The 2018 Philadelphia Union season was the club's ninth season in

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Cana ...

, the top flight of American soccer. The team was managed by

Jim Curtin Jim Curtin (born June 23, 1979) is an American professional soccer coach and former player who is the current head coach of the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer. He spent most of his playing career with the Chicago Fire. Youth and co ...

, his fifth season with the club. The Union reached the

MLS Cup Playoffs The MLS Cup Playoffs is the annual postseason elimination tournament of Major League Soccer. The final match of the tournament is the MLS Cup, the league's championship game. Under the current format adopted for the 2019 season, 14 teams quali ...

as the bottom seed in the

MLS Eastern Conference The Eastern Conference is one of Major League Soccer's two conferences, along with the Western Conference. As of 2023, the Eastern Conference contains fifteen teams. The conference has produced sixteen Supporters' Shield champions and ten ...

. The club also reached the

2018 U.S. Open Cup The 2018 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup was the 105th edition of the U.S. Open Cup, a knockout cup competition in American soccer. It is the oldest ongoing competition in the United States and was contested by 97 teams from leagues in the U.S. system ...

final for the third time in club history, but finished runners-up to Houston Dynamo. The 2018 season was the Union's most successful to date, earning the highest points total (50) and most wins (15). Additionally, the 2018 season transitioned Sporting Directors with

Earnie Stewart Earnest Lee Stewart Jr. (born March 28, 1969) is an American former soccer player who played as a striker or a midfielder. His career spanned 17 years from 1988 until his retirement in 2005, with the majority of them spent in the Netherlands, th ...

accepting a general manager position with the

United States Soccer Federation The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of the sport of soccer in the United States. Headquartered in Chicago, the federation is ...

, and the Union hiring

Ernst Tanner Ernst Tanner (born 24 July 1946) is a Swiss manager and entrepreneur. He is Chairman of the Board of the chocolate manufacturer Lindt & Sprüngli. Life After earning his undergraduate degree in business administration, Tanner continued his ed ...

; former academy manager for Red Bull Salzburg.

Background

MLS SuperDraft

The Union selected three players from the third and fourth rounds of the 2018 SuperDraft

Personnel

Roster

DP indicates

Designated Player The Designated Player Rule, nicknamed the Beckham Rule, allows Major League Soccer franchises to sign up to three players that would be considered outside their salary cap (either by offering the player higher wages or by paying a transfer fee ...

GA indicates

Generation Adidas Generation Adidas is a joint venture between Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer aimed at raising the level of young professional soccer talent in the United States. The program, sponsored by Adidas, offers professional-ready players in the U.S ...

Player
HGP indicates Home Grown Player
INT indicates MLS International Player and qualifies for an international roster spot

Staff

Competitions

Preseason

MLS season

MLS Cup Playoffs

U.S. Open Cup

Friendlies

Standings

Eastern Conference

League standings

Results summary

''Position references Eastern Conference standings.''

Statistics

Appearances and goals

, - ! colspan="12" style="background:#041C2C; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #DFD1A7;" text-align:center;", Defenders , - ! colspan="12" style="background:#041C2C; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #DFD1A7;" text-align:center;", Midfielders , - ! colspan="12" style="background:#041C2C; color:#FFFFFF; border:2px solid #DFD1A7;" text-align:center;", Forwards Statistics are from all matches as documented by Soccerway.com.

Top scorers

Goalkeepers

:Record = W-L-D

Transfers

In

Out

Loan in

Honors and awards

Retirement

In May 2018, long time Philadelphia Union forward Sebastian Le Toux announced his retirement from professional soccer. Making a name for himself as a top player for the Philadelphia Union, Le Toux signed a ceremonial one-day contract to retire as a Philadelphia player. His retirement ceremony was held on June 23, 2018 during a home match against

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on Marc ...

, where he was the first inductee into the Union's Ring of Honor.

References

External links

Official Website

Philadelphia Union
at

ESPN FC ESPN FC (formerly ESPN SoccerNet) is a website and a U.S. television studio program covering soccer that is broadcast daily over the streaming service ESPN+. ESPN FC's origin was a website owned by ESPN Inc. Originally established in 1995 as ...

{{2018 MLS season by team Philadelphia Union seasons

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Union compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the club began playing in 2010 ...