CHESTER — Colorado center back Gustavo Vallecilla committed an ordinary foul in the seventh minute Saturday night, then tossed the ball away to delay the restart of the game.
That about summed up the Rapids plans in Chester Saturday night: Slow the game, waste time, get numbers behind the ball in an oddball formation and try to escape Subaru Park without getting drubbed by the Philadelphia Union.
It didn’t work, for Vallecilla or for his team.
By halftime, the Rapids had conceded two penalties, and Vallecilla was shown a second yellow card to get his marching orders on the way to a 6-0 obliteration by the Union.
Daniel Gazdag tallied a hat trick to tie the club’s single-season scoring record, even after deferring one PK to Julian Carranza, and subs Cory Burke and Matt Real piled on late yet again.
The win keeps the Union (15-4-9, 54 points) clear atop the Eastern Conference. After Los Angeles FC’s loss at Austin Friday, the Union are just three points back in the Supporters’ Shield race, but LAFC has one game in hand.
It’s the Union’s fourth win of six goals or more this season. No other club has had four such wins in their MLS history.
“They don’t happen much,” manager Jim Curtin said. “I think I only played in a small, small amount. … To have it happen multiple times now, it speaks to this team. I’m just the coach, but players are the ones that win games. Players get it done on the field.”
The Union are also one shy of the franchise record for goals scored in a season at 57. The 2019 team tallied 58.
Both teams kick off busy weeks. The Union host Atlanta United Wednesday, then visit Red Bull Arena on Saturday. Colorado, which entered in 11th place in the West, has three road games, with an in-conference six-pointer Wednesday in Nashville before visiting MLS doormat D.C. United on the weekend. Of that trio, the Rapids likely identified the Union game as the least urgent and least attainable points of the nine available, saving their bullets for that contest.
You get the sense that Colorado, who also lost center back Danny Wilson to injury in the first and subbed in Lalas Abubakar only to then remove Abubakar at half, would’ve flown straight to Nashville at halftime if given the option. Whatever their hybrid formation of five defenders behind the ball at all times was, it didn’t stop them from getting thumped.
The Union’s attack was humming just fine 11-v-11. In the ninth minute, Kai Wagner’s deflected over-the-top ball found Mikael Uhre, who chested a pass into the path of Gazdag’s center-back-splitting run. Gazdag took a touch and blistered a shot past William Yarborough.
Ten minutes later, Gazdag beat his man down the right channel, forcing Anthony Markanich to grab him and haul him down. If not a penalty, it was a horse-collar tackle, and Gazdag buried it from the spot, celebrating with his “Hungarian Harden” stepback, the big basketball fan giving a nod to Sixer Tyrese Maxey in the building. He finished his hat trick in the 83rd, played in by Burke to chip Yarborough.
It was Gazdag’s last act. After he gave up the PK and the chance at the hat trick, Curtin said he gave Gazdag until the 85th minute to get his hat trick. He got there, only just.
“I’m so happy,” Gazdag said. “This is my first hat trick so far in my career, so obviously I’m really happy with it. I have 16 goals in the season so far. This in my best season in my career, so I’m so happy right now. But I don’t want this to stop now. I want to keep this going until the end of the season and through the playoffs.”
When Vallecilla clattered into Olivier Mbaizo in the box in the 28th minute, Carranza cajoled Gazdag off the PK, to which he assented. Carranza sent Yarborough the wrong way to make it four goals in two games for the reigning MLS Player of the Week.
Carranza could’ve gotten close to a second straight hat trick had he been more clinical. He fired wide in the 18th on a sensational setup by Wagner, who moved into a tie for third in MLS with his 12th assist. He flashed a shot wide in the 38th, then headed far of the post in the 58th, both off setups by Wagner on a night of particularly appetizing service from the left back. Yarborough also batted away an Uhre chip attempt in the 51st, the ball deflecting off Uhre then off the post.
Once the Rapids (8-11-8, 32 points) went down to 10 men, it became mere damage control. The Rapids held until the 83rd when Gazdag capped his hat trick, the seventh in franchise history. Three have come in the last two months. He ties CJ Sapong’s 2017 total of 16 goals as the club record.
Burke tapped in a rebound in the 87th for his seventh goal of the year, continuing a streak of goals scored in games the Union have won. The Union are 12-0-3 in the last 15 games in which Burke has scored.
Homegrown Matt Real added his first of the year – and first since 2020 – five minutes after entering. Wagner set that one up with his 12th assist of the season, tying him for third in MLS.
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