Philadelphia Union midfielder Cavan Sullivan made more history on Wednesday night, but the 17-year-old insisted he was less than happy with his performance. Sullivan picked up his 14th assist of the season to set up Bruno Damiani's game winner in the Union's 3-1 victory over the Chicago Fire FC.
Together with his seven goals, Sullivan now has 21 goal contributions in his breakout year, the most ever by a teenager in a single MLS season. The 14 assists put him second in MLS, level with Inter Miami's Lionel Messi and behind only Son Heung-Min of LAFC (15). Sullivan has registered a goal contribution in 10 straight MLS games, recording 16 in that span. He had already broken the mark for most goal contributions in an MLS season by a player under 17, surpassing former U.S. soccer phenom Freddy Adu.
Yet Sullivan was not in a celebratory mood. "I played sort of terrible tonight, so I'm not really focused on any records or stats like that, to be honest," he said. "I'm happy with the win, but I've sort of got to look in the mirror and watch some film and see what I have to do better."
Union interim coach Ryan Richter was more positive. "It seems like every week something else is popping up for him," Richter said. "I'm so happy for him, and a big emphasis for him is to continue to be decisive in games." Sullivan's form has carried Philadelphia to eight straight wins and a club-record 14-match unbeaten streak, moving the team up to sixth place in the Eastern Conference. ESPN has reported that Sullivan has an agreement to join Manchester City when he turns 18.
Source: ESPN Soccer · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing