Photo: 215pix

In the most consequential stretch of the season so far — a three-game homestand against some of the best teams in MLS — Philadelphia Union rose to the occasion.

Seven points out of nine against D.C. United, Atlanta United, and LAFC have the Union in prime position to snag the second seed in the Eastern Conference — and the sweet advantage of hosting Atlanta in the second round, assuming the first round goes chalk.

Saturday night’s contest against LAFC were the only dropped points from the three matches. Nothing to be ashamed about, given that LAFC are the best team in MLS and a pure juggernaut (a goal differential of +44 is just bonkers).

Here are some things that stood out to me from Saturday and are worth watching as the season nears its end.

The Legend of Striker Muffin

I’ve sort of run out of superlatives for Kacper Przybylko.

The gangly striker picked up his 14th goal of the year early on against LAFC, his fifth in the last six games.

Although aided by some atrocious defending by Walker Zimmerman, it’s not an easy finish — Przybylko has to get the softly hit ball high enough to get it over keeper Tyler Miller but under the crossbar. That takes some skill.

(In my last column, I mentioned how much I hate “The Friendly Striker” as Przybylko’s nickname. Thankfully, PSP’s Chris Gibbons came up with a great alternative (with some help from a random nickname generator): Striker Muffin. What does it mean? I don’t know and I don’t care — from now on, in this space, he’s Striker Muffin.)

Przybylko is the story of the season, in my eyes: in a season where he started, at best, sixth on the striker depth chart (after, in no particular order, C.J. Sapong, Cory Burke, Fafa Picault, Sergio Santos, and Marco Fabian out of position), he’s now tied for fifth in all of MLS in goals. And he kept his place despite the Union going overseas and picking up another striker, Andrew Wooten, during the summer transfer window. Striker Muffin has flashed an undeniable nose for goal to go along with a strong engine, good defensive instincts, and surprising speed and skill for a guy who’s six-foot-four.

That said, one fear here is that Przybylko going cold would be a shortcut to a quick playoff exit for the Union. What to make, then, of the rest of the striker corps? Picault had a decent shift on the wing on Saturday, but he can’t play as a second striker and is well below par as a finisher. Santos has had his moments in recent games, while Wooten appears firmly in cold storage.

The Union could use one of those guys rounding into form over the next few games — or Striker Muffin will have to do it all himself.

Blake’s big night

Much like in hockey, sometimes the key to a deep playoff run is just getting a keeper hot at the right time.

Thankfully, Andre Blake looks ready to step up to the plate.

Although the Jamaica captain earned an All-Star nod this season, I think most observers would call his season a bit uneven — especially during a midseason stretch where the Union were shipping goals on the road with astonishing regularity.

Saturday night’s performance looked like Blake reborn. There were the usual excellent reaction saves, the type of acrobatic, instinctive goalkeeping that has become Blake’s stock in trade. More impressive to my eye, though, was how confident he looked in coming off his line. With LAFC constantly looking to release Adama Diomande, Diego Rossi, and Carlos Vela in behind, Blake had to be alert to balls over the top. He cut off those chances before they could really begin — a must when you’re dealing with finishers as clinical as LAFC.

Now, you could put the blame for LAFC’s sole goal on Blake, as the visitors’ possession began after Blake lost control of a rebound. While Blake should hang on to it, it seems harsh to assign him too much blame in that situation to the keeper when the Union defense had several opportunities to clear before finally working the ball into the net.

Allowing just two goals combined to Atlanta and LAFC is nothing to sneeze at.

Some more thoughts