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

The Union’s first U.S. Open Cup home game in seven years produced a full measure of drama after all that waiting.

It went the full distance, with Indy Eleven of the second-tier USL Championship pushing the Union to extra time and penalty kicks after a 1-1 tie. Alejandro Bedoya scored in the sixth minute, Elvis Amoh equalized in the 48th, and though the Union dominated most of the game, they couldn’t find a second goal when the 120 minutes were up.

Andrew Rick was the first hero of the shootout, with a save on long-ago Union draft pick Aodhan Quinn. Jovan Lukić finished off the win, as the Union went 5-for-5 from the penalty spot.

The Union will host another USL Championship team, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, in the Round of 16. It will be the first-ever meeting of the Commonwealth’s top two professional teams.

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The crowd was disappointingly sparse, but the fans who showed up were treated to a moment of history. Teen phenom Cavan Sullivan made his first start for the Union’s first team, after six appearances as a substitute and a slate of starts for the reserve squad.

The moment came two days short of a year since Sullivan turned pro with the Union as the most-hyped prospect in team history. He already has a deal in place to join English Premier League superpower Manchester City in 2027, for a preset transfer fee of $5 million.

With lower-division opposition across the field, Union manager Bradley Carnell took the opportunity to start a number of backups and reserves. Andrew Rick was in net; David Vazquez (usually an attacking midfielder) and Olivier Mbaizo were the outside backs; and Bedoya, Jesús Bueno, and Jeremy Rafanello started with Sullivan in midfield.

The only regular starters out there were centerbacks Jakob Glesnes and Olwethu Makhanya, and forwards Mikael Uhre and Bruno Damiani. The bench had a group of usual starters, and three got the night off entirely: midfielders Danley Jean Jacques and Quinn Sullivan, and forward Chris Donovan.

Mbaizo’s preseason injury didn’t help his cause with a new manager. But even so, it was striking that this was just his third game of the year, and his second start — the first since March 22 vs. St. Louis, which was during a FIFA window.

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Bedoya, meanwhile, made his first start of the year after six outings as a late-game closer. The team’s longtime captain was the only player in this game who was also in the 2018 Open Cup final, when the Union’s lineup included Mark McKenzie, Auston Trusty, and Bořek Dočkal.

Mbaizo orchestrated the opening goal. He played a one-two with Bueno off a throw-in, then lofted a cross toward Damiani and Bedoya in the middle of the box. It landed perfectly for Bedoya, who thumped a header past helpless Indy goalkeeper Reice Charles-Cook.

The Eleven’s best chance of the half came in first-half stoppage time, when Quinn hit a long ball to Jack Blake that he volleyed to try to catch Rick off his line. The shot hit the crossbar and stayed out.

Nathan Harriel subbed in for Glesnes at halftime, to rest the centerback for Saturday. Three minutes later, he was caught on Indy’s equalizer. Aedan Stanley sprung Maalique Foster into space that Harriel had left open by being way upfield, and Foster raced away. He then crossed low to Amoh in the middle, and Amoh backheeled in his finish.

Carnell was probably starting to plan substitutions at that point anyway, but Indy’s equalizer forced him to speed up. Kai Wagner, Lukić, and Tai Baribo all entered in the 57th minute, replacing Vazquez, Bueno, and Damiani.

As the clock ticked away, the Eleven started to look better on the field, and the Union didn’t. The crowd was getting restless, and there was an incentive brewing for the next round. Not only were the Union already guaranteed to host if they’d get there, but the next matchup in the bracket saw an upset: the USL Championship’s Pittsburgh Riverhounds upset New York City FC, 1-0, in the Steel City.

The last two outfield players on the Union’s bench were outside back Frankie Westfield and right back Indiana Vassilev. It started to seem like Vassilev would replace Sullivan, but then Mbaizo went down away from the play in the 79th minute. He departed in the 81st after a stoppage, Vassilev entered, and Lukić moved to right back.

That seemed to wake the Union up. Uhre charged down the left flank, cut in, and slammed a shot off the far post that Baribo cashed in — though he was offside, and correctly flagged for it.

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When an Open Cup game goes to extra time, each team gets an extra substitution. Carnell used his right away, sending in Westfield for a tiring Uhre. That let Lukić move up to midfield, as the Union ran with a 4-2-3-1 the rest of the way.

Baribo had the first good chance of the session, forcing a big save from Charles-Cook off a Wagner free kick in the 94th. Sullivan got open from close range in the 102nd minute, but was a little too wide left to get a shot on frame.

» READ MORE: You don’t have to critique Jakob Glesnes’ game. The Union defender does that himself every car ride home.

Indy had a big chance in the 113th when Elliot Collier launched a header at a cross that Rick had to dive at full-stretch to push across the goalmouth. Five minutes later, Baribo charged toward a free kick, but shot over the bar under tight defending.

It was off to penalty kicks. Romario Williams and Blake scored for Indy before Rick stopped Quinn, then Cameron Lindley and Stanley scored. Vassilev, Baribo, Westfield, Rafanello, and Lukić scored for the Union.