Philadelphia Union’s pursuit of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup ended in the semifinals after a 3-1 defeat to Nashville SC on Tuesday night. The match, held in Nashville, saw Union homegrown player Quinn Sullivan score his first goal of the tournament during the second half. However, a hat trick from Nashville’s Sam Surridge proved decisive, sending Nashville SC to their first-ever Open Cup Final.
The two teams had met twice previously this season as Eastern Conference opponents. In this semifinal encounter, Philadelphia made several changes to its starting lineup under Head Coach Bradley Carnell. Goalkeeper Andrew Rick started again, with defensive adjustments including Frankie Westfield and Kai Wagner at fullback and Olwethu Makhanya partnering Jakob Glesnes at center back. The midfield featured Jovan Lukic, Indiana Vassilev, Danley Jean Jacques, and Milan Iloski. Tai Baribo and Bruno Damiani led the attack.
On the bench were George Marks (backup keeper), Nathan Harriel, Alejandro Bedoya, Jeremy Rafanello, Quinn Sullivan, Sal Olivas, and Mikael Uhre.
Nashville opened scoring in the 36th minute when Sam Surridge finished off a throw-in sequence. Three minutes later, Union goalkeeper Andrew Rick denied Hany Muhktar’s free kick attempt to keep his team within reach before halftime.
Early in the second half, Surridge doubled Nashville’s lead after Rick saved an initial shot from Shaffelburg but could not stop Surridge’s follow-up header. With just under thirty minutes remaining and trailing by two goals, Philadelphia introduced Sullivan and Uhre for Damiani and Iloski.
Sullivan responded in the 70th minute with a long-range effort that reduced the deficit to one goal—his first of this year’s tournament. Despite gaining momentum late in the match, Philadelphia conceded again when Surridge completed his hat trick with a flicked finish off Daniel Lovitz’s volley in the 85th minute.
Late substitutions included Sal Olivas making his tournament debut for Baribo while Jeremy Rafanello replaced Vassilev.
Following their exit from cup competition after two consecutive road games, Philadelphia Union will return home to Subaru Park for an afternoon match against New England Revolution on Saturday. The club will mark Kick Childhood Cancer Day during this event and celebrate mascot Phang’s seventh birthday.
