Brotherly Game Daily Links: Union sweep weekly MLS Awards

Philadelphia Union News

Santos, Wagner, Blake lead way as Union put five players in Team of the Week
Santos’ hat trick - for which Wagner provided two primary assists - led the Union to a massive 5-0 thrashing of Toronto FC in a showdown of the Eastern Conference’s best teams. Blake’s recorded a single save against Toronto, but won yet another battle against Matt Turner earlier in the week when the Union knocked off New England 2-1 on the road.

Santos soars to Player of the Week after hat trick vs Toronto FC
The Supporters’ Shield is now the Union’s to lose, and Santos has become a nightmare-level force alongside Kacper Przybylko.

FiveThirtyEight: Philadelphia Union surge past Toronto FC as Supporters’ Shield favorites
The stats gurus now have Philadelphia’s odds at 59% to win the Shield, which will indeed be awarded this season after the Supporters’ Shield Foundation reversed its initial decision.

MLS News

Armchair Analyst: Philadelphia Union seize Supporters’ Shield lead & more from Week 20
It was a bloodbath, a 5-0 win that wrested control of the Supporters’ Shield race away from Toronto and showed that the Union, who have improved year after year after year under Jim Curtin, are for the first time a for-real threat to win anything they play for.

MLS Team of the Week: It’s a Philadelphia Union five-spot (again) in Week 20
Kacper Przybylko and Jose Andres Martinez made the bench to round out the five Philly players in the 18. And Jim Curtin was rewarded with the coaching honors after guiding his side to six massive points in what was close to as good a week as is possible in MLS.