Cavan Sullivan showed his talent in his first Union start, but also how far he has to go

Cavan Sullivan knew the magnitude of the moment just as well as the crowd at Subaru Park did.

Union manager Bradley Carnell gave the 15-year-old phenom his first start with the first team in Wednesday’s U.S. Open Cup game against Indy Eleven. That set off a buzz in the stands, even though the attendance was disappointingly small for the Union’s first Open Cup home game in eight years.

Those who did attend didn’t just get to see history. They got to see Sullivan play quite well, firing six shots, including three on target. He put in defensive work too, with two tackles, five recoveries, and four duels won from eight contested.

But Sullivan also showed what you’d expect of any player his age: He’s still far from a finished product. After a lively first half, he was out of the play more in the second and didn’t always make the best passing decisions when chances came. Then he rallied in extra time, finding space to break into and drawing a free kick against Indy Eleven‘s tiring defense.

It mattered that he lasted the whole game, too. Sullivan plays a lot for the Union’s reserves, but that’s not the same as facing older pros who play in the USL Championship. Few opponents have 6-foot-4 Indy striker Elliot Collier’s size in MLS Next Pro, and not many have Collier’s beard, either.

“It’s certainly tiring,” Sullivan said. “I haven’t played more than, I’d say, 80 minutes in a while, and 60 minutes at the second team, mostly. Double that is a lot, but I’m happy with my shift. It’s the type of soreness where you feel good about yourself and just happy to have worked that hard.”

» READ MORE: Union survive U.S. Open Cup upset threat, edge Indy Eleven in penalty kick shootout

None of Sullivan’s work produced a winning goal, but no one else did either. Alejandro Bedoya had the Union’s only tally with a sixth-minute opener, and Elvis Amoh scored a superb backheeled equalizer in the 48th.

So after 120 minutes, the game went to penalty kicks, and Andrew Rick’s save on long-ago Union draft pick Aodhan Quinn gave the home team the win.

Everyone took their time walking around the Union’s locker room afterward. Sullivan took a few good hits, including one late in extra time. The 38-year-old Bedoya played 120 minutes for the first time since the 2021 playoffs, in his first start this year. They had all put in a shift, even as Carnell did his best with substitutions.

“We had to be a little bit creative in the way we tried to set [Sullivan] up, and we knew we were going to have to make certain substitutions at certain minutes and time frames,” Carnell said. “Cavan wants to play — he wants to express himself, he wants to get on the pitch, he wants to prove himself, and he wants to prove he belongs with the team. He did a great job. He’s young, fit, hungry, so it was fun to watch him tonight going against men.”

» READ MORE: Cavan Sullivan earned his first Union start in the U.S. Open Cup vs. Indy Eleven

The veterans knew it, too.

“When you tell me that Cavan is just 15 years old, you forget that when he is in this locker room,” centerback Jakob Glesnes said. “You count him as a grown man, but he is just a kid, still, and he’s doing amazing. It’s fun to see him because he’s showing this every day in training — he doesn’t mind if you’re 20 years old or 30 years old, he will go at you.”

Bedoya had a close-up view of Sullivan’s work Wednesday from nearby in midfield.

“He was behind some key chances in the first half,” the Union’s longtime captain said. “He probably will tell you that he could have maybe hit the ball a little bit harder or placed it better, but he got in good spots. I liked what I saw from him, and it’s just about getting opportunities and minutes and that experience under your belt.”

» READ MORE: Three generations of Northeast Philadelphia’s Sullivans have made soccer history in the U.S. Open Cup

Sullivan enjoyed playing next to Bedoya just as much.

“His IQ is another level, his spacing is awesome, and his passing technique always sets you up for something nice,” he said. “I remember coming to these games in 2017 when Chris Albright was the GM — I remember him telling Quinn [Sullivan, Cavan’s oldest brother] that he should look at Ale and try and study his game. And so me, trying to be like Quinn, I did the same.”

The Union arguably weren’t the night’s biggest winners. The Columbus Crew surely were thrilled that this game went the distance as they prepare to visit Subaru Park this Saturday for a clash of the Eastern Conference’s top two teams.

It will also be Dániel Gazdag’s first game at Subaru Park since the Union sold him to Columbus. Right on time, the Crew announced Wednesday that they’d agreed to a new long-term deal with him that the Union didn’t want to give.

» READ MORE: Dániel Gazdag wanted to finish his career with the Union, until he couldn’t

Then the May gauntlet will continue: home vs. the reigning MLS Cup champion — though struggling right now — Los Angeles Galaxy on Wednesday, at Atlanta United on May 17, and home to the Pittsburgh Riverhounds in the Open Cup’s round of 16 on May 21.

Pittsburgh toppled New York City FC on Wednesday in the Steel City, 1-0, with a second-half stoppage-time winner. It set off the kind of wild celebrations that only cup tournaments can produce, especially when David slays Goliath in dramatic fashion. (NYCFC’s parent company needs no reminding, as Manchester City will play in England’s FA Cup final later this month.)

Thanks to the luck of Open Cup draws over the years, this will be the first time the Union have faced Pittsburgh. The reserve squad played the Riverhounds back when Bethlehem Steel played in the USL, but the first team never has. And the Riverhounds are the older team, having launched in 1999, compared to the Union’s start in 2010.

Alas, that game will land not just soon after Gazdag’s reunion, but a few days before Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami comes to Chester on May 24. That will be the biggest game on many local soccer fans’ calendars, and, for some, perhaps the only time they’ll notice the Union all year.

» READ MORE: Bradley Carnell’s gamble on starting Chris Donovan paid off in the Union’s win at CF Montréal

The Open Cup could be worthwhile, too — especially for those fans who mainly watch English soccer and think American soccer doesn’t have the same tradition. It doesn’t have the same prestige, and certainly not as much money, but the Open Cup’s history is real and rich.

And as Wednesday night at Subaru Park showed, a cup game can be a showcase for soccer drama.