Dániel Gazdag’s hat trick leads the Union to a 4-0 rout of Toronto and clinches first place in the East

On a day of catharsis and celebration at Subaru Park, the Union clinched first place in the Eastern Conference with a 4-0 rout of Toronto FC.

A Dániel Gazdag hat trick — his 20th, 21st, and 22nd goals of the year — and Mikael Uhre’s 13th tally earned the Union a first-round playoff bye. The defense also delivered a historic day: With a 15th shutout of the year, the team finished the year with 26 goals conceded, a Major League Soccer record for fewest goals allowed in a 34-game campaign.

And the Union (19-5-10, 67 points) finished the year unbeaten at home in 17 games, with 12 wins and five ties.

“We had a bad taste in our mouth from Charlotte [a 4-0 loss last weekend], and I think the guys really stepped up,” Union manager Jim Curtin said.

Any questions about what kind of mood the Union were in got answered within four minutes of kickoff. Matt Real and Leon Flach played a lovely give-and-go down the left wing that featured a Flach backheel pass, and Real’s ensuing cross was haphazardly cleared. The ball fell to Gazdag at the top of the 18-yard box, and he lashed it into the net.

It turned out that the goal was needed for more than just psychological reasons. Montreal scored twice in the first seven minutes at Inter Miami, part of an eruption of seven goals across the Eastern Conference’s opening 10 minutes of simultaneous action.

Because MLS’s first standings tiebreaker is total wins instead of soccer’s traditional goal difference, the Union would have lost a tie on points for first place, 20-19. So Montreal’s early lead gave the Union reason to not just keep their early lead, but keep a foot on the gas pedal.

Gazdag certainly did that. His second-half goals came in the 58th (on a penalty kick) and 63rd minutes, and he assisted Uhre’s tally. Gazdag finished the day with 62 touches, five shots, three chances created, three defensive recoveries, one interception, and one clearance.

» READ MORE: Jim Curtin got the wake-up call he hoped for after the Union's ugly loss in Charlotte

It took a while for the second goal to come, long enough that Toronto started to find its footing in the game. But it did come, and the relief around Subaru Park was palpable. Flach fed Gazdag, who pinged a chip over the Toronto (9-18-7, 34 points) back line that Uhre ran toward. Uhre dismissed MacNaughton and his bleach-blond mop of hair with a cutback, then curled a finish around Westberg in the 42nd minute.

The goal was made sweeter by the fact that a moment earlier, Westberg ran out of his 18-yard box to go after a loose ball, upended an onrushing Uhre, and was bailed out by Uhre being offside. Uhre had a few words for Westberg, then got even better revenge with the goal.

No Union player was under more pressure individually on Sunday than Real, who started at left back for Kai Wagner. It was only Real’s second start of the year, and the first came at left midfield last month at the New York Red Bulls. In fact, the Drexel Hill native hadn’t started at left back for the Union’s first team since May of last year.

Real delivered in ways beyond creating Gazdag’s opening goal. He had seven defensive recoveries, three interceptions and one clearance, completed 29 of 38 passes, and even pitched in a late shot of his own that was blocked.

If you were to bet on one player making the play that earned the Union the goals-conceded record, you might not have picked an attack-minded right back. But Olivier Mbaizo was indeed the hero, making a lunging stop just off the goal line of Mark-Anthony Kaye’s wide-open look in first-half stoppage time.

“Those are game-changing plays,” Curtin said. “A lot of times those get forgotten in a 4-0 [win]... That was a huge block, a huge play, and a big turning point in the game. Because he makes that play and we go into halftime comfortable, rather than with pressure, because you saw what Montréal was doing.”

In the game as a whole, Mbaizo registered 58 touches, seven recoveries, three interceptions, one clearance, 29-of-38 passing, one chance created, and one shot.

The Eastern Conference half of MLS’s Decision Day delivered a bonanza, with 25 goals across seven games. The last of them was the biggest: a late winner for Orlando City at home against Columbus that earned the Lions the last playoff spot at the Crew’s direct expense.

Here’s the Eastern Conference first-round bracket:

The Union will host the winner of the Red Bulls-Cincinnati game on Oct. 20 at 8 p.m. at Subaru Park (FS1, Fox Deportes). It will either be yet another Union-Red Bulls playoff meeting, or a reunion with a Cincinnati squad with former Union players Ray Gaddis and Sergio Santos, assistant coach Pat Noonan as manager, and front-office executive Chris Albright as general manager.

Cincinnati is in the playoffs for the first time, after being the league’s worst team in each of the last three years -- the club’s entire time in MLS up to then.

In the West, Sunday’s big winners were Real Salt Lake and Minnesota United, which beat the Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps, respectively, in win-and-in games. The bracket there is:

The Galaxy-Nashville winner will play at first-place Los Angeles FC in the conference semifinals, also on Oct. 20 (10 p.m., FS1 and Fox Deportes).

» READ MORE: The Union’s playoff opener is set: Thursday, Oct. 20 at 8 p.m.