Jim Curtin and his longest-tenured players celebrate the Union’s first trip to MLS Cup

To understand the most important win in Union history, listen to people who did a lot of losing before it.

“I can lie and sit here and tell you guys that I knew we were going to come back and win 3-1, but that’s not the case,” said manager Jim Curtin, the Oreland native whose first job with his hometown club was coaching 5-year-olds.

“As proud as I’ve ever been as a coach to see this grow in this city the way it has,” he said a moment later. “Year by year, gradually get better and better, to be talked about and get the mentions with the Phillies and the Sixers and the Eagles and the Flyers.”

Curtin has long relished the thought of red-blooded Philadelphians (and green-blooded ones) recoiling at a foreign sport mattering like this town’s traditional ones do. But he relishes even more when opponents leave Subaru Park in disgust, as they did so often this season. The Union played 19 home games this year, and didn’t lose any of them: 14 wins and five ties, with none of the latter since June 18.

That includes two wins over NYCFC, 2-1 in the regular season in June and 3-1 on Sunday in the Eastern Conference final.

Yet just four years ago, the Union’s all-time regular-season record was 30 games below .500, and had never been above it. They first cleared the bar in all competitions last October, and finally cleared it in the regular season with that June win over NYCFC.

Now they are heading to their first MLS championship game, Saturday at powerhouse Los Angeles FC (4 p.m., Fox29, Univision 65 and TUDN).

“We’re not fun to play against,” Curtin said. “You can call it what you want. You can call it attractive, you can call it entertaining, you can hate it, you can call it too physical, whatever you want to call it, we don’t really care. But we know the opponent does not like playing against us, and it wears them down over the course of 90 minutes.”

Then it was off to the locker room, where the champagne flew long into the night.

» READ MORE: Jim Curtin knew the Union could be good this year. He didn’t think they’d be this good.

“To do it here in the way we did it against New York City after last year’s disappointment for everyone — I think it says a lot about the character of this group over the past three, four years,” said Jack Elliott, the 77th pick in the 2017 college draft who has developed into one of MLS’ elite centerbacks. “And obviously you see how much it means to everyone here and everyone else in the building.”

Two key moments changed the game, and the course of the Union’s history.

The first came in the 60th minute, when Andre Blake made a point-blank save of a header from New York star centerback Alexander Callens.

“I always believed there was no way one goal was going to beat us,” Blake said, eight years and 231 games after he was the No. 1 draft pick in 2014.

“I had this confidence that, you know, we’re here for a reason. We were here last year, and a bunch of us didn’t get to play this game,” he continued. Blake was among the 11 players who missed last year’s Eastern Conference final due to COVID-19 protocols. “And I was just relaxed, I was free, I wasn’t worried. … So I had no doubt — even if it was me who was going to go up there and score a goal — I knew that some way, somehow, we would find a way to come out on top.”

The second big moment came in the 65th, when City manager Nick Cushing subbed off marquee winger Gabriel Pereira for defensive midfielder Keaton Parks with NYCFC up 1-0. It was like a baseball manager sending in a closer in the sixth inning, and it blew up as if Cushing was leading Yankee Stadium’s other home team.

» READ MORE: Why Andre Blake is the most important player in Union history

It wasn’t just that the Union scored from a smartly-taken free kick routine while Parks was getting positioned. When they took the lead two minutes later, Parks was ambling toward Jack McGlynn as the 19-year-old — a Queens native whom NYCFC passed on for its academy — floated the setup cross to Julián Carranza, the scorer of the Union’s first goal.

“The team showed our personality after the first goal, and then, honestly, after that, we killed them,” Carranza told The Inquirer.

And when Cory Burke stole the ball from Justin Haak to start the play for the Union’s third goal, Parks was just crossing the midfield line — and once again seemingly not in much of a hurry. He let his teammates have the pursuit, and when Burke shot, there were six NYCFC players in the box but Parks wasn’t one of them.

“After the disappointment of last season, with COVID and everything, and we didn’t get a fair shot. This year, we did,” Burke said.

After he scored, he ran to the nearest corner flag and saluted the fans to thank them for supporting him since 2016, when the Union first signed the Jamaican to their reserve team.

“When I was on the sideline warming up and I saw New York City score, I didn’t hold down my head,” Burke said. “I knew once I got in this game, I was just going to bring the energy the team needed so that we could get back. And I can’t be more proud of this team, and myself as well, to know that we dug deep.”

» READ MORE: Union earn first trip to MLS championship game with 3-1 win over NYCFC

No one symbolizes the Union’s growth in mental fortitude more than their captain, Alejandro Bedoya. Since arriving in 2016, he has given countless pregame speeches and postgame reflections — with many of the latter being laments over blown leads.

“When I got here, there was a lot of things that weren’t really good enough,” he said. “And you see how much we’ve changed, in terms of the type of players we’re bringing in now, our academy improving, and just the mentality. It’s a change of culture.”

This time, even though he watched the second half from the bench while nursing a hip flexor strain, Bedoya got to celebrate a comeback win for the ages.

“A credit to Jim and his coaching staff,” he said. “And of course, I have a part to play in it, but I’m just proud of the effort. The resilience that the guys showed today is just incredible.”

The night began with Delran native Carli Lloyd banging the big drum a few yards from Cushing, her manager with Manchester City when she won the FA Cup there in 2017.

It ended with the biggest crowd in Subaru Park history (19,770) exploding with joy, as the local team Lloyd roots for did what she once did better than almost anyone: earn a trophy.

“I guess the best way to put it is: what a team,” Curtin said. “An incredible group of guys that have a belief and a fight that they won’t be denied.”

That sounded familiar too, after so many years for the Union when it didn’t.

» READ MORE: The night a terrific Union season became a special one | Mike Jensen