Photo Philadelphia Union II

Late Saturday afternoon at Subaru Park Philadelphia Union II defeated Chicago Fire II 3-2 in a match that continued Fire II’s run of losses and ended Philadelphia’s.

Leandro Soria was named man of the match for his brace of goals. Equal billing should go to Union II goalkeeper Mike Sheridan whose penchant for stonewalling Chicago breakaways (at least three by memory, all against right winger Omari Glascow) enabled the Union II win.

In advance

Before Saturday afternoon Union II had lost its last three in a row.

Against Chicago Philly now has a draw and a win. They will see Fire II a third time on Decision Day in Illinois.

Before Saturday’s tap both teams were slotted for home playoff games, with Philly having choice of opponent after Cincinnati had chosen.

For coach LeBlanc’s side we suspected midfielder Giovanny Sequera remained in injury recovery. We also suspected striker Markus Anderson remained in concussion protocol. The internet rumored striker Eddy Davis to be trialing with Lyngby in Denmark. But we could confirm none of those points.

Yesterday Union II played at home the day after a first team home game. That maximizes opportunity for first team reserve players to get game minutes. But only a few of the usual suspects appeared because the summer transition from last year’s academy configuration to this year’s has begun as it always has done from mid-August forward. Four Union II “benchies” had never set foot on a U II pitch.

Fire II had the same opportunity to play first team deep reserves, had its technical staff decided to use it, since its first team was already eliminated from Leagues Cup and will not resume regular league play until August 24^th. We did not know Chicago’s roster well enough to discern the technical staff’s choice. But their roster had only a few overt first-teamers on it.

First Half

Chicago Fire FC II came out of the start controlling the midfield and pressing the attack.  The pressure lasted off and on for the first 20 minutes. Union II’s teenage midfield was forced back on its heels to defend.  In a credit to head coach Marlon LeBlanc’s preparation and game plan, Philadelphia’s defensive line caught Chicago offside four times in less than 20 minutes.

As the half wore on Chicago adjusted better to the trapping, and began to get in behind. Union II goalkeeper Mike Sheridan made three one versus one stops to keep Chicago off the scoreboard. Without VAR the linesman’s judgment of offsides was final, and Chicago’s potential violations became less obvious as the half extended.

In the 39th minute Chicago’s Sergio Oregel found Peter Soudan with an excellent through ball that broke Peter Soudan in alone. He bypassed Sheridan and easily hit the open net.

Philadelphia mounted a furious attacking response. Three minutes later David Vazquez threaded a worm burner along the end line from the left across Chicago’s goal mouth where Leandro Soria outduelled his marker to score from well inside the six. The irony of the assists on both first-half goals is that Oregel and Vazquez were teammates six days ago with the US U20s at the Concacaf U20 championship in Mexico.

Second Half

Neither team brought on any substitutes at halftime.

Union II asserted itself more offensively but with few quality chances. Then Chicago center back Jayden Shannon went down injured after having taken a David Vazquez free kick directly to his head while he was in the wall, and there was a proper delay while his head was checked. After well more than a minute, Shannon came off and play restarted.

Cavan Sullivan collected the restart outside the box on the right, dribbled two defenders to penetrate to the end line, and delivered a looping cross that Soria put home for a 2-1 lead.

Chicago then subbed for Shannon and began to push the attack for the rest of the half.

Both coaches used most of their allowed substitutes seeking fresh legs and tactical advantages. The defensive versatility that LeBLanc has been developing since February paid off as Jamir Berdecio moved from defensive mid to right back for a spent Gavin Wetzel, and Randy Meneses came on at defensive mid. Then Nick Pariano came on for Sullivan and moved back into a double pivot of 6s leaving Vazquez and CJ Olney to handle the advanced midfield.

In the 90+6th of stoppage time from a long clearance, Olney collected in the left channel and found an unmarked Vazquez with a long square pass on the inside edge of the right. The Concacaf U20 Championship’s Golden Boot winner collected, dribbled, deked a desperate defende,r and beat the Chicago keeper from the 12 yards out to double the lead. And celebrated (see right, photo Philadelphia Union II).

