Dániel Gazdag’s milestone goal means more than just a number

The Union’s leading scorer this year became the ninth player in team history to hit double-digit goals in a regular season and the first midfielder to do so.

Dániel Gazdag celebrates one of his goals for the Union this year, against Los Angeles FC in May.Read moreMark J. Terrill / AP

by Jonathan Tannenwald

Published July 24, 2022, 2:31 p.m. ET

When the Union signed Dániel Gazdag last year, they did so for a lot of reasons: to have a big-time midfield playmaker, to have a veteran at the sport’s most famous role, to have someone who fits the team’s tactics.

A big piece of that tactical equation is to have a player at the top of the midfield diamond who scores goals, along with setting them up for others. It was said when Gazdag was signed, and it’s been said often since as the Hungarian has justified the third-largest transfer fee in Union history.

On Saturday night, Gazdag added another measure of justification when he scored his 10th goal of the year in the Union’s 1-0 win at Orlando City.

The Union’s leading scorer this year became the ninth player in team history to hit double-digit goals in a regular season, and the first midfielder to do so. He is one of just nine players across Major League Soccer’s 28 teams to have scored 10 or more goals this year.

And even the highbrow soccer fans who dismiss the importance of penalty kicks might admit that in Gazdag’s case, they matter. He’s putting the ball in the net, and as he showed in the Union’s come-from-behind win over New England earlier this month, he’s doing it with authority.

“I think it’s no coincidence in this sport, when you work so hard, good things happen for you, and that goal is that an example of that,” Union manager Jim Curtin said Saturday night. “He plays the right way. … I know there’s a ton of great players in this league, but Daniel’s had as good a season as anybody.

Curtin has said for years that the Union aren’t built to rely on one big-time scorer. Usually, when he brings that up it gets derided as a sign of the team’s lack of big-time spending.

This year, when the Union have spent the most they ever have on their front line, it could mean something different. With 12 games to go in the season, Gazdag has 10 goals, Julián Carranza has seven, and Mikael Uhre has six.

None is likely to top the Union’s record for most goals across all competitions in a year, 17, shared by C.J. Sapong (2017) and Kacper Przybylko (2021). But if Carranza and Uhre both reach 10, it would be the first time in team history that three players have hit double digits in the same regular season.

“Dániel’s been our leader and carried the load offensively,” Curtin said, “and now it’s time for others to step up and maybe take a little pressure off him because he’s going to be a marked man.”

A defensive record in sight, too

The old centerback in Curtin would always rather talk about defense than offense, so when the opportunity came Saturday night he grabbed it.

Highlighting the Union’s league-best 15 goals allowed this year, Curtin said he wants his team to break the league record for a 34-game season of 27 goals conceded, set by Sporting Kansas City in 2012.

“I challenged them — I said, ‘Let’s go for this, let’s break it. Let’s do it,’ ” Curtin said. “When you do something like that, sometimes as a coach you wind up giving up five goals in the next game because you put pressure on people, but I think this group really embraces it. I think they’re into it now, and it’s a record we want to chase. We want to be the best ever defensive team in this league.”

The Union’s next game is Saturday against the Houston Dynamo at Subaru Park (7:30 p.m., PHL17). It will be former Union fan favorite Fafà Picault’s first game in Chester since he was sold to FC Dallas after the 2019 season. And it will be a homecoming for Lancaster’s Zarek Valentin, who hasn’t played here since 2019 with the Portland Timbers.