The Philadelphia Union possess one of MLS's top attacking units in 2023, and Chris Donovan has become the latest to add his name to their stat sheet.
Donovan scored his first goal of the season on Saturday at Subaru Park, helping Jim Curtin’s squad wrap up a 2-1 home victory over New York City FC. A Class of 2022 MLS NEXT Pro standout, Donovan replaced Quinn Sullivan in the 75th minute and scored the Union’s second goal of the night just six minutes later.
Dániel Gazdag’s back-heel pass allowed the young forward to race in toward goal and work his way past NYCFC goalkeeper Luis Barraza before roofing a shot into the empty net.
Including four tallies with Philadelphia Union II in MLS NEXT Pro and one US Open Cup goal with the Union, Saturday night's game-winner was Donovan's sixth goal of 2023.
After attending Conestoga High School, which is less than 25 miles from Subaru Park, and excelling collegiately at Drexel University in downtown Philadelphia, Donovan’s first league goal couldn’t have come at a better place.
“I just know Dánny Gazdag\] played me in and I was able to put some pressure on [\[Tayvon\] Gray before some miscommunication between him and the goalie allowed me to get in towards goal. After that I couldn’t miss,” Donovan said postmatch. “It was great to score my first goal in front of the home fans tonight. I was hoping that when the moment came, it would come here because it makes it that much better.”
Donovan enjoyed immediate success with Union II in 2022, registering eight goals and three assists in 24 MLS NEXT Pro appearances. He has continued to produce positive moments when loaned down to the second team in 2023, adding four goals in five appearances this season for Marlon LeBlanc’s squad.
So far, Julián Carranza, Mikael Uhre and Quinn Sullivan have earned the majority of the opportunities at the top of Curtin’s lineup, but Saturday’s positive substitute performance could be exactly what Donovan needs to earn more minutes this summer.
The Union kick off Leagues Cup play on July 22 at Subaru Park against Liga MX side Club Tijuana before also facing Querétaro on July 26 in the same competition.
