When the Philadelphia Union, home-based in Chester, played an away game in El Salvador Tuesday night, they knew there would be the usual challenges of playing an away game.

 There was one thing they didn’t count on, reports the MLSSocer staff for mlssocer.com.

The team was taking on Alianza FC at the Estadio Cuscatlan stadium in El Salvador when gameplay was stopped in the 68^th minute.

That’s because a dog raced onto the field and took off straight toward the match ball, hoping to take a bite out of it before he was carried off a few moments later.

It’s rumored that Union head coach Jim Curtin was impressed with the dog’s running and chasing ability as well as the amount of pressure it brought during the ball grab.

Still, the dog did not get to keep the ball.

Read more about this incident of dog interruptus at mlssoccer.com.

As the 2023 season gets rolling, the Union team is feeling energized and they want a little Philadelphia Union respect.

In fact, they played Aretha Franklin’s song “Respect” during their season-opener home game Feb. 25, when they won 4-1 against Columbus Crew, writes Isaac Avilucea and Bill Kole for Axios.

The song is in response to an anonymous comment from a soccer executive who said that all Union players do is “kick the sh—out of you.”

Union team manager Jim Curtin was not pleased, calling the anonymous criticism “cowardly”.

Curtin said the “Nobody respects us” underdog mantra has worked for the Union in the past but now they’re ready to get that respect by winning a championship this season.

Read more about Philadelphia Union respect at Axios.

Here’s video of the dog’s moment to shine.