Photo courtesy Philadelphia Union II communications

Philadelphia Union II has played 17 of its 28 games, and the mid-summer transition — when YSC Academy Seniors graduate (birth year 2006s) and begin to be replaced by this summer’s “rising” seniors (birth year 2007s) — is fully underway. It is time for Philly Soccer Page’s midseason Union II roster analysis.

The analysis will appear as it is completed and will comprise four parts. The third part follows below.

• A brief initial category of two outliers (Click here)
• Eight first-team deep reserves who have “played down” for developmental game minutes (See link above)
• Ten Actual Union II professionals
• Those academy amateurs who have played major roles for the professional-level farm team

Ten Union II signed professionals

Randy Meneses:  The versatile 20-year-old Ecuadorian is on loan from LDU Quito’s U20s with a purchase option. He missed a few weeks due to injury but is now close to full recovery, having played the last four games as a substitute. In both games, he subbed in as an emergency center-back and a defensive midfielder – a single six and a double six.

He has three starts two of which were full games, and seven substitutions for a sum of 290 minutes. His statistics are those of a technically skilled defensive player who plays with the ball on the ground. He seems effective as an MLS Next Pro-level player.

We cannot tell whether his purchase option will be exercised. The decision will depend on LDU Quito’s price and the quantity of end-of-season midfield departures from the first team. (Leon Flach will be a free agent at the end of 2024).

Giovanny Sequera: The aggressively energetic 18-year-old Venezuelan midfielder is on loan from Ligue FutVe’s Metropolitanos FC’s U20s with a purchase option. He has played as a shuttling midfielder, primarily on the right side.

He has started five times and substituted seven more totaling 478 minutes. He has no goals, three assists, 10 shots, and three shots on target. His pass completion percentages reflect his aggressive approach to the game, among the passes have been six so-called killer ones.

Sequera is an effective MLS Next Pro-level player. We cannot predict whether his purchase option will be exercised since we know neither Metros’ price nor the first team’s future midfield departures.

Sal Olivas: The tall 18-year-old striker, who has had interest from the youth national teams of both Mexico and the United States, had his season interrupted by injury in the June 26^th game against Red Bull II and by his team’s role as the provider of conditioning and sharpening minutes to first team reserves. When Union II is on its own, he has been one of its two starting strikers.

Far and away his best match came after those first-team conditioning and sharpening minutes had sent him to the bench. He scored a brace against Columbus 2 on the 2^nd of June. He took seven shots, with three on target, a display that demonstrated why the organization signed him as a pro the previous summer.

He has four goals and an assist with 11 of 28 total shots having been on target in 768 total minutes. Usually, he is partnered with Eddy Davis III, although recent acquisition Leandro Soria is rounding into form to create a three-man striker rotation for the moment. (Davis will be discussed in part three, the academy amateurs).

Olivas is currently three years younger than Chris Donovan was when Donovan first joined Union II. As would be expected therefore, Donovan’s engine build was more advanced then than Olivas’s is now, and the Drexel man picked up the counter-pressing aspects of organization striker play more quickly. The El Paso youngster has more than once been reminded by his coaches to attend to his defending at volumes audible to the press box.

If the Texan matches the improvement the Pennsylvanian has made over the last three years, he could assume a similar role for the first team. Whether he has the potential to move beyond that to a Corey Burke remains unclear. That he is hungry to do so seems clear to PSP.

CJ Olney: The 17-year-old left-footed rising academy senior and Union II midfielder has already used up all four of his short-term emergency contracts to the first team. They included his 18-minute MLS debut on June 22^nd against Charlotte. He will not be the first choice to replace fellow left-footed midfielder Jack McGlynn who has just left for pre-Olympic camp and the Games themselves, but he will probably be the second if he can be surrounded by good, experienced players.

Of course, he must be signed to a first-team homegrown contract, but that event seems a foregone conclusion barring illness or injury. Among other considerations, Julian Carranza’s departure opens a roster spot.

As was yet again manifest against Chattanooga, the Union II midfield combination of Olney, David Vazquez, Cavan Sullivan, and Sanders Ngabo is fun to watch. Their recent first twenty minutes against New England Revolution II reflected that all four now practice with the first team since those New Hampshire minutes were played at close to a first-team pace.

Olney currently leads MLS Next Pro in assists with ten.

