MONTREAL (AP) — Japhet Sery Larsen and Jesús Bueno scored second-half goals to help Philadelphia spoil CF Montreal's long-awaited home opener with a 2-1 victory on Saturday, ending the Union's club-record six-match losing streak to begin the season.
Iván Jaime took a pass from defender Efraín Morales and scored in the 23rd minute to give Montreal a 1-0 lead. It was his first goal in his 12th career appearance. Morales collected his first assist last season and has two in 22 matches.
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Philadelphia Union goalkeeper Andre Blake stops CF Montreal's Ivan Jaime (10) during the first half of an MLS soccer game in Montreal, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)
CF Montreal's Ivan Jaime (10) reacts after scoring against the Philadelphia Union during the first half of an MLS soccer game in Montreal, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)
CF Montreal's Luca Petrasso (13) gets by Philadelphia Union's Nathan Harriel (26) during the first half of an MLS soccer game in Montreal, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)
CF Montreal's Ivan Jaime (10) tries to get by Philadelphia Union's Nathan Harriel (26) during the first half of an MLS soccer match in Montreal, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)
Milan Iloski's first assist this season set up first-year defender Larsen's first goal — a header for the equalizer in the 55th minute.
Bueno gave the Union a 2-1 lead in the 70th with his first goal of the season and his fifth in 71 career appearances. Ezekiel Alladoh, a 20-year-old rookie forward, subbed into the match in the 66th minute before collecting his first assist. Defender Nathan Harriel picked up his second assist this season and his seventh in 116 appearances — all with Philadelphia.
Andre Blake saved four shots in his 273rd career start — all with the Union (1-6-0) since 2014.
Thomas Gillier finished with five saves in his 15th career start and seventh this season for Montreal (1-6-0), which posted a 3-0 victory over the New York Red Bulls for their only points in six straight road matches to begin its first full season under Marco Donadel.
Coach Bradley Carnell's Union club had not had a lead this season until Bueno's goal.
Philadelphia tied the 2001 New England Revolution for the second worst start to begin a season. Toronto lost nine in a row in 2012 to set the record.
The Union were the first team in league history to open with six straight losses after winning the Supporters' Shield the previous season.
Philadelphia: Hosts D.C. United on Saturday.
Montreal: Hosts the New York Red Bulls on Saturday.
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Philadelphia Union goalkeeper Andre Blake stops CF Montreal's Ivan Jaime (10) during the first half of an MLS soccer game in Montreal, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)
CF Montreal's Ivan Jaime (10) reacts after scoring against the Philadelphia Union during the first half of an MLS soccer game in Montreal, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)
CF Montreal's Luca Petrasso (13) gets by Philadelphia Union's Nathan Harriel (26) during the first half of an MLS soccer game in Montreal, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)
CF Montreal's Ivan Jaime (10) tries to get by Philadelphia Union's Nathan Harriel (26) during the first half of an MLS soccer match in Montreal, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)
HOUSTON (AP) — Still marveling over their moon mission, the Artemis II astronauts received a thunderous welcome home Saturday from hundreds who took part in NASA's lunar comeback that set a record for deep space travel.
The crew of four arrived at Ellington Field near NASA's Johnson Space Center and Mission Control, flying in from San Diego where they splashed down just offshore the evening before.
After a quick reunion with their spouses and children, the astronauts took the hangar stage, surrounded by space center workers and other invited guests. The crowd included NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, flight directors and the launch director, Orion capsule and exploration system managers, high-ranking military officers, members of Congress, the space agency’s entire blue-suited astronaut corps and even retired ones, and more.
“The long wait is over. After a brief 53-year intermission, the show goes on,” Isaacman said. “Ladies and gentlemen, your Artemis II crew,” he added, as the crowd stood, applauded and cheered
Commander Reid Wiseman and his U.S.-Canadian crew's homecoming was poignant: They returned to their Houston home base on the 56th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 13, whose “Houston, we’ve had a problem” refrain turned a near-disaster into triumph.
Wiseman told his crewmates: “We are bonded forever.”
“This was not easy.” Wiseman said. “Before you launch, it feels like it’s the greatest dream on Earth. And when you’re out there, you just want to get back to your families and your friends. It’s a special thing to be a human and it’s a special thing to be on planet Earth.”
