PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Hailed as the MLS' teen soccer sensation, 16-year-old Cavan Sullivan delivered an American scoring record with his first professional goals for the Philadelphia Union.
Sullivan broke through with the game of his young — very, very young — career when he scored twice and had two assists to lead the Union to a 7-0 win over Defence Force FC on Thursday night in the CONCACAF Champions Cup — the North American equivalent of the Champions League.
“It's another moment in the right direction,” Union coach Bradley Carnell said.
Sullivan became the youngest American goalscorer in a CONCACAF Champions Cup game at 16 years, 4 months, 29 days.
“It means a lot,” Sullivan said. “It took a long time in my eyes. I wish I had it sooner. This is a special moment.”
At 14 years, 293 days, Sullivan is believed to have been the youngest player to appear in a game for any major North American professional sports league when he made his July 2024 debut for the Union.
The hype surrounding Sullivan has mushroomed by the day in MLS and could go global by the time he is expected to transfer to Premier League powerhouse Manchester City at the end of 2027 when he is 18.
Sullivan's first goal on Thursday was a left-footed blast into the net that made him the third youngest goalscorer in CONCACAF Champions Cup history. He added an 88th-minute tap-in after starting the attack.
“Happy to score my first goal,” Sullivan said. “Two of them, actually. It was pretty special. More important is the clean sheet in the win and we advance.”
The Union advanced 12-0 on aggregate — Philadelphia won 5-0 on Feb. 18 in Trinidad and Tobago — over the two legs and will next play Mexican team Club America.
The 5-foot-7, 150-pound Sullivan led the United States to victory in the 2023 CONCACAF Under-15 Championship, which marked the first time the U.S. ever won the tournament. The youngest player on the team, Sullivan’s four goals scored earned him the Golden Ball as the best player in the tournament.
Sullivan and the Union play their MLS home opener Sunday against New York City FC.
“I think I've sort of made some good impact when I came in,” Sullivan said. “At this level, things get faster, things get harder.”
AP MLS: https://apnews.com/hub/major-league-soccer
FILE - Philadelphia Union's Cavan Sullivan warms up before an MLS soccer match against CF Montréal, Wednesday, July 16, 2025, in Chester, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)
DENVER (AP) — A Frontier Airlines plane hit and killed a pedestrian on the runway of the Denver International Airport during takeoff, airport authorities said, sparking an engine fire and forcing passengers to evacuate.
The plane, on route from Denver to Los Angeles International Airport, “reported striking a pedestrian during takeoff at DEN at approximately 11:19 p.m. on Friday," the airport's official X account wrote.
A spokesperson for the airport said the pedestrian, who jumped a perimeter fence, has died. They said the unidentified person was hit two minutes after entering the airport. The person is not believed to be an airport employee.
“We're stopping on the runway,” the pilot tells the control tower according to the site ATC.com. “We just hit somebody. We have an engine fire.”
The pilot tells the air traffic controller they have “231 souls” on board and that an “individual was walking across the runway.”
The air traffic controller responds that they are “rolling the trucks now" before the pilot tells the tower they “have smoke in the aircraft. We are going to evacuate on the runway.”
Frontier Airlines said in a statement flight 4345 was the one involved in the collision and that “smoke was reported in the cabin and the pilots aborted takeoff.” It was not clear whether the smoke was linked to the crash with the pedestrian.
“The Airbus A321 was carrying 224 passengers and seven crew members,” the airline said. “We are investigating this incident and gathering more information in coordination with the airport and other safety authorities.”
Passengers were then evacuated via slides and the emergency crew bused them to the terminal. The airport spokesperson said 12 passengers suffered minor injuries and five were taken to local hospitals.
Denver Airport said the National Transportation Safety Board had been notified and that runway 17L, where the incident took place, will remain closed while an investigation is conducted. It is expected to open later today.
The pedestrian death came a day after a Delta Air Lines employee was killed while on the job at the Orlando International Airport. In a statement, the airline said the employee was killed Thursday night without providing details of the incident nor the name of the employee.
“We are focused on extending our full support to family and taking care of our Orlando team during this difficult time,” the airline said. "We are working with local authorities as a full investigation gets underway to determine what occurred.”
FILE - A Frontier Airlines jetliner taxis down a runway for take off from Denver International airport on Nov. 25, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)
