Photo courtesy Philadelphia Union II Communications

Late Monday afternoon under overcast but dry skies in Chester, Philadelphia, Union II fell behind New York City FC II 3-1 late in the first half only to fight back against a much older side for a home playoff game and a playoff clinching 4-3 win. The home playoff game will be the first ever for either Union II or its predecessor Bethlehem Steel FC.

Marlon LeBlanc’s side displayed the mentality that first team head coach Jim Curtin treasures in refusing to quit in face of the first half’s apparent superiority of the baby “cityzens.” They kept a clean sheet after half time while completing a gritty two-goal comeback on a free kick served by Cavan Sullivan from outside the right side of the penalty box to vice captain Frank Westfield’s head for the winning score in the 64th minute.

Singling out those who created the winning score is unfair to the rest of LeBlanc’s side as the transformation involved the entire team, from those cheering from the bench to the 16 who gave everything they had on the pitch be it for the last nine minutes plus stoppage time or the full 90.

The youngest team in the eastern conference started a side that averaged 18.6 years old against a team starting only one player under 20. And the teenagers won. New York’s five yellow cards for dissent indexes their frustration at the loss.

In advance

Before tap only three points separated third place from 10th place in the tight Eastern Conference. The top eight teams qualify for the playoffs. The match had direct playoff implications for both Philadelphia and New York.

Lying second on 46 points, practically speaking Union II had already clinched a playoff spot. After 10th-place Chattanooga’s result earlier in the weekend they could only tie Union II on points and could not catch them in wins. Ninth-place Carolina could only tie Union II on points and wins, but pragmatically could not make up a goal-difference margin of 24.

Before tap Philly had kept alive the possibility of securing the club’s first ever home playoff game.

NYC FC II also needed to win, lying fifth on 42 points through a combination of tiebreakers among the three others that also had 42 at the time. Earlier results over the weekend meant they could not clinch a playoff spot on the day.

Because both clubs’ first teams face comparably congested schedule rhythms, “above and beyond” extras seemed unlikely. New York City’s second team has always been much more self-contained than Philadelphia’s. But three old second-team veterans from last year just happened to be in their lineup.

Philadelphia’s developmental mission supersedes bringing down reinforcements solely to win, since assessing and growing teenagers is Philly’s higher priority. The youngsters did themselves proud at the end when they replaced exhausted starters and maintained the second half’s clean sheet.

Only Union II’s usual gameday roster additions suited up, since having youngsters try to achieve challenging goals is the mothers’ milk of Philadelphia’s player developmental philosophy. All the usuals were available.

First half

For roughly the first 20 minutes Union II were flying and dominating possession. New York head coach Matt Pilkington had begun in a comparatively defensive formation using a double six with 28-year-old Jake Rozhansky and  22-year-old veteran Piero Elias at those spots.

After Markus Anderson scored on a feed from CJ Olney and a hockey assist from Cavan Sullivan in the 11th minute, the initial burst of Philly’s energy began to diminish and the oldsters from up the turnpike began to counterattack. Consistently they would catch Philly’s midfield pressing home the attack and break with precision against an undermanned defense. In the 21st, 28th and 32nd minutes New York scored from Taylor Calheira, Jonathan Jimenez, and Jonathan Shore all on precisely executed counters.

The second half of the opening period felt like a good Division II USL Championship side was using superior maturity and experience to spank the young Division III MLS NEXT Pro one. The mood was only broken in the 45+1 minute of stoppage time when Nick Pariano converted a penalty kick that had been drawn in the box by a breakaway.

New York felt hard done by and spent the rest of the match complaining against the referee, accumulating five yellow cards in the rest of the match for dissent.

Second half

Neither team made any substitutions at halftime.

Whatever coach LeBLanc and his assistants said and did changed matters.  New York’s counters no longer found numbers up and easy shots. And Union II’s attacking prowess from the first 20 minutes seemed restored.

In the 52nd Eddy Davis III tied the match by intercepting a blindly played back pass and calmly beating Alex Rando into his net. Then in the 64th with Philadelphia’s energy beginning to flag, Cavan Sullivan delivered the aforementioned free kick to Westfield’s head to end the scoring, seal the match, and propel Union II into the playoffs for the third consecutive year.

Philadelphia’s strategy of repeatedly putting its youngsters into the competitive crucible  paid off as Kellan LeBlanc replaced Sullivan with about nine minutes plus stoppage to go and he defended adequately. He also participated in one late numbers up breakout that New York’s keeper had to save.

Cavan Sullivan

After playing three minutes plus stoppage the night before with the first team and striking his first MLS crossbar on a tipped shot from distance, the younger Sullivan started the match with his teenage colleagues Olney and Vazquez. He was clearly tiring by the end of his 80 minute shift. Instead of trotting towards where he needed, he walked. But whenever he saw a responsibility he kicked himself into top gear showing a mentality that will earn him legitimate time from Jim Curtin in the future, perhaps this season but certainly next year.

Playoff picture

Later Monday evening Orlando B defeated Chicago II 3-0. That result means Union II are guaranteed to finish at least fourth in the conference, therefore with a home playoff game, the first ever for the professional second team from Keystone Sports’ lineup.

Orlando’s win guarantees that New York City FC II, Columbus Crew 2, Crown Legacy (Charlotte’s farm team), and Chicago Fire II cannot finish higher than fifth and will play away if they qualify for the playoffs.

Next Match

Union II next play Atlanta United 2 at Subaru Park at 3:00 PM Sunday, September 29^th. The match will be Union II’s final home game of the regular season and is scheduled to stream on Apple Plus’s MLS Season Pass.

Three points

1. Jose Riasco was on the bench as a substitute, after reportedly have been practicing in Chester for the past week or two. He substituted in the 74th minute for Markus Anderson. The mystery of his whereabouts is over.
2. Eddy Davis III now leads Philadelphia’s second team in single season goal scoring with 13, having surpassed Faris “Pemi” Moumgamba’s 11 in 2019 for Bethlehem Steel FC. Davis is one short of tying the Cameroