Wednesday's game between the Philadelphia Union and New York City FC had an unexpected visitor. During the 21st minute of action at Subaru Park in Philadelphia, a raccoon made its way onto the field and play had to be halted.
Members of the Union's grounds crew were forced to try and capture the furry animal with trash cans. The raccoon evaded capture for a few minutes before being finally apprehended underneath a trash can.
Screw it, raccoon highlights. 🦝 pic.twitter.com/n1weQHrmKe
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 16, 2024
The announcers and the crowd seemed to be having a little bit of fun with the furry creature making its way onto the field. The Apple TV broadcasting crew, as well as the crowd, was cheering on the raccoon as it evaded the grounds crew for an extended period.
The Union later announced that a local company called Hoffman's Exterminating safely released the raccoon back into the wild nearby.
When the raccoon made its untimely entrance, NYCFC held a 1-0 lead and was able to extend that advantage courtesy of Hannes Wolf's goal in stoppage time late in the first half. Perhaps the raccoon could've earned an assist as there wouldn't have been as much stoppage time without its interruption
Philadelphia's Julian Carranza did score in the 47th minute, but the Union ended up falling short in a 2-1 loss. The loss brings the Union's record to 3-5-4 in the early stages of the 2024 season.
