Damiani Hat-Trick Propels Union to 5-0 Victory Over 10-Man Cincinnati

The Philadelphia Union went up a man against FC Cincinnati in the 16^th minute. Historically speaking, that doesn’t mean much. In the past, the Union have formed a habit of taking a breather and playing down a level, then forcing a late winner to send the fans home happy. Wednesday night against an Eastern Conference contender, the Union scored the most goals of any game in the 2026 MLS season.

Richterball is alive and thriving.

Bruno Damiani led the way with a hat-trick, Cavan Sullivan added three assists, and Quinn Sullivan had a goal and two assists as the Union took advantage of the extra man to send another conference rival home with a loss, further extending their unbeaten streak following the World Cup break to nine games. With Nashville’s loss to Toronto, the Union sit alone at the top since the break with 23 points gained among all teams

Obinna Nwobodo’s high challenge across Frankie Westfield’s ankle on the quarter-hour made the Union’s job of beating the 2023 Supporters’ Shield winners easier, but Union interim head coach Ryan Richter had his team focused on playing what was in front of them.

“The reality is we get a break early in the game, but there’s still a job to do after that, and we were excellent,” he said after the game, calling it his team’s best performance among what has already been a string of good performances.

Damiani’s goals held significance for many reasons going forward. After contributing 7 goals in 2025 in a mostly reserve role, the second-year Union striker had a tough start to the 2026 season as a centerpiece to the Union attack, scoring his first goal in the 6-4 at Miami just prior to the break.  Milan Iloski leads the way in the Union attack with 12 league goals, but Danley Jean Jacques and Cavan Sullivan ranked second among goal-scorers heading into the game with four apiece. For the Union, finding a second striker to hit the net more often has become more vital since returning from the break. With Ezekiel Alladoh struggling to settle in and Stas Korzeniowki now on loan at Rhode Island FC and Markus Anderson off to Lyngby, Richter’s striker options are now limited. U.S. Youth international Malik Jakupovic has been impressive with the Union 2, but he hasn’t had enough quality minutes for the first team and wasn’t the filler of Tai Baribo’s shoes when the Union started the season. So Damiani came into camp with added pressure, enhanced even more by his goal-scoring drought.

In comparison, Cincinnati entered Wednesday’s game with the league’s third-most goals scored. Evander’s 13 goals and 11 assists rank second only to Leo Messi (31) in total goal contributions. But Kevin Denkey had 11 goals and 4 assists entering the game, followed by three more Cincinnati players with at least five goals, creating a balanced attack on the scoresheet that resembles more of what the Union needed moving forward.

For Damiani, the goals felt like it was only a matter of time. His two-goal night on the road at New York City FC three weeks ago may have been a breakout performance, but he’d since gone four games without a goal.

“I’m an emotional person, an emotional player,” he said after the game, “and when things didn’t go my way, like when the team didn’t perform well in the first half of the season, I wasn’t happy. I’m happy now.”

Though Damiani has played with more freedom in Richter’s altered attacking approach, using more sustained, creative possessions without as much run and gun, he needed time for his persistence to pay off. Richter said Damiani is still affecting the team’s play with his work against the ball and in creating goals for his teammates, but tonight he was happy to see his striker find the back of the net.

“His goals were good striker goals in a different variety of the way he scored them,” Richter said. “I’m sure he feels a weight off his shoulder in some ways, but also he should be proud of the work he put in. He deserved the goals he scored tonight.”

Damiani’s first chance of the game came in the 11^th minute when Quinn Sullivan clipped a ball toward the back post that ran a little too high for his header, but after that chance, he didn’t miss the back of the net the rest of the night.

For nearly twenty minutes following Nwobodo’s red card, the Union did sleepwalk their way through the half in what began to feel like the same old routine, but they received a jolt when referee Joe Dickerson pointed to the spot after calling one of two potential penalties. Evander pulled down Quinn Sullivan with a clothesline to the neck after Cincy striker Ayoub Jabbari caught Neil Pierre with a high backheel to the face during a corner. Dickerson had his pick of fouls to call, and Quinn Sullivan stepped up and buried his penalty to score his first goal since last May, months before an ACL injury kept him out of action until the second half of 2026.

Damiani scored the Union’s second in first-half stoppage time in one of the more attractive goals the team has scored all season. Danley made a penetrating dribble through the Cincy midfield line then clipped a ball to Quinn Sullivn out wide on the left. As his brother Cavan overlapped around him, Quinn slipped a ball to Cavan in stride, and Cavan smashed a low cross through the goalmouth that Damiani met at the back post, depositing it into the empty net for the 2-0 lead.