Jim Curtin’s tweaks to the lineup paid off on Saturday with a 3-1 win at home over D.C. United to sweep the season series and put the Philadelphia Union back in a tie for first place on points with Atlanta United.
The surprise lineup against D.C. included a shift to the 4-2-3-1 formation with Kacper Przybylko up top and two homegrowns replacing veteran players in the starting XI in Brenden Aaronson for Marco Fabian and Mark McKenzie for Aurelien Collin. Both players stepped up with strong performances — Aaronson scored his first goal since his MLS debut in March and added an assist and McKenzie helped lock down the defense — and Kacper had a man of the match performance on both sides of the ball.