Philadelphia Union and Columbus Crew end in draw, 1-1

Chester, PA

May 16, 2026

The Philadelphia Union are struggling.  At the start of Saturday’s game against Columbus Crew, the team stood in 15th place on the MLS East Table.  Columbus – usually a strong team – itself was in 13th place.  In this contest between underachievers, Philadelphia looked the weaker of the two – at least for the first half.  It’s not that the team isn’t trying, but it does seem as though the group has grudgingly accepted that its 2026 season will not get any better.

Certainly, in the first half Columbus was undeterred by Philadelphia’s flailing rushes, which only resulted in yellow cards (three in the first half) for the Union.  Following a 9th minute yellow card by Ben Bender, Columbus’s André Gomes advanced his free kick toward the Philadelphia goal.  Philadelphia headed the ball away, but unfortunately, directly at an unguarded Hugo Picard, who directed a delightful shot past Philadelphia’s Andre Blake into the top right corner of the Philadelphia goal.  That 0-1 score had not changed by the halftime whistle.

The Union came out stronger in the second half.  At the 70th minute, Philadelphia’s Ben Bender brought the ball down on the left and passed to Augustín Anello.  Somehow, Anello directed the ball past several defenders and it landed at the feet of Milan Iloski, who tapped the ball past the Crew’s keeper, Patrick Schulte.  Philadelphia had several chances after the goal, but couldn’t finish.  The game ended in a 1-1 draw.

Photographs of the game appear below:

Philadelphia’s Indiana Vassilev and the Crew’s Max Arfsten fighting for control. Cavan Sullivan is playing a more physical game this year, seen here with Steven Moreira and Hugo Picard Philadelphia’s Nate Harriel controlling the ball.The former Union player, Daniel Gazdag defers to Andre Blake on the save. Philadelphia’s Ben Bender working the ball downfield. Cavan Sullivan certainly has grown this year, and now is able to get around older opponents like Moreira.Here Moreira is able to move the ball past Philadelphia’s Milan Iloski.