The Union lost their regular-season finale, but for once it didn’t matter

It’s a rare day when a soccer team, or any sports team, can play a game and have a good reason to not worry about its result.

That was the Union’s privilege Saturday, having wrapped up the Supporters’ Shield for the league’s best regular-season record with a game to spare.

So it didn’t matter much that they lost, 2-0, at Charlotte FC. Sure, it’s annoying that they’ve still never won in Charlotte in four tries. And it might be a little more annoying in the locker room that they fell just short of setting a record for points in a season, ending with 66 when it could have been 67 (the standing record from 2022) or 69.

Only two things truly mattered: not suffering any injuries, and not taking any red cards. As neither of those things happened, the rest of the night can be mostly forgotten.

“We had to distribute the minutes amongst everybody here today, pretty much,” manager Bradley Carnell said. “Happy everybody got a run, happy everybody got minutes just to stay sharp. Just got to make sure we’re looking after our bodies.”

And as he said when asked where those factors ranked compared to winning, he said: “You saw us make changes. So that’s how high-priority it was.”

» READ MORE: The Union fell to Charlotte on the final day of MLS’s regular season. Now, gears switch into playoff mode

Forgetting the game doesn’t mean taking it for granted. Charlotte’s artificial turf raised the injury risk, and a fractious first half saw Danley Jean Jacques and Mikael Uhre draw yellow cards.

Carnell withdrew Uhre at halftime and took out Alejandro Bedoya for Indiana Vassilev. The latter move looked planned, given Vassilev’s recovery from a recent knee injury, and Carnell didn’t exactly deny it after the game.

“We were thinking of 50-55 [minutes], to set the tone for the second half,” Carnell said. “But we were trailing 2-0. So at that point, just to give guys a fresh look from the very beginning, I think it was the right decision.”

In the second half, Carnell won a gamble by leaving Jean Jacques in until the 78th minute. Nathan Harriel and Bruno Damiani had also been booked by then, in the 71st and 73rd, and Carnell pulled Harriel at the same time he pulled Jean Jacques.

» READ MORE: The Union’s Frankie Westfield was one of the U.S.’ breakout players at the FIFA under-20 World Cup

“I said to Nate, the way the referee, the way the things are going, that’s an automatic easy one for them,” Carnell said. “So I’m going to get you out of here, I’m going to protect you, going to protect Danley. I think Bruno did just enough to make sure he didn’t fall into that sort of level.”

The Union didn’t play badly, despite the score. They outshot Charlotte, 23-8, with shots on target even at 5, and the Union’s expected-goals sum was 2.06 to Charlotte’s 1.07.

The difference was in all those shots that didn’t go on target, from Bedoya’s in the first half to various players’ speculative long-range attempts in the second.

Tai Baribo had three of the best looks of the game, starting with a spin and shot in the 72nd minute that Charlotte goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina saved well. Baribo then put a header off the bar in the 87th after beating Kahlina to a loose ball, and had another good shot denied by a diving stop in the 92nd.

» READ MORE: Brenden Aaronson and Mark McKenzie celebrate the Union, their old team, winning a trophy

Cavan Sullivan also deserves a nod for how well he played and how long he played. His entry in the 55th minute started his longest shift in a first-team game since July 5, and his first appearance for the first team since Aug. 23.

In his last game before leaving for the under-17 World Cup, Sullivan created two chances, including the setup for the first of those Baribo attempts, and had a nice shot of his own saved by Kahlina in the 85th.

That all added up to Sullivan’s best outing in a league game so far this year. (He played more in the Union’s U.S. Open Cup early round games, but against lower-division opponents.)

“We have to make sure we send him off in the right way [as] possible, and he’s been training well,” Carnell said. “So we thought we’d reward him away from home here, and I thought he did well. He could have got on the score sheet once or twice, and he was a busybody — he counter-presses really well, he came in and he made an impact.”

» READ MORE: The Union clinched their second Supporters’ Shield thanks to three key veterans

It will be for another day to discuss whether the Union have hurt their playoff chances by letting Sullivan go. The short answer for now is they need Jeremy Rafanello to get past his hamstring injury, because he’s the only other attacking midfielder left who’s had regular minutes. Other than that, the choices are little-used reserves Ben Bender, Markus Anderson, or C.J. Olney.

At least for now, the Union have time to get everyone rest before starting the playoffs sometime next weekend. The schedule should land in the next day or two.

Here’s how the matchups landed for the first round of the MLS playoffs, listed in order of the bracket. The wild-card games between the No. 8 and 9 seeds are scheduled for Wednesday.

1. Union vs. 8. Chicago Fire or 9. Orlando City

4. Charlotte FC vs. 5. New York City FC

3. Inter Miami vs. 6. Nashville SC

2. FC Cincinnati vs. 7. Columbus Crew

1. San Diego FC vs. 8. Portland Timbers or 9. Real Salt Lake

4. Minnesota United vs. 5. Seattle Sounders

3. Los Angeles FC vs. 6. Austin FC

2. Vancouver Whitecaps vs. 7. FC Dallas