The Philadelphia Union tasted success last year, too; Here, they celebrate winning the 2020 Supporters’ Shield after a match against the New England Revolution Nov. 8, 2020.
Sergio Santos and Cory Burke both scored and the Philadelphia Union captured its first-ever Supporters' Shield with a 2-0 victory over the New England Revolution on Sunday.
Only one team a season can claim the Shield, which is awarded to the Major League Soccer team with the best regular season record as determined by the MLS points system.
The Union had a chance to secure the trophy last weekend, but a 2-1 loss to the Columbus Crew put the celebration on hold. Philadelphia was in a tie Toronto FC for the prize heading into Sunday's Decision Day.
But Toronto fell 2-1 to the Red Bulls, and Philadelphia (14-4-5) finished with 47 points to claim the top spot in the Eastern Conference and home-field advantage through the playoffs.
“The boys put a lot of work into this season and then obviously today to win it on our home field in front of our fans is special. The club's first trophy — which is always the hardest one to get,” Philadelphia coach Jim Curtain said.
The Union will wait for the results of the play-in matches to learn their first opponent in the playoffs.
Philadelphia had the good fortune of playing the final regular season match at Subaru Park, where the team was 9-0-0 during the regular season. A limited number of fans were in the stands for Sunday's match.
New England (8-7-8) will face Montreal in the play-in round.
Philadelphia took a 1-0 lead into the break after Santos scored on a shot that rebounded off the crossbar and landed at his feet in the 42nd minute. Burke added a goal for the Union in the 69th minute.
The Union had already clinched a spot in the CONCACAF Champions League. Toronto was only eligible to secure a spot by winning the Canadian Championship.
