Recap: Philadelphia Union 1, Atlanta United 1

Sydney Hunte

Kacper Przybylko's 88th-minute tally canceled out Santiago Sosa's goal in first-half stoppage time as the Philadelphia Union secured passage to the Concacaf Champions League semifinals 4-1 on aggregate following a 1-1 draw with Atlanta United in Tuesday's second leg at Subaru Park.

Already nursing a 3-0 lead from last week's first leg in Atlanta, Philadelphia had a great chance to put an exclamation point on the tie in the 10th minute, but Olivier Mbaizo's shot went just wide of the net. Atlanta saw a few half-chances throughout the first half but failed to get anything on target as they faced a long road to turn the already large deficit while the Union at times delivered waves of pressure to the delight of the Subaru Park crowd.

But Atlanta found life through Sosa, whose strike inside of first-half stoppage time—his first professional goal—made it 1-0 on the night and 3-1 on aggregate.

The second half took on a wide-open flair as the Union were looking for the dagger and Atlanta a miracle comeback, with several close calls in particular by Philadelphia ultimately going begging and a great chance from Erick "Cubo" Torres to give the Five Stripes their second goal of the night coming to nothing.

But Przybylko continued his torrid run of form in this year's competition, adding a back-breaking goal to squelch any hope of an Atlanta comeback and solidify the Union's spot in the semifinals for the first time.

Goals

45'+2 - ATL - Santiago Sosa | WATCH
88' - PHI - Kacper Przybylko | WATCH

Three Things

THE BIG PICTURE: Philadelphia had plenty of opportunities to slam the door on Atlanta in the first half but wasn't able to do so as they left the visitors a pathway back. But all they had to do to punch their ticket to their first Champions League semifinal was avoid losing by three or more goals, and despite Atlanta pulling one back late in the first half, Jim Curtin's men ultimately saw things out for a historic win. Meanwhile, for a Five Stripes team missing Ezequiel Barco and Jurgen Damm, it's a third straight quarterfinal exit out of the CCL despite an effort to make things somewhat interesting following a 3-0 loss at home a week ago.
MOMENT OF THE MATCH: Przybylko has been white-hot in Champions League play, and with Atlanta buzzing around in search of a second goal that would even more pressure on the hosts, he added yet another marker to his account to put the nail in the coffin.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Atlanta fans saw encouraging signs from Sosa in this match, with his terrific defensive effort and a first-ever goal at the professional level equaling the 22-year-old Argentinian's best match since signing for the club in February.