Union blast Toronto FC behind Mikael Uhre's hat trick

ByReuters ESPN logo
Thursday, October 12, 2023

Mikael Uhre scored three goals to lift the host Philadelphia Union to a stellar 4-2 victory over Toronto FC on a rainy Saturday night in Chester, Pa.



The Union added an own goal and Julian Carranza contributed two assists.




Philadelphia (3-4-2, 11 points) snapped a five-game winless streak.



Lorenzo Insigne and Richie Laryea each scored one goal for Toronto FC (1-2-6, nine points). Jonathan Osorio had two assists.



Toronto FC had produced four consecutive draws heading into this game.



Toronto captain Michael Bradley missed his second consecutive game with a lower-body injury.



Insigne nearly scored again in the 80th minute if not for a diving save by Union goalkeeper Andre Blake.




Laryea then scored Toronto FC's second goal in the second minute of stoppage time.



Carranza had two strong scoring chances in the opening 10 minutes of the first half with a header and left-footed shot, both of which landed just wide.



The aggressive play paid off as the Union went ahead 1-0 in the 16th minute with an own goal. Daniel Gazdag took the initial shot, and after a save by Sean Johnson, the ball appeared to ricochet off Lukas MacNaughton and into the net.



Uhre scored in the 20th minute for a 2-0 advantage. After a lengthy review, the goal was upheld.



In the 43rd minute, Uhre broke free behind the Toronto FC defenders and scored for a 3-0 lead.




Toronto FC committed a number of costly turnovers and struggled to generate offense in the first half.



In the 53rd minute, Jordan Perruzza had Toronto FC's best scoring chance to that point when he ripped a shot from the center of the box just wide of Blake.



Uhre then achieved the hat trick in the 56th minute when he received a crisp pass in the box and tapped the ball past Johnson for a 4-0 lead.



Toronto FC cut the deficit to 4-1 in the 66th minute when Insigne connected on a bending shot into the far corner of the net.



--Field Level Media

Copyright © 2024 ESPN Internet Ventures. All rights reserved.