Philadelphia Union
The Richter Era Begins on a Refreshing High Note
The Philadelphia Union earned their first home win of the 2026 MLS season with a 3-1 win against rival Red Bull New York behind goals from Milan Iloski, Indy Vassilev, and Neil Pierre.
Kai Wagner started and earned an assist in his first match back with the club. Quinn Sullivan successfully completed his ACL rehab and entered as a second half sub. And young center back Neil Pierre earned minutes as a second half sub and banged home a solid headed goal as well in his first match back from loan.
The home win against rival Red Bull New York can signify a noteworthy turning point. Subaru Park felt like a fortress again. Players were playing with a renewed sense of vigor and passion.
“I first want to say congrats and thank you to the players for their hard work… the overall fighting and team spirit was something that I was really proud of,” said Union Interim Head Coach Ryan Richter following the win to jumpstart his MLS managerial career. “You feel the energy of the fans enjoying this. You feel the energy of everyone in the building. Everyone that started the game, came into the game, they came with one goal in mind and that was to win the game.”
In the weeks leading up to the World Cup break, it seemed like the club was running on rapidly draining batteries. And that gradual decay of internal spirit may have spread into a more serious issue than was understood at the time.
There was a hesitancy on the pitch instead of an assertive approach. Maybe some were afraid of making a mistake or maybe some were unsure of their next step.
But perhaps Richter, a Southampton, Pa. native and an internal option for the interim manager role in Bradley Carnell’s absence, has the potential to reignite that Union fire. He has experience at every level of the Union ladder beginning as a former MLS draft pick with Philadelphia following his college days at La Salle.
He’s endured long drives to Lehigh University with Bethlehem Steel FC. He’s endured injuries. He went on to play professionally for seven years, including stints with Toronto FC in Major League Soccer and in the North American Soccer League, where he earned All-Decade Best XI honors.
And he’s gained considerable experience in his budding post playing career as a youth coach, most recently as manager of the club’s MLS Next Pro team Union II. Before that, he served as assistant coach to Jim Curtin during the most successful run of play in the club’s history from 2022-2024.
He’s been a youth standout as a player, and he’s coached significant youth talent all within the Union umbrella. It could just be a ‘new coach bump’ but the Union that played last night seemed drastically different than the Union from a few weeks ago.
“It was a great feeling tonight,” said Quinn Sullivan. “It was a great feeling in the locker room before the game. Ryan has come in and I’ve known him since my U17 year. I know his intensity. We want to be a team that fights and have games go our way. I think everyone went away and came back with the belief that we’re a playoff team, and we’re good enough to fight and make the playoffs and that’s what we’re going to fight every day for.”
Richter and his staff, which includes former fan favorite Fred as an assistant, came in with a mission and a plan during the World Cup break. Their first point of emphasis was to shift the mentality of the group while focusing on some of the repeated defensive miscues that cost the Union vital points in the first half of the season.
“We looked at things we saw as defensive issues. The way we defend the ball in wide areas. The way that the team was finding pressing moments, they were jumping too much and not every ball that goes is a pressing moment,” said Richter. “You jump late, it’s too much space. They play through and you’re out of the game. So the emphasis was still staying in this aggressive style but finding the right pass, the one that we want to invite where it’s more of a trap and it’s not them dictating when we can jump in these moments.”
The press was effective, guys looked sharp and connected almost displaying a hive mind mentality early on and throughout by pressing together. It was rare to see a Union player left on his own throughout much of the match.
Of course there was one blemish, a 38th minute goal from New York that keeper Andre Blake likely would want to have back as the ball hit him before finding the back of the net. Blake was in the right spot to deny the goal but couldn’t manage to get enough contact on the shot to thwart it away.
The Union team of the first stretch of the season probably would’ve buckled and folded then. But that thankfully didn’t happen last night.
“We have to make this stadium our fortress again,” said Wagner after his return debut. “The fans didn’t deserve the first half of the season.”
When asked what type of guidance and mentality that he is attempting to instill in the group, Wagner emphasized using the second half of the year as a clean slate.
“Let us do a restart. Those first 15 games don’t matter anymore. The first game is Red Bull not anyone else,” said Wagner.
And that messaging combined with the return of Sullivan and the arrival of a passionate internal interim in Richter can be the recipe of success moving forward. But as Wagner pointed out, the key will be taking it one match at a time to slowly regain their footing.
