Cavan Sullivan makes history with Philadelphia Union brace

By Ari Liljenwall

A historic performance from 16-year-old midfielder Cavan Sullivan helped the Philadelphia Union soar past Trinidad & Tobago's Defence Force FC and into the Round of 16 of the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup on Thursday evening.

The homegrown phenom scored his first two senior-team goals and added two assists in the Round One finale at Subaru Park, which ended in a 7-0 victory (12-0 aggregate).

With his first tally, Sullivan made history as the youngest American goalscorer in CCC history.

– Friday, 27 February 2026

It's the latest milestone moment for Sullivan, who previously became the then-youngest player to debut for a North American major league sports team (14 years, 293 days) and the second-youngest player in MLS history to start a match (15 years, 280 days old).

Against Defence Force, the US youth international contributed a highlight-reel assist on teammate Stas Korzeniowski 's 12th-minute strike for the first of his two helpers, then set up Ben Bender 's 53rd-minute tally.

Sullivan netted his first goal with a clinical 76th-minute strike before rounding off the scoring with an 88th-minute tap-in after starting the attack.

– Friday, 27 February 2026

Sullivan, now in his third professional season, is in the early days of what could be a breakout campaign. He starred last fall at the 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup and will reportedly join English Premier League powerhouse Manchester City in the future.

With Sullivan powering Thursday's dominant result, Philly await a massive Round-of-16 series with Club América in mid-March. The LIGA MX giants were 2-1 aggregate winners in their Round One series against Club Olimpia (Honduras).