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CHESTER, Pa. — The Philadelphia Union steamrolled Minnesota United 5-1 Saturday night at Talen Energy Stadium to clinch their third postseason berth in franchise history.
Fafa Picault bagged a first-half brace, while Cory Burke, Alejandro Bedoya and Ilsinho added tallies in the bulldozing performance that also boosted the club into fourth place in the Eastern Conference.
The victory marked the first time in franchise history the Union (15-12-5, 50 points) reached the 50-point mark, while the loss eliminated Minnesota United (11-17-3, 36 points) from playoff contention.
“(In 2016), we had just backed in, we weren’t in good form going into that game against Toronto,” Union captain Alejandro Bedoya said. “This feels a lot better. We’re playing well, we’ve been playing well the past couple months I hope we can keep it going.”
Burke started the onslaught in the eighth minute, sending his ninth goal of the season into the bottom part of the net after creating separation with a defender.
The pass delivered to Burke was Borek Dockal’s 16th assist, which broke Cristian Maidana’s single-season club assist record of 15.
Nine minutes after Burke slotted home the first strike, Bedoya benefited from a nice pass from the right by Keegan Rosenberry to double the Union’s advantage.
Picault buried the first of his two strikes in the 23rd minute, latching on to a long pass from Rosenberry, splitting two defenders and firing past Loons goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth.
The United States men’s national team winger, who is set to join up with the squad Monday in Florida, was given too much time by the Loons defense on the left side of the penalty area in the 44th minute ahead of his second strike. With the defense essentially daring him to shoot, Picault curled a beautiful shot into the top-right corner to complete a perfect first half for the home side.
“I think he respected the speed and served as a wall for the goalie and it just blocked off his angle and I put it back post,” Picault said. “That’s a shot that I like so I took and thankfully it went in.”
The Loons showed some signs of life in the second half. Darwin Quintero pulled back a goal with a blast from the right side of the penalty area in the 54th minute.
The visitors attempted to push forward for a second strike on a few occasions after their opener, but it came to no avail against a dominant Union side.
Ilsinho finished off one of the best nights of the season for the Union when he sent a blistering effort from distance into the bottom-right corner of the net in the 80th minute.
“I hope we don’t take our foot off the gas and we keep playing the way we have the last couple months,” Bedoya said. “I’m hopeful we get a home game, at home we’ve been pretty good lately. If we play like tonight with everyone moving off the ball really well and playing quick, we’re a dangerous team.”