Cavan Sullivan now owns the biggest teenage record in MLS. His assist on Bruno Damiani's winner in the Philadelphia Union's 3-1 win at Chicago Fire on Wednesday gave him 21 goal contributions this season. That's the most ever by a teenager in a single MLS season.
The names he passed
Alphonso Davies: 19 (Vancouver, 2018)
Diego Fagúndez: 20 (New England, 2013)
Cavan Sullivan: 21 (Philadelphia, 2026)
He got there in two steps. In Saturday's 2-1 win over Real Salt Lake at Subaru Park, an assist took him to 20, past Davies and level with Fagúndez. Four days later at Soldier Field, he took the record outright.
It's the third time this season he's rewritten the history books. In late August he became the first 16-year-old in MLS history with a goal contribution in four straight games, tying Freddy Adu's mark of 10 for a player 16 or younger. A week later his 11th, a 75th-minute winner against CF Montréal, took Adu's record for himself.
Still not satisfied
Sullivan's 14 assists are second in MLS, level with Lionel Messi and one behind Son Heung-Min. He has a goal or assist in 10 straight games, with 16 contributions in that span. Yet he wasn't in the mood to celebrate after Chicago.
I played sort of terrible tonight, so I'm not really focused on any records or stats like that, to be honest.
His interim coach, Ryan Richter, has been just as honest. After the Real Salt Lake game, he said: "I did not think it was his best game." In August, he explained what makes Sullivan special: "It is in these one-versus-one situations that he is different."
Bigger picture
The record caps a breakout year. Sullivan became the youngest goalscorer in USMNT history against Mexico on Oct. 3, at 17 years and five days old. The Union, meanwhile, went into Wednesday on a club-record 13-game unbeaten run since the World Cup break.
With a handful of regular-season games left before Decision Day on Nov. 7, every assist from here pushes the record further out of reach.
