Union bounce back with 3-1 win over Liga MX’s Necaxa in Leagues Cup group stage match
Despite the win, the Union's loss to Cruz Azul is likely to prevent them from being one of four MLS teams to advance to the knockout stage.
The Union cruised to a 3-1 win over Liga MX side Necaxa in the second game of the club’s Leagues Cup run Sunday evening at Subaru Park.
Cavan Sullivan, Nathan Harriel and Bruno Damiani all scored for the Union to claim a win over former Union striker Julián Carranza’s Necaxa, the Union’s first win in the Leagues Cup since 2024.
The win gives the Union three points in the Leagues Cup table, but their 1-0 loss to Cruz Azul on Thursday is likely to prevent them from being one of four MLS teams to advance to the knockout stage of the competition.
“It was really important for us to bounce back from the loss at home, and make sure that doesn’t turn into a streak,” Union interim manager Ryan Richter said. “It was great. The way they responded, the way that we started the game, and then ultimately to get the result was really important.”
Sullivan created Harriel’s third-minute goal with an individual run toward the center of the attacking third. Sullivan rolled a pass to Harriel, who beat Necaxa’s Luis Jiménez with a strike from the right edge of the 18-yard box for his second goal of the season.
Neil Pierre was shown a yellow card in the 11th minute for making excessive contact with Matias Espindola while contesting a ball near midfield. Espindola needed attention from Necaxa’s training staff, but the midfielder was able to continue.
Damiani added a second for the Union in the 12th minute, finishing a cross from Harriel inside the penalty area.
Jovan Lukić initiated the play from the Union’s back line, weighting a long ball to a streaking Harriel down the right wing. Harriel collected the pass in stride before turning and sending a low, driven cross into the danger area.
Damiani got on the end of Harriel’s cross and put it past Jiménez for his second goal of the season.
“It was a good feeling,” Damiani said of scoring his first goal since May. “A little bit of release. ... Just a little bit of taking the pressure out of my head, especially.”
After taking a 2-0 lead into the half, Sullivan tacked on a third goal for the Union in the 53rd minute. Indiana Vassilev lofted a cross into the center of the 18-yard box that Sullivan collected with his chest and finished with a left-footed half-volley.
Sullivan’s goal was his fourth of the season across all competitions, and his first since scoring against Orlando City in May.
“I think the thing that I was most proud of was the type of goal that it was,” Richter said of Sullivan’s goal. “It wasn’t the special one where you beat three players and you curl the ball in the top corner, it was [getting] to the right spot at the right time and [putting] the ball in the back of the net. He has the special goal in him, but that’s how he’s going to score a lot of goals at this level.”
Vassilev was shown a yellow in the 59th, and Ryan Richter made his first set of changes shortly after.
Richter made a quadruple swap in the 60th minute, bringing on Milan Iloksi, Quinn Sullivan, Frankie Westfield and Jesús Bueno for Ezekiel Alladoh, Sullivan, Kai Wagner and Danley Jean Jacques.
Japhet Sery Larsen was shown a yellow in the 64th minute for a dangerous challenge on Necaxa’s Ricardo Monreal.
Malik Jakupovic entered the game for Damiani in the 73rd minute, marking the first appearance for the 17-year-old striker since a May 9 loss to the New England Revolution.
Espindola pulled a goal back for Necaxa in the 79th minute. He caught Sery Larsen and Pierre out of position on a run and launched a right-footed shot that beat Andrew Rick.
Espindola’s goal was the only stain on an otherwise impressive night from Rick. Rick made eight saves in his second Leagues Cup start as Richter rested usual starter Andre Blake.
Carranza had a quiet return to Subaru Park, where he spent three seasons scoring goals for the Union. The Argentine striker took two shots for Necaxa, but neither were on target.
Up next …
The Union host Santos Laguna in their third Leagues Cup game at Subaru Park on Thursday (7 p.m., Apple TV).
After finishing Phase 1 of the Leagues Cup, the Union will return to MLS play against New York City FC at Yankee Stadium on Sunday (7 p.m., Apple TV).