Photo: Marjorie Elzey

Looking to get back on track after a midweek thumping from the New York Red Bulls II, Union II traveled down to Loudoun United on Saturday.

It didn’t take long for the game to come to life, with Loudoun having an opportunity in the first minute after a ball over the top  saw goalkeeper Matt Freese come out and force the chip wide of the net. Union II then applied pressure, getting the first corner of the game in the seventh minute. Staying in the Loudon half, Nathan Harriel was able to earn a free kick off just outside the box, and a yellow card for Loudon’s Andrew Lundegard. The ensuing free kick was swung beautifully into the box by Jack McGlynn and found the head of Patrick Bohui who headed it home for a 1-0 lead in the 10th minute. In the 13th minute, Loudoun was down to 10 men as Lundegard saw his second yellow card after another challenge on Nathan Harriel. The ensuing free kick was also nicely worked, but Union II couldn’t find anyone on the back post to turn it in.

After going down a man, Loudoun still kept up their attacking pressure, finding a few good looks on goal requiring saves from Freese and good defensive recoveries from Harriel. The Union II press was also enjoying some good moments, putting the shorthanded defensive unit under pressure and creating turnovers high up the field. As an adjustment, Loudoun took off attacker Ally Nganzi and brought in defender Gabriel Gomez.

The last 10 minutes of the first half also saw more back and forth action, Danny Flores saw his strike from the top of the box hit the left post and bounce away from net. On the other end, Loudoun United found an equalizer through Abdoul Amoustapha after he broke through the Union II backline, Freese made the inital save on his attempt, then an unfortunate rebound bounced right back to Amoustapha to poke home in the 43rd minute. Bohui had a chance to put Union II in the lead right before half but saw his opportunity saved by the Loudoun goalkeeper.

To start the second half, Union II made one switch in midfield, brining Brandon Craig on for Steve Kingue. Early in the second half, Loudoun saw their 3rd yellow card of the match, with Tyler Gabarra going into the book. Craig then had a nice look on goal from the free kick but an excellent save from Simon Lefebvre kept it out. Both teams made double subs in the 55th minute Jack Jasinski came on for McGlynn and David Rabadan for Danny Flores for Union II and Ted Ku-Dipietro and Peabo Doue entering for Loudoun, with both sides looking to break the deadlock.

The rest of the second half was just as hectic as the first, with Union II’s Axel Picazo looking dangerous down the left and registering multiple shots on goal, but none could beat the Loudoun keeper. Union II applied pressure the last 15 minutes looking for a go-ahead goal with the man advantage but couldn’t find the finishing product to get past Lefebvre.

In stoppage time, Loudoun was reduced to 9 men, with Michael Gamble seeing a red card for rolling the ball into the face of Dante Huckaby after a foul, with Freese having some words after the incident.

Three Points:

• Rotating Captains: Matt Freese wore the armband for Union II for the night, with Brandon Craig wearing it a couple weeks ago, becoming the teams youngest captain. Marlon LeBlanc has shown he isn’t afraid to give his young players leadership roles.
• Speed Kills: If they had not been a man up for most of the match, the Union II could have lost this match. They have begun playing a higher line and offside trap, but Loudoun found it to easy to play over the top to their target men to run onto.
• A brick wall: Being a man up for most of the game, you should expect to score. The Union II had good looks, and registered 14 shots on goal. If not for Simon Lefebvre and his 13 saves, this could have been a very different game.

Lineups:

Philadelphia Union II:

Matt Freese, Anthony Sorenson, Jamoi Topey (Selmir Miscic), Dante Huckaby, Nathan Harriel; Jack McGlynn (Jack Jasinski), Steve Kingue (Brandan Craig), Axel Picazo, Danny Flores (David Rabadan); Patrick Bohui (Caden Stafford), Paxten Aaronson
Substitutes not used: Ben Martino, Sean Bettenhausen

Tampa Bay Rowdies:

Simon Lefebvre, Allexon Saravia, Tyler Gabarra (Peabo Doue), Shane Wiedt, Adam Lundegard, Nelson Martinez ( Brandon Williamson), Abdoul Amoustapha, Ally Nganzi (Gabriel Gomez), Michael Gamble,  Alioune Ndour, Christian Sorto ( Ted Ku-Dipietro)
Substitutes not used: Colin Miller, Liam Moore, Erumuse Momoh

Scoring summary:

PHI – Patrick Bohui (Jack McGlynn) 10’
LOU – Abdoul Amoustapha 43′

LOU – Andrew Lundegard (caution) 8’
LOU – Andrew Lundegard ( 2nd caution – ejection) 13’
LOU – Gabarra (caution) 51′

LOU – Gamble (ejection) 90’