Soccer
Tai Baribo is a man on fire.
The Philadelphia Union‘s red-hot striker hit the net yet again in Saturday’s 2-0 win at the New England Revolution to extend his scoring streak to three in a row as the club remained perfect on the season with a 3W-0L-0D record.
Baribo now has six goals, tying the MLS record for most tallies in the first three games of a season – set by Ante Razov in 1999.
The Israeli international is not just pacing the early Golden Boot presented by Audi race, but also eclipsing the goal output of 21 MLS clubs as of Saturday’s games.
Baribo broke the deadlock for the Union in the 76th minute, opening the door for midfielder Jovan Lukic to seal the result with a late thunderbolt.
The 27-year-old’s heroics on Saturday follow a hat trick against FC Cincinnati in Matchday 2 and a brace at Orlando City SC during MLS is Back weekend.
Elite in a new era
Saturday’s win further legitimized the Union’s sensational start to the season under new head coach Bradley Carnell.
“Clean sheets are always good, especially for a team playing away from home,” Carnell said postgame. “How we can learn to control the game, and I think we only gave away one shot on target if I’m not mistaken, so they stretched us and bent us a little bit, but we didn’t break.
“And that’s always the sign of a good team, defending from the front.”
Broadcast may have missed Jovan’s celebration, but we got you ????#DOOP pic.twitter.com/XgZcbhQuzB
— Philadelphia Union (@PhilaUnion) March 9, 2025
East on notice
When Philly parted with longtime head coach Jim Curtin in favor of Carnell this offseason, they took a power hit with the pundits, with expert predictions projecting them 12th in the Eastern Conference and no superlatives in sight.
But it turns out the Union are staying put with a torrid three-game winning streak to kickstart the campaign.
“There’s a determination to work as a group and as a collective, and we can slowly see the pieces of the puzzle falling together,” Carnell said. “But we can only do it if there’s 11 guys tuned in and dialed into the gameplan.
“… I think we can see that tonight.”
Read MoreTyisha Mongold