Bruno Damiani’s first open-play goal in 14 games takes pressure off him and the Union

Plus a look at 19-year-old striker Sal Olivas' rise up the depth chart, and Andre Blake's first win in the Union's net since returning from a disappointing Gold Cup run with Jamaica.

Bruno Damiani (left) watches his goal against the Red Bulls go into the net.Read moreElizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer

by Jonathan Tannenwald

Published July 13, 2025, 2:29 p.m. ET

The ritual of asking a Union striker how it feels to end a goal drought has become familiar by now.

It would no doubt be preferable for them, and the team as a whole, if that didn’t have to happen. But it will continue whenever the team’s most important players don’t do the most important thing.

On Saturday, it was Bruno Damiani’s turn. He scored a great goal in the Union’s 2-0 win over the rival New York Red Bulls at Subaru Park, but it was his first goal from open play in 14 games — dating back to April 26.

“It was a long time since the last time,” Damiani said afterward. “I had the penalty [kick] against Chicago, but I’m feeling really good now. I think we really needed this win.”

The “open play” portion matters, because Damiani scored that penalty kick and another in the Open Cup in late May. But the most expensive signing in Union history knows best of anyone that a five-goal total in his first 25 games here isn’t enough.

“It’s my job, and when you’re not doing your job it’s hard,” he said. “I know I’m working hard. I’m working, also, [on] my mind, and I’m proud of my work. So I know [the goals] are going to come.”

Union manager Bradley Carnell also said plenty about how big the goal was.

“It’s good, obviously for him and his feeling, and to get the groove back in the run of play,” Carnell said. “And you could just feel it’s been brewing in training. It’s been edgy in training when things haven’t gone his way, and that all just comes together in a night like tonight where, yeah, there’s a bit of pressure.”

Carnell praised Damiani’s work off the ball, which has been there the whole time. It was again Saturday night, and Damiani relished it: four defensive recoveries, two tackles, three fouls drawn, and 13 duels won from 21 contested.

“That’s my job also, so I feel good,” he said. “I know that I’m doing a really good job all over the place in games, so I’m happy for that and I want to continue doing that. Because I know maybe I’m not scoring sometimes, but I’m giving the team a lot of energy and holdup play.”

But goals remain the most important stat of all, and the one on which he will always be judged the most.

Olivas on the rise

The most surprising thing about Saturday’s game wasn’t that the Union won it comfortably. They now have a 15-game unbeaten streak over the Red Bulls in all competitions, and the visitors didn’t register a shot on target until second-half stoppage time.

What was actually unexpected was Carnell’s choice of academy-bred rookie Sal Olivas as the first substitute striker, instead of regularlyused veteran Chris Donovan.

“Obviously it feels great, just earning their trust little by little,” Olivas said. “At the start of the season, I was playing the majority of the time with the second team, and I still am playing with the second team. But I’m just trying to earn all the coaching staff’s trust, the players’ trust, to keep on trusting me to go on the field and perform.”

The 19-year-old’s top moment was a breakaway in the 89th minute, sprung off a quick-thinking pressing play by Alejandro Bedoya. Olivas’ shot was saved, and he said “I’m not going to be able to sleep” thinking about it. But if he keeps bringing the kind of energy he did, he’ll no doubt get more chances.

“That [opportunity to play] is obviously a confidence-booster,” Olivas said. “I’ve been working really hard on the timing of my runs and everything like that … getting in the right spots to score those goals.”

Carnell praised Olivas’ energy on those breakaways, and “his relentlessness against the ball. He cuts off the field, he does so many little things right which free up a little bit of the transition moments for the other guys to thrive on.”

The Union have a lot of good young strikers in their pipeline, but it remains the one position where they haven’t brought a starter all the way through to the first team. The front office has even started moving on from some players — Anisse Saïdi, Diego Rocío, and Nelson Pierre — to make room for Malik Jakupovic, who they think (for good reason) is the best one yet.

A lot of them have higher ceilings than Donovan, and wider skill sets, too. Though they might not be ready for the big stage yet, the time will come soon enough to find out if they are. Olivas’ rise is a sign that they’re getting closer.

Blake back in form

Andre Blake was understandably in a bad mood when he got back from playing for Jamaica at the Gold Cup. The Reggae Boyz were ousted in the group stage, their worst finish since failing to qualify for the 2013 edition — the last one before Blake’s debut.

Things got worse for Blake after he returned, as the goalkeeper suffered back-to-back 1-0 losses at fellow Eastern Conference contenders Columbus and Nashville. Saturday finally got him back on track.

“It was against two really good opponents on the road, but still, we set very high standards for ourselves, so there was a bitter taste in our mouth,” Blake said, later adding that “for me personally, that did not sit well with me. So to get a win tonight was big, and hopefully we can keep that momentum going.”

The Union have plenty to do between now and September, when Jamaica resumes its quest to qualify for its first men’s World Cup since 1998. But when the time comes, it will be a big deal.

The Reggae Boyz face a six-game group stage sprint in which they are clear favorites against Trinidad & Tobago, Curaçao, and Bermuda. The winner punches a ticket, and the two best of the three second-place finishers go to an inter-confederation playoff.

There is a widespread belief that if Blake and company don’t get the job done now, they might never, and as the team’s captain he is well aware.

“You can’t let something in the past affect you,” he said. “You have to learn from it, move on, and that’s just life, so I’ve got to keep going.”

Asked if his colleagues are ready to get the job done in the fall, he didn’t mince words: “We have to. We don’t have a choice, we have to.”