Kacper Przybylko Turns it Around in a Matter of a Week
After only scoring one goal in six starts in the MLS is Back Tournament, striker Kacper Przybylko was mightily struggling to put the ball into the back of the net.
Like a thief in the night, he scored 3 goals in the team’s two wins on August 25th and 29th. His goal against the New York Red Bulls was the game-winner, and he opened up the scoring in the 7th minute of the team’s dominating 4-1 victory over D.C. United. This turnaround was aided by his runs off the ball and into open space along with his commitment to score, and manager Jim Curtin‘s trust and belief in him to get the job done while continuously starting him.
His first goal against United came off a corner kick, and the tap-in goal was the first one of a corner since September 15th, 2018 when former defender Auston Trusty notched a goal versus the Montreal Impact. This marked 291 corner kicks without a goal in all competitions.
To say that Philadelphia was struggling with corner kicks is an understatement.
Photo: —
Przybylko’s second goal against D.C. was a phenomenal curling effort that kissed off the post and in to give the Union a 2-0 lead at the time. The friendly striker has now scored in six straight home matches, an impressive statistic, and a testament to his work rate and success at the confines of Subaru Park.
Along with Przybylko, his teammate and partner up top Sergio Santos also bagged a shot in the old onion bag versus D.C. When both Przybylko and Santos score in the same game, the team has a record of 3-0-0 as they have outscored opponents 13-3 in those matches. This dominance between the two strikers is something that Union fans had been hoping would come to fruition, and hopefully, this is just the beginning of the strong connection between the two.
As if Przybylko’s performance against United couldn’t get any better, he assisted midfielder Brenden Aaronson‘s goal which nutmegged goalie Chris Seitz and put the icing on the top of the cake for the Boys in Blue. It simply does not get any better than scoring against the team’s two top rivals in back-to-back matches, and for Przybylko, he was able to make that a reality.
The Polish striker’s strong efforts earned him MLS Player of Week honors as it was announced on Monday. This is not just the beginning of his stardom.
In 34 appearances for the U, 33 of which were starts, Przybylko has scored 19 goals and added five assists.
The Union took a gamble to sign Przybylko two years ago at the roster freeze deadline, and boy has that gamble paid off in terms of production. With 19 goals in his tenure with Philly, this ranks as seventh-most in Union history, right behind Ilsinho who has 20 career goals with the U.
It is important to note that Przybylko is always putting his team first and displays that by setting up teammates for goal-scoring opportunities, all while remaining humble when he scores for the Union. The friendly striker is a true workhorse as he has played the full 90 minutes in 29 of his 33 starts with the Boys in Blue.
Despite Przybylko’s struggles at the beginning of the season, it has been fun watching him thrive and prove to be the goal scorer that the Union brought him in to be.
Featured Image: Morgan Tencza/Brotherly Game
Discover more from Philadelphia Sports Nation
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
