Photo courtesy of Philadelphia Union II

Background

Last time out, Union II defeated New England 2-1 thanks to an own goal and Cavan Sullivan’s first tally for the team. Chattanooga fell 2-1 to Carolina Crown Legacy, despite Mehdi Ouamri’s penalty kick. Union come into the matchup residing atop the East on 10 wins and 35 points. CFC currently hold 4th with 6 wins and 28 points but have only won one of their last 5 games.

Match

Ed Davis opened the scoring with his 9th goal of the season, the result of a brilliantly worked counter attack. Despite a Chattanooga leveler, Cavan Sullivan scored off a Westfield cross before Chattanooga’s goalie was red carded. Leandro Soria tapped in from close range to secure the victory for the Union.  

The opening minute of the game saw Union II nearly score off of sheer runners pumped into the box. It was a sign of things to come as the Union second team soundly dominated a Chattanooga side that struggled to impose themselves. 

In the second minute, Union II won a free kick about 40 yards from goal. David Vazquez delivered a good cross into the box but Frankie Westfield headed over.

Union II needed only 6 minutes to score. The goal itself was a fantastic movement from a counter attack that several players worked all along the far sideline. Carlos Rojas put in a tackle before winning possession and playing the ball to CJ Olney. Olney was facing his own net but flicked the ball to Anderson who backheeled it in turn back to Olney. He walked the tightrope, still along the far sideline, before sending in a grounded cross on a dime for Eddy Davis. The young forward buried past the outstretched keeper. Jean Antoine got a touch but it wasn’t enough. That sequence ended with the 9th goal of the season for David and 9th and a league leading 10th assist for Olney.

Chattanooga did threaten the Union backline during the first half a couple times. Almost all of these chances came via a direct run in behind the defense followed by a through ball. In the 11th minute, Neil Pierre had to make a perfect sliding challenge on Mehdi Ouamri in the box following such a through ball that set up the breakaway.

In the 26th minute another through ball sent Ouamri in behind again. Rojas attempted a shoulder barge which pushed the CFC striker off the ball but the Colombian defender took a hit on the play and needed attention from the medical staff. He was able to remain in the game at this time.

The 30th minute saw the first true save of the night for Sheridan. While Rojas was still being treated Ouamri created another chance. He bodied a U2 defender to the ground and pulled off some nifty feints and stepovers to open up a shot for himself in the box which he took- ignoring his teammate open on the right. However, it wasn’t a clean strike and it bounced before Sheridan collected.

Chattanooga tied it up in the 34th minute from Viafara who headed home from a corner. He leaped above Gavin Wetzel and directed a powerful header past Sheridan.

Right at the stroke of halftime a miscue from Pierre led to a great chance for CFC. Gray collected a loose ball- splitting Pierre and Wetzel and charged down the field towards Sheridan. Pierre was actually able to recover enough to force him to shoot from outside the box- a shot that ended up rolling into the hands of Sheridan.

Head Referee Richardo Araya blew his whistle to end the half after 4 minutes of stoppage time.

Shortly after halftime, Cavan Sullivan gave UII the lead. After Rojas carried the ball into Chattanooga territory, he passed to Westfield in the box who played a square cross beyond two defenders to the onrushing Sullivan who smashed a low drive in past keeper

Unfortunately, Rojas’s injury worsened and he ultimately needed to be subbed off in the 54th minute with Jamiro Berdicio coming on in relief.

Markus Anderson changed the game in the 63rd minute. After breaking past the defense, the American born attacker was cut down by a sliding challenge from CFC goalie Antoine. 

Araya initially showed a yellow card before rightfully opted to send off the goalie with a red card, reducing Chattanooga to 10 men. Interestingly, the contact appeared to occur on the line of the 18 yd box, which should result in a PK, but Araya determined that it was just outside the box.

Kyle Tucker, who subbed in during the commotion caused by the red card, took the ensuing free kick, but it was just over the bar.

Substitute Leandro Soria found the dagger for the Union. In the 71st minute the Argentinian Striker scored off a Markus Anderson rebound. A U II high press forced the keeper to go long where the ball was collected by Ngabo. He fed Anderson whose shot deflected off a defender and set up nicely for Soria who tapped it in. That strike marks his second tally of the season.

Ricardo Araya blows for full time after 7 additional minutes of stoppages.

Cavan Sullivan’s strike shortly after halftime gave Union II the lead and then Leandro Soria tapped in a loose ball to secure the victory for the Union. The result keeps Union II placed atop the East with 11 wins and 38 points, Cincinnati occupy 2nd place on 32 points, but have yet to play their match this gameweek, facing off with TFC II on Sunday the 14th.

3 Points

Winning Streak – After dropping a 4-1 result to NYRB II, Union II have now won their last three games. They’ve scored a total of 9 goals and conceded just 2.

On The Rise – Obviously Cavan Sullivan has drawn a lot of attention this season. Much of that was hype before he had even touched the field for a non-academy team. Since then he has begun to earn a spot in the rotation of Marlon LeBlanc’s team. With goals in back-to-back games, that hype train is going to keep on chugging. 

Statistical Leaders – Ed Davis and CJ Olney are at or near the top of the goal scoring and assist charts. Davis is tied for second in the golden boot race with 9 goals and CJ Olney leads MLS NXP with 10 assists. Gamechangers.

Player Spotlight

CJ Olney: 34 passes, 85% completion rate, 4 Key Passes, 1 Foul Suffered, 1 Assist, 90 mins

Ed Davis: 3 shots, 2 on target, 1 goal, 1 Key Pass, 68 mins

Cavan Sullivan: 4 shots, 3 on target, 1 goal, 68 mins 

Box Score

Courtesy of Union Communications

Officiating Crew

REF: Ricardo Montero Araya

AR1: Jeremy Smith

AR2:  Patrick Casey

4TH: Joshua Encarnacion

Weather: 86 degrees and sunny.

GOALS/ASSISTS

PHI – Edward Davis (Olney) 6’

CFC – Duván Viáfara (Garvanian) 34’

PHI – Cavan Sullivan (Westfield) 48’

PHI – Leandro Soria (unassisted) 71’

DISCIPLINARY SUMMARY

CFC – Callum Watson (caution) 24’

CFC – Mehdi Ouamri (caution) 51’

PHI – Neil Pierre (caution) 54’

CFC – Anatolie Prepelita (caution) 62’

CFC – Jean Antoine (ejection) 64’

PHI – Markus Anderson (caution) 81’

LINEUP

Philadelphia Union II: Mike Sheridan, Frankie Westfield, Carlos Rojas (Jamir Berdecio 54’), Neil Pierre, Gavin Wetzel, Sanders Ngabo (Randy Meneses 90’ +5), Christopher Olney, David Vazquez ( Nicholas Pariano 78’), Cavan Sullivan (Kyle Tucker 68’), Edward Davis (Leandro Soria 68’), Markus Anderson.

Substitutes not used: Kellan LeBlanc, Jamir Johnson, Henry Bernstein, Gavin Atkinson.

Chattanooga FC: Jean Antoine, Duván Viáfara, Farid Sar-Sar (Andrés Jiménez 80’) , Anatolie Prepelita, Jesse Williams, Callum Watson (Jalen James 80’), Taylor Gray (Luis Garcia 89’) , Alex McGrath, Milo Garvanian (Joseph Pérez 45’), Mehdi Ouamri, Min-Jae Kwak (Jon Burke 67’).

Substitutes not used: Ethan Koren, Logan Brown.