Whether or not Ian Murphy was offside in the fourth minute of stoppage time Saturday night at TQL Stadium, Jim Curtin can’t say for certain.
What he did know, as he sat in the locker room in Cincinnati, was that his Union’s season was over, a 1-0 loss in the Eastern Conference semifinals thanks to a Yerson Mosquera goal that looked to everyone on the Union sideline like it should not have counted.
The visual evidence didn’t move either referee Ismail Elfath or video assistant referee Kevin Stott, who ruled Murphy at least even with the final Union defender when he rose to deaden Alvaro Barreal’s cross into the path of Mosquera, leading the Supporters’ Shield winners into next week’s Eastern Conference final. Whatever definitive proof the Professional Refereeing Organization had, it wasn’t shared on the game broadcast, or with the Apple’s announcers who were less than convinced.
“We have an iPad, obviously, on the bench,” Curtin said. “Every player that saw it, every coach that saw it said, don’t worry, it’s offsides, it’s offsides; it’s coming back, (Murphy) is offsides. It’s also why we didn’t have a change up immediately, because it was so clear to everybody that was telling me. Again, I think the word that we got from the center referee was that they did review it and it was deemed onside.”
It adds another heartbreaking postseason loss to the Union’s painful collection. The fourth seed went to Cincinnati, in a matchup of two teams missing significant contributors, and played even with the best team in the league. The final stats show 16 Union attempts to Cincy’s 11, six Cincinnati shots on target to the Union’s four, and a slight expected goal edge to the Union. But a result wasn’t to be.
They weren’t bailed out on a tactical breakdown on the final free kick, taken by Luciano Acosta 40 yards out. Instead of playing it into the mixer, he squared to an open Barreal, who had no one pressuring him and could pick his pass. Murphy, potentially straying over the offside line, was in that space. And Mosquera, his fellow center back, controlled the ball and beautifully finished into the far side netting.
It builds on the Union’s recent heartbreak. Despite leading MLS in regular season points the last four years, the Union lost their first playoff game in 2020 after winning the Shield. They lost an Eastern Conference final in 2021 on home turf when 11 regulars were ruled out by a team-wide COVID outbreak, then lost MLS Cup final in 2022 when Gareth Bale scored the latest goal in MLS history in the 120-plus-8 minute and then were blanked in a penalty kick shootout by Philly native John McCarthy.
The phantom offside won’t be alone in the haunting annals.
“That’s what pro sports are,” Curtin said. “It only ends perfect for one team. There’s 29 teams in our league, so it’s really difficult to win and get over that final hump. Our group punches above our weight. My players give everything, they absolutely give everything for the badge, give everything for the fans. And we’re underdogs in the majority of our big games.”
Curtin felt his team had done enough to earn extra time. Cincinnati played without suspended center back Matt Miazga. Starting right back Santiago Arias and central midfielder Obinna Nwobodo failed last minute fitness tests, leaving former Union players Ray Gaddis and Alvas Powell to start.
The Union mainly muted Acosta, the presumptive MLS MVP. Andre Blake made five saves, the most difficult a dipping drive from outside the box from Aaron Boupendza in the 34th minute. Boupendza hacked down Jose Martinez in the second half, causing his exit.
Nathan Harriel, deputizing for Kai Wagner at left back, gave the Union their best chance, stinging the hands of Roman Celentano with a drive from the top of the box in the 86th.
“Overall, I think we created enough on the road to get a result,” Curtin said. “I thought it was going to be a situation where a 0-0 gets you to extra time and we go from there. I thought we had a little bit of momentum toward the end of the game, but the play, the restart changes things, and it hurts.”
The Union head into an offseason of uncertainty. They do so having played 51 games over nine months in 2023, with 23 wins in five competitions with no trophies to show for it … save for one last instance of knockout soccer disappointment.
“It’s hard to be the champion,” Curtin said. “I’ll sign up to be playing in the big games over being at a club in complete disarray that has no chance to ever compete for anything. There’s about 25 of those in our league. I prefer to be where we are and playing in these games and winning.”