Referring to his wife and four daughters, pilot Victor Glover said: “I love you but not just those five beautiful cocoa skinned ladies there, but all of you.”
Christina Koch said she was struck by her view of Earth from space.
“Honestly, what struck me wasn’t necessarily just Earth, it was all the blackness around it. Earth was just this lifeboat hanging undisturbedly in the universe,” she said. “Planet Earth you are a crew.”
Fellow astronaut Canada’s Jeremy Hansen thanked the bravery of the launch teams to be “no-go” all the times they were, referring to the months of delay.
Hansen said the crew embodied love “and extracting joy out of that” as the four joined together to stand in a row, embracing one another. “When you look up here, you’re not looking at us. We are a mirror reflecting you. And if you like what you see then just look a little deeper This is you.”
Canadian Space Agency President Lisa Campbell called the mission “a powerful moment.” She told Hansen he represents “the best of what it means to be Canadian.”
During Artemis II's nearly 10-day mission, they voyaged deeper into space than the moon explorers of decades past and captured views of the lunar far side never witnessed before by human eyes. A total solar eclipse added to the cosmic wonder.
On their record-breaking flyby, the astronauts reached a maximum 252,756 miles (406,771 kilometers) from Earth before hanging a U-turn behind the moon, eclipsing Apollo's 13 distance record.
The mission also revealed a new side of our planet with an Earthset photo, showing our Blue Marble setting behind the gray, pockmarked moon. The image echoed the famous Earthrise shot from 1968 taken by the world’s first lunar visitors, Apollo 8.
Despite the accomplishments, Artemis II astronauts had to contend with a more mundane problem — a malfunctioning space toilet. NASA promised a design fix before longer moon-landing missions.
Wiseman, Glover, Koch and Hansen were the first humans to fly to the moon since Apollo 17 closed out NASA's first exploration era in 1972. Twenty-four astronauts flew to the moon during Apollo, including 12 moonwalkers.
Apollo 13 commander Jim Lovell — who also flew on Apollo 8 — cheered the Artemis II crew on in a wake-up message recorded before he died last summer.
It was crucial for NASA that Artemis II go well. The space agency is already preparing for next year's Artemis III, which will see a new crew practice docking its capsule with a lunar lander in orbit around Earth. That will set the stage for the all-important Artemis IV moon landing in 2028, when two astronauts attempt a touchdown near the lunar south pole.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
In this image provided by NASA, the Artemis II crew photographed the the lunar surface of the Moon on Monday, April 6, 2026. (NASA via AP)
In this image provided by NASA, Artemis II Pilot Victor Glover is photographed in the Orion spacecraft during the Artemis II lunar flyby on Monday, April 6, 2026. (NASA via AP)
In this image provided by NASA, the Artemis II crew photographed the Earth peeking out over the horizon of the Moon on Monday, April 6, 2026. (NASA via AP)
In this photo provided by NASA, NASA's Orion capsule descends under its main parachutes over the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California, following the Artemis II mission on Friday, April 10, 2026. (Josh Valcarcel/NASA via AP)
This photo provided by the U.S. Navy, NASA astronaut Victor Glover celebrates on the flight deck of the USS John P. Murtha (LPD 26) off the coast of California after returning from space on Friday, April 10, 2026.(Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class August Clawson/U.S. Navy via AP)
In this photo provided by NASA, the Artemis II astronauts Victor Glover and Christina Koch are photographed on the flight deck of USS John P. Murtha after they were extracted from their Orion spacecraft after splashdown on Friday, April 11, 2026. (NASA via AP)
In this photo provided by NASA, The Artemis II astronauts Reid Wiseman, commander and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, are photographed on the flight deck of USS John P. Murtha after they were extracted from their Orion spacecraft after splashdown on Friday, April 11, 2026. (NASA via AP)
In this photo provided by NASA, from left, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, commander; Christina Koch, mission specialist; CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist; and NASA astronaut Victor Glover, Artemis II pilot, right, pose for a group photo after viewing the Orion spacecraft in the well deck of USS John P. Murtha, Saturday, April 11, 2026, in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP)