Neil Pierre: The almost 17-year-old right center back will no longer leave for  U17s’ tournaments since they are over. We assume he did not make the MLS NEXT all-stars (11 AM, July 23, MLSsoccer.com) squad because two others thence were selected, Cavan Sullivan and Diego Rocio.

For the rest of the year, Pierre will concentrate on his central defensive triangle partnership with fellow center-back Olwethu Makhanya behind defensive single six Ngabo. Pierre still defers to them for offensive distribution when possible. He is part of MLS NEXT Pro’s third most stingy defense (19 goals allowed) and its most prolific offense (37 goals scored).

He has 12 starts, all 90 minutes each, and two substitution appearances made after returning from various U17 tournaments for a total of 1,108 Union II minutes. He has already played more than 2 ½ times as many professional minutes this season as he did last and has 11 more games to play.

Mike Sheridan: The nearly 23-year-old former St. Joe’s University goalkeeper is in line to increase his Union II minutes now that Andrew Rick seems to have graduated to the Union’s number two goalkeeping spot. He combined well will coach LeBlanc’s number-one defense to produce a clean sheet recently in New Hampshire against New England. If the first-team defense revives its former successes consistently, that Union II defensive combination will probably continue for most of the year.

Sheridan has four starts and one substitution appearance for 361 minutes.

Leandro Soria: The 19 ¾ -year-old striker originally from Queens joined Union II on April 26. He came from Godoy Cruz’s reserve system in Argentina, so has been receiving a crash course in the organization’s 4-4-2 narrow diamond. He seems to be a quick learner, as he has had to be given Olivas’s injury.

Soria has accumulated five starts and five substitution appearances for 486 minutes since his arrival, with two goals, an assist, and seven of 15 shots on target. We speculate that his signing may connect somehow to the career uncertainty of Eddy Davis III that was made public at the YSC Academy graduation on June 7^th.

Carlos Rojas: The 20-year-old left-footed Venezuelan center-back on loan from Venezuela’s top-flight side Deportivo La Guaira had an option on his loan exercised for 2024 Philadelphia announced last off-season. So far this season, he has been the first-choice center-back reserve, in addition to playing as a double-six defensive midfielder when needed. In some of his better games, he has one of the best pass completion percentages on Union II, nearly 84%. He takes care of the ball.

He has seven starts and six substitution appearances totaling 633 minutes this season. His overall pass completion percentage indicates his technical skill and soccer IQ. The price of his purchase option will directly affect his future with the organization, as will Brandan Craig’s development while on loan with El Paso.

Kyle Tucker: The almost 25-year-old versatile midfielder is the oldest player on the team.

In some ways, Tucker is roughly comparable to James Chambers when Chambo was captain of Bethlehem Steel. The difference is that the Irishman had extensive experience playing professionally in Europe’s lesser leagues. But the technical skills and the soccer IQs are similar. The other similarity is that if Tucker had foot speed and better quickness, he would not be playing with Union II as Chambo would not have been playing in the U.S.

Tucker was appointed Captain back in February. When he does not start, he is coach LeBlanc’s first midfield substitute off the bench, either as one of the shuttlers, as stay-at-home defensive-minded attacking mid, or as half of a double six double pivot. His understanding of the game and his discipline in executing instruction is outstanding. His free-kick service is probably the best on the team from most spots on the pitch and on corners.

He has played in all 17 games to date and has started eight of them. He has accumulated 768 minutes. He has three goals and three assists, with five shots on target from 13 taken.

Francis Westfield: Westfield spent his first two years with Union II as a right back. This season he is the left-back. He has been much more effective on the left even though he is right-footed. He has four goals and seven assists from the left, often finding Eddy Davis runs inside the penalty spot. the left channel of Union II’s attack has 17 assists, setting up nearly half the goals the side has scored to date.

The increased quality of his play has earned him a July 5, 2024, professional contract with Union II, a belated graduation present for the former Union Academy senior.

He was named vice-captain by coach LeBlanc at the beginning of the season and has started all 17 of the side’s games. He has 1530 minutes meaning he has never been subbed off this year.

His “addytood” is pure Philly and perfect for the Union organization’s identity. He is an excellent, game-influencing player at the MLS NEXT Pro level. This season we have become confident he would succeed in the Division II USL Championship. The remaining question is whether his division one-level mentality will allow his athleticism to compete at the topmost levels of play in division one. Promotion to the first team this winter seems certain if Olivier Mbaizo leaves. Westfield will certainly match Matt Real, but can he grow to match Kai Wagner as  Real never did?