Philadelphia Union star Cavan Sullivan capped his 2026 regular season in style, earning MLS Player of the Matchday honors for Matchday 35.
The 17-year-old homegrown scored twice in the Union's 4-1 Decision Day win over Toronto FC. Both Cavan and his brother Quinn scored against Toronto, becoming the third pair of brothers to score as teammates in an MLS game.
Sullivan finished the season with 23 goal contributions (9g/14a), setting the single-season record for a teenager in MLS history. His Decision Day brace was his second this season and marked his sixth game with multiple goal contributions.
In Philadelphia Union history, Sullivan's 14 assists were the fourth-most in a single season, while his 23 goal contributions were tied for the fifth-most. In his 21 starts this season, the Union recorded 41 points (12W-4L-5D). In total, 82% of Philadelphia’s points in 2026 came from matches Sullivan started.
With Sullivan's honor, Philadelphia have now earned five Player of the Matchday awards in 2026, the most in a single season in club history and the most in MLS this season. Sullivan is also the second teenager to win the award twice in 2026, joining Red Bull New York forward Julian Hall (Matchday 1 and Matchday 13).
Sullivan will join the USMNT during the November international window before returning for Philadelphia's Round One Best-of-3 Series against No. 3 New England Revolution. That series begins on Saturday, Nov. 21 when the Union travel to Gillette Stadium (2 pm ET | Apple TV).
The MLS Player of the Matchday is selected each matchday of the regular season through both media and fan voting in a process conducted by MLS Communications. A panel of journalists from the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) comprises 75 percent of the vote, while an Instagram fan vote represents the remaining 25 percent of voting. NASR consists of members of print, television, radio and online media.
