pass on another fast break, and the game was finished as a contest before the 70th minute.
The last two goals read like a scoreline running away from a team that had stopped defending. Godoy turned the ball into his own net on 87 minutes. Malik Jakupovic, on for Milan Iloski the minute before, poked in the fifth in the fourth minute of added time.
Philadelphia move to 33 points from 25 matches. San Diego stay on 30 from the same number, and their goal difference took the heavier hit of the two.
What it changes
San Diego are a young club still building a first identity, and they had spent much of this season punching above where anyone expected. This was the first evening where the gap to a settled playoff side looked obvious. Most of the damage came from transitions, which is a structural problem rather than a personnel one, and it arrives with the run-in already under way.
For Philadelphia, Sullivan keeps doing this. The pattern is no longer a novelty act, and opposition coaches have run out of excuses for treating him as a substitute’s afterthought.
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