Vassilev opener in Montreal a ‘team goal’ of ‘beauty’

It didn’t take long at all for the Philadelphia Union to silence the crowd of 17,011 at Stade Saputo on Saturday night in Montreal when they scored a goal head coach Bradley Carnell had plenty to say about in the post-game.

Started from a heavy touch by Montreal left back Tom Pearce in the Union’s final third, Danley Jean Jacques weaved his way through the Montreal defense with help from Frankie Westfield, Quinn Sullivan and Chris Donovan before racing forward and squaring a ball to Indiana Vassilev who hit the ball from inside the D past a diving Jonathan Sirois to make it 1-0 just over a minute into the contest.

Though the goal and the early lead were later canceled out by a stoppage time equalizer by Montreal, the opener that started things out with a bang in a hostile place to play was one that won’t soon be forgotten by the technical staff or the Philadelphia Union locker room.

“For me, it was a thing of beauty in our own half, how we combine and progress through the lines and play calm under pressure,” Carnell said post-game. “We knew they have a bit of a man marking detail, so in terms of luring out the opponent, playing through the opponent and then accelerating the play and isolating on the weak side it was excellent from from top to bottom.”

Coming off goals in back-to-games – the first two of his Union career – Jean Jacques showed a great deal of confidence throughout the seven-pass play both with his feet passing the ball and racing forward with the ball at his feet, picking his head up and squaring his pass just right to an on-rushing Vassilev, who scored his first goal in a Union shirt to cap the play off. Donovan, a surprise starter in the match, put his body on the line absorbing contact and dishing off the pass that sprung Danley into open real estate.

“It was really fun to watch,” Carnell said. “It’s maybe one of the highlight reels for us at at the end of the season. It was a really good team goal.”

It also proved to be the highwater mark in terms of attacking brilliance on the night as Montreal stormed back and had the better of the chances throughout much of the rest of the night but ultimately conceded the late winner from Mikael Uhre in the 84th minute. It was a tougher assignment than many expected to grind out three points against winless Montreal but it was a fight Carnell planned for and was expecting and one that keeps the Union on the front foot with games coming fast and furious over the next few weeks.

“It’s not the easiest place to play; tough to come here and I think that’s the first time that I’ve picked up points here,” Carnell said. “We set the tone for the month of May now and we sort of check this one off the list, and there’s seven more to go, hopefully eight.”

Whether there is an eighth or not will depend on Wednesday’s U.S. Open Cup match against Indy Eleven, which made a run all the way to the semifinal last year. The match is slated for a 7:30 kickoff at Subaru Park.

What a strike! Indiana Vassilev gives @PhilaUnion the early lead on the road!

📺 #MLSSeasonPass: https://t.co/qMc9P1DkgO pic.twitter.com/qpqypUQu4e

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 3, 2025