Cavan Sullivan’s meteoric rise is not slowing down anytime soon. The teenager was named MLS Player of the Month for September 2026.
At 17 years and two days old, Sullivan is now the youngest player to ever earn the honor. He is also only the fourth Philadelphia Union representative to be named MLS Player of the Month, joining Tai Baribo, Jack McInerney and Sébastien Le Toux in the exclusive club.
Sullivan earned the recognition for his sensational run of form in September. Even though he missed the end of the month to represent the U.S. men’s national team during the newly extended fall international break, the youngster’s contributions for the Union were still too good to ignore.
In just four appearances, Sullivan tallied nine goal contributions, the most among all MLS players in September. Even with stars like Lionel Messi and Son Heung-min routinely taking center stage across North America, it was the 17-year-old American who produced the most in the final third.
Sullivan recorded five assists and four goals during that span, helping Philadelphia end September without dropping a single point.
Sullivan’s Brilliant Form Dates Back Even Further
As if his production in September wasn’t impressive enough, Sullivan has now recorded at least one goal contribution in his last eight matches for the Union, the longest streak by a teenager in MLS history.
As a result, Philadelphia sit sixth in the Eastern Conference standings, just four points away from fourth-place Charlotte FC. While the club have no chance of defending last season’s Supporters’ Shield, they are at least in prime position to qualify for the MLS Cup playoffs.
Ryan Richter’s men are hitting their stride at the perfect time. In September alone, they scored a league-high 20 goals and also had the best goal differential in MLS (+15).
Philadelphia Union put a modest two goals past CF Montréal to kick off the month before battering FC Cincinnati and San Diego FC with five goals each. They then found the back of the net four times each against Sporting Kansas City and Orlando City.
It’s hard to ignore the obvious takeaway: With Sullivan firing on all cylinders, the team is looking like one of the most dangerous attacking sides in the league.
Sullivan Earning His Place With the USMNT
It was hardly a surprise when Sullivan earned his first-ever senior call-up to the USMNT for the September-October international break. The Philadelphia-native was one of eight teenagers manager Mauricio Pochettino selected for friendlies against Peru, Chile, Mexico and Canada.
Sullivan got the nod in the team’s 4–1 thrashing of Peru on Saturday, logging 62 minutes on his USMNT debut. Pochettino had nothing but praise for the teenager, who was still 16 years old when he represented the senior national team for the first time.
“I’m so happy with his performance. I feel really proud,” Pochettino said. “At 16 years old, performing, fighting and playing with personality, with character.”
The performance wasn’t enough to earn a second consecutive start, though. Sullivan had to settle for just seven minutes off the bench in the Stars and Stripes’ 4–2 win over Chile on Tuesday.
Unlike fellow debutants Justin Ellis, Julian Hall and Mathis Albert, Sullivan is still waiting to score his first goal with the senior squad. The good news is he has a long, long career ahead of him in red, white and blue.
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