For the Union, optimism is high as they prepare for an upcoming three-game, seven-day stretch

With a spot in the MLS playoffs already secured, the Union are in control of the race for the Supporters’ Shield and the top seed in the East. First, a tough week of matches awaits out west.

Union manager Bradley Carnell is urging his team to finish strong with five league matches, and an upcoming seven-day stretch with three games, remaining.Read morePhiladelphia Union

by Owen Hewitt

Published Sept. 10, 2025, 3:03 p.m. ET

The Union already are ahead of schedule.

The team secured a spot in the MLS Cup playoffs with a win over FC Cincinnati in its last match. Now, with five regular-season matches remaining, the Union will try to claim the Supporters’ Shield for the second time in club history.

That season-long quest continues with a trip to the Pacific Northwest to face the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday (9:35 p.m., Apple TV+).

With their win over Cincinnati, the Union (17-6-6, 57 points) put themselves in control of the Supporters’ Shield race and the top overall seed in the Eastern Conference. The Union have a five-point lead over Cincinnati (16-9-4, 52 points) in the East, but are closely trailed by expansion-side San Diego (17-7-5, 56 points) for the best record in MLS.

A win against the Whitecaps (14-6-7, 49 points) and recently acquired German superstar Thomas Müller would allow the Union to keep control over the standings.

Facing the Whitecaps

Under first-year manager Jesper Sørensen, Vancouver started its season as one of MLS’s best teams. The Whitecaps suffered just one league loss in their first 16 games and went unbeaten in April and May.

Vancouver has cooled off since and now sits in third in the Western Conference. Post-tournament fatigue may have ended the Whitecaps’ successful start. They played nine games in the Concacaf Champions Cup between February and June and lost, 5-0, to Liga MX side Cruz Azul in the tournament’s final. The Whitecaps are 5-5-2 in MLS play since that June 1 defeat.

In his weekly media conference on Wednesday, Union manager Bradley Carnell had high praise for Sørensen, who departed his native Denmark to coach the Whitecaps in January.

“It’s not easy [to come] into the country and start coaching straight away at a high level,” Carnell said. “All of the sudden, the travel catches up to you, or the Concacaf tournaments catch up to you, but they’ve stayed consistent throughout. That’s a credit to Jesper and his coaching team.”

The Whitecaps acquired Müller, a former star for German club Bayern Munich, in August. Müller has played in two games for the Whitecaps since he signed with the team, netting his first goal from the penalty spot in a 3-2 win over St. Louis.

While Müller, 35, draws much of the attention from spectators when he’s on the field for Vancouver, Carnell wants his team to remain focused on its own identity.

“It’s an exciting challenge coming up against a really good player like Thomas Müller,” Carnell said. “He’s a world star, [but] we want to forget the name on the back of the jersey for a change and focus on our crest and not worry too much about the opponent.”

On the road again

After their match in Vancouver, the Union will travel to Geodis Park for a U.S. Open Cup semifinal match against Nashville on Tuesday (8 p.m., Paramount+). The Union have appeared in the tournament final three times, most recently in a 3-0 loss to Houston in 2018.

A Tuesday night Cup match will make for a long week of travel for the Union. But after having last week off with FIFA’s international break, Carnell feels his team is well prepared.

Several members of the Union reported for international duty during the break, including Nathan Harriel, Tai Baribo, Danley Jean-Jacques, and Cavan Sullivan. By Wednesday afternoon, all were back in Chester, with the exception of Jean-Jacques, who was returning from Haiti.

“The travel is always challenging and tricky,” Carnell said. “But we get everybody in, and all the guys seem fine … Danley’s the only one that we’ll catch up with a little bit later, to see how that went. He’s probably the guy who played the most minutes. So we’ll take that into account.”

After their match in Nashville, the Union will return to Subaru Park to face New England in their penultimate MLS home match of the season on Sept. 20 (2:30 p.m., Apple TV+).

“We’re excited about going west,” Carnell said. “And then excited to stay on the road as a group because Tuesday comes really quickly. I feel we should take [our] confidence and momentum back with us, how we left it a week ago.”