With a 4-1 victory over Atlanta United, the Union secured a playoff berth.

Both teams' defenders were well-positioned as these two Eastern Conference teams began the game by trading shots on goal. The first goal of the game, which gave the Union a 1-0 lead, wasn't scored until the 18th minute when Mikael Uhre assisted a pass to Julián Carranza while being surrounded by many Atlanta defenders. In retaliation, Atlanta scored a goal of their own in the 24th minute through the efforts of Andrew Gutman, who converted a header that was originally attempted by Luiz Arajo and Thiago Almada. There were several outstanding stops made throughout the course of the game, including one by Rocco Rios Novo in the 31st minute when he stopped a shot from Mikael Uhre amid a flurry of activity. In the 41st minute, Uhre transferred the ball to Dániel Gazdag after receiving an incredible cross that flew over his head and fell just at his feet. This gave the Union an opportunity to go up 1-0. Unfortunately, Brooks Lennon rushed for Gazdag's ball as it was going in and was only able to push the ball out just as it was about to cross the goal line, denying Gazdag a goal. When Kai Wagner took a corner kick that soared above defenders and rolled directly in front of Uhre, who ran to the ball only to shoot it in, the Union scored just before halftime. Because a defender deflected the shot, it was successful.

Both teams committed a few bad fouls early in the second half, which led to a few yellow cards being issued. After attempting to score earlier, Dániel Gazdag didn't actually score until the 67th minute. José Martnez's cross, which Carranza received, was the catalyst for his goal. Finally, Gazdag puts one in for a goal after Carranza headed the ball into the air. After receiving a cross, Cory Burke, who entered the game as a substitute in the 63rd minute, nearly made it 4-1 but missed the crossbar. Injured Olivier Mbaizo was replaced in the second half by Nathan Harriel, who scored in the last seconds of the half to make the final score 4-1 Union.

Andre Blake played in his 200th game of his career, making it a momentous occasion. What better way to achieve this historic milestone than to secure a playoff spot?

[Photography by ICONIC photographer Trey Madara]