Mikael Uhre’s late goals send the Union back to first place with a 3-1 win over Colorado

Zack Steffen has a history of thwarting his hometown team, and on Saturday he almost did it again.

The Downingtown native and former Union academy prospect made eight saves for the Colorado Rapids, but Tai Baribo’s equalizer and Mikael Uhre’s two late goals earned the Union a come-from-behind 3-1 win at Subaru Park.

The Union’s attack was lively from the start, forcing Steffen into four saves and a tough high catch in the first 23 minutes. The fourth save was a scramble to keep a Bruno Damiani header from crossing the goal line, and Steffen did just enough to succeed.

In the 37th minute, Rafael Navarro finally punished the Union (15-5-5, 50 points) for not putting any of their first 10 shots — including six on target — in the net. Colorado’s Ian Murphy stole the ball off Kai Wagner, then Navarro led a break with Calvin Harris and headed in the rebound after Harris’ shot went off the crossbar.

At halftime, the Union had a 12-4 advantage in shots. But Steffen kept thwarting them, with seven saves, one high catch, and one punch out of a ball in the air.

“The guys were down in the locker room at halftime, they were just a little bit disappointed,” Union manager Bradley Carnell said. “And I was like, ‘Guys, it’s a great performance. We just now have to show we’re a good team. We’ve proven it already for one half, now we have to show points on the board.’ And I think they they did that.”

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The shots margin had grown to 18-4 when Baribo finally put the ball in the net in the 64th. Wagner started the play with a short corner kick, a back-and-forth pass with Jovan Lukić that set up Wagner for a cross. With a combined 16 players from the teams piled up in the box, Baribo emerged to stick an outstretched toe on the ball for his 15th goal of the year.

Steffen had stayed on his line for once, with teammate Andreas Maxsø charging at the space he would have dove into.

Lukić should have scored the winner in the 81st when substitute Uhre sprung a pass for the wide-open midfielder in the 18-yard box. But he shockingly shot low and wide, instead of anywhere else.

Eight minutes later, Uhre put the ball where it was supposed to go. He and Indiana Vassilev played a give-and-go sequence through Colorado’s backed-up midfield, and though Vassilev nearly ran himself into trouble, he was able to turn and get Uhre the ball. Uhre did the rest, cutting to his left and sliding a shot to the right post that beat a full-stretch-diving Steffen.

As Colorado tried to find an equalizer in six minutes of stoppage time, Alejandro Bedoya caught the Rapids’ back line pressing high with a ball over the top in the 95th. Uhre raced onto it, held off Cole Bassett, and slotted a shot through Steffen’s legs at the near post.

The goals were Uhre’s third and fourth of the year, and his first in nearly two months (with part of that time spent out injured). They vaulted the Union back into first place in the Eastern Conference and leaguewide, thanks to other results — including FC Cincinnati’s scoreless tie at Inter Miami, with Lionel Messi suspended for bailing on the All-Star Game.

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“[Uhre] was due for sure, but he never dropped his head,” Carnell said. “He worked his butt off, and he got a little injury and came back, and we can’t expect too much too soon. It’s been three games now back from his injury, and I think you can see which way he’s trending right now.”

Steffen’s loss was just his second in six all-time meetings with the Union, dating back to his first with the Columbus Crew in 2017.