The Union kicked off the CONCACAF Champions League tournament Wednesday night against Costan Rican side Deportivo Saprissa, in the first of two legs between the teams.
What started out as an innocuous match between two relatively random squads suddenly turned into a fiesty affair by the end of the night, and set the stage for a fascinating second leg.
The Union scored late in the first half to take a 1-0 lead on a nasty goal from Kacper Przyblylko, which you should check out below before we get any further:
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What a beaut!
So the Union held that 1-0 lead late into the night, and in stoppage time, as the two teams were bumping up against the very end of the match, Saprissa right back Ricardo Blanco decided to come in hot and reckless for a sliding tackle on Kai Wagner, just totally torpedoing the Union left back and causing a ruckus:
Good for the Union players who took umbrage with Blanco's dangerous play. I understand being frustrated after getting shutout for 94 minutes, but you can't just endanger a guy's body because you're angry. Totally uncalled for, and insane that Blanco only got a yellow card.
For what it's worth, Wagner had himself quite a game and saved the Union from a 1-1 draw with this incredible goal line header save in the 71st minute:
The two sides meet again on April 14 at Subaru Park in Chester, where the Union will try to protect their lead in the aggregate and advance to the Round of 8. Should be a hotly-contested match!