It was fortunate that Vazquez and Olney did that, because young players think the match is won with a two goal lead and less than two minutes of stoppage time remaining. MLS Next Pro’s leading goal scorer, Chicago attacking mid David Poreba, took advantage of Berdecio’s failure to track him on a give and go and easily beat Sheridan with 30 seconds left on the the clock on a second assist from Oregel.

But the Union held on, the losing streak ended, and everyone, from both Chi-town and Philly, headed for a refreshing shower.

Cavan Sullivan

The youngster started again and played close to 75 minutes. That reminds us, as Earnie Stewart would were the Dutchman still here. that engine building is the foundation of all other aspects of the young man’s soccer development.

With Soria’s necessary help Sullivan’s dribbling and vision created Union II’s second goal. Whether by chance or deliberate intent, his assist attacked the very Chicago space temporarily weakened while the Fire center back replacement was preparing to enter the match.

The other note about Sullivan’s day is that of the three teenage attacking mids his defensive ball winning — his “bite” in other words — has the greatest opportunity for improvement. He works hard to fill the proper spaces and apply pressure, and he deserves full marks for his disciplined effort. But stripping opponents of the ball was not  a noticeable strength on the day.

Next Match

Union II play at Toronto FC II in York, Ontario, Canada at 3:00 PM next Sunday, August 18 at York Lions Stadium. The match is scheduled to stream on mlsnextpro.com, which in the past has meant it has been available live on YouTube. The baby Reds lie three places and nine points below playoff qualification in 11^th on 22, pending the rest of the weekend’s results. Earlier Philly beat them in Canada 4-0 on June 30^th, and 2-1 at Subaru Park in the season opener on St. Patrick’s Day.

Three Points, plus one

1. If Transfermarkt is to be believed, Jose Riasco’s  loan to Boston River in Uruguay’s top division may be over as of August 5. It will be interesting to discover  where he next plays.
2. Eight is the number of academy amateurs who dressed for Union II. At least half had yet to see a Union II pitch, The fact perfectly illustrates the summer transition mentioned earlier.
3. Neil Pierre  is being transitioned to leadership of the defensive line. When Olwethu Makhanya is there the South African plays that role. In his absence the almost 17-year-old must do so and is beginning to learn.
4. Captain Kyle Tucker has just recently lost his father. His teammates showed support by having the captain’s armband embossed with Mr. Tucker’s initials, and Leandro Soria displayed Tucker’s game jersey after one of his goals. (Click here

BOXSCORE

Lineups

Union II (4-1-2-1-2, L-R): 1^st – 6, U II – 6, Am – 8. Starters’ Average Age = 18.9

Starters: Mike Sheridan; Frank Westfield, Carlos Rojas, Neil Pierre, Gavin Wetzel (Randy Meneses 68’); Jamir Berdecio, CJ Olney Jr., David Vazquez, Cavan Sullivan (Nicholas Pariano 72’) ; Leandro Soria (Diego Rocio 86’), Sal Olivas.

Unused substitutes: Gavin Atkinson; Sanders Ngabo, Kellan LeBlanc, Zachary Mastrodimos, Henry Bernstein, Jordan Griffin.

Fire II: (4-1-2-1-2)

Starters: Patrick Los; Lamonth Rochester (Harold Osorio 83’), Christopher Cupps, Jaylen Shannon (Juan Calle Zapata 57’), Bryce Richards (Kruz Held 57’); Charles Nagle, Sergio Oregel, Peter Soudan (Vitaliy Hlyut 74’), David Poreba; Christian Koffi, Omari Glasgow. 

Unused substitutes: Patryk Stechnij; Josue Pfrommer, Giovanni Granda, Damyan Vilanueva.

Goals

Fire II           39th minute          Peter Soudan (Sergio Oregel)

Union II       42nd minute          Leandro Soria (David Vazquez)

Union II        55th minute.         Leandro Soria (Cavan Sullivan)

Union II.       90+6 minute         David Vazquez (CJ Olney)

Fire II           90+7 minute           David Poreba (Sergio Oregel)

Yellow Cards

Fire II          67th minute            Juan Calle (foul)

Union II      90+4 minute          Jamir Berdecio (foul)

Union II       90+7 minute         Frank Westfield (time wasting)

Stats

Whistle & Flags

Ref: Elvis Osmanovic, AR¹: A. Max Smith, AR²: Jessica Carnevale, 4^TH: Gary Gutierrez.