Union's Cavan Sullivan Makes MLS Debut; 14-Year-Old Sets North ...
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Cavan Sullivan made history on Wednesday night.
The Philadelphia Union prospect became the youngest athlete in MLS history to ever appear in a game after subbing into the club's matchup with the New England Revolution in the 85th minute.
Cavan Sullivan makes his MLS debut for Philadelphia Union at 14 years and 293 days ????<br><br>He becomes the youngest player ever to debut among the top North American professional sports leagues (MLS, MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, NWSL).<br><br>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/MLS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MLS</a>)<a href="https://t.co/nQkmNOFGW8">pic.twitter.com/nQkmNOFGW8</a>
Cavan Sullivan has entered the match in the 85' and has officially become the youngest player to make his regular-season debut among the top North American professional sports leagues at 14 years, 293 days old.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DOOP?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DOOP</a> <a href="https://t.co/gNx0RqKCsW">pic.twitter.com/gNx0RqKCsW</a>
At just 14 years and 293 days old, Sullivan topped the previous MLS record held by Freddy Adu (14 years, 307 days old) back in 2004 for the San Jose Earthquakes.
He also became the youngest person to ever appear in a major North American professional sports league (MLB, MLS, NBA, NFL, NHL, NWSL) contest.
Making history in a ~major~ way.<a href="https://twitter.com/PhilaUnion?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PhilaUnion</a>'s Cavan Sullivan is the youngest-ever player to debut across major league team sports. <a href="https://t.co/44enieIOZh">pic.twitter.com/44enieIOZh</a>
History made.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DOOP?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DOOP</a> <a href="https://t.co/b5GuOT2Asx">pic.twitter.com/b5GuOT2Asx</a>
Adu congratulated the young phenom on breaking his record:
Big congrats to Cavan Sullivan for his record breaking debut today. That's a hard record to break and the kid did it. Well done and good luck my man. ????????????????????????
Sullivan didn't wait long to make his presence felt, with a shot on goal in the 93rd minute:
93' | First career shot on goal by Cavan Sullivan<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Doop?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Doop</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MLS?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MLS</a> <a href="https://t.co/SVaZT3WttX">pic.twitter.com/SVaZT3WttX</a>
The Union won the contest, 5-1, though they remained buried on the Eastern Conference table in last place, with just 21 points through 23 matches.
With the Union struggling overall this season, working Sullivan into the lineup made sense, especially on a night when the outcome wasn't in question later in the match.
"Cavan's earned the right to be in the 20 if you just go through the numbers," manager Jim Curtin told reporters on Tuesday. "He'll get that opportunity now and the next step is working hard to get your first minutes. Sometimes that might be one minute, that might be 15 minutes, that might be 90 minutes. But you have to earn it and I think Cavan understands that and recognizes it."
For good measure, Sullivan's older brother, Quinn, scored an absolute banger earlier in the contest:
It's beautiful ???? <br><br>Quinn with a banger from far to give the U the 5-1 lead!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DOOP?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DOOP</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PHIvNE?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PHIvNE</a> 5-1 <a href="https://t.co/2yRLRsQciK">pic.twitter.com/2yRLRsQciK</a>
It was a pretty amazing night for the Sullivan family, and an exciting night for soccer fans as one of the most hyped soccer prospects in United States history took to the pitch.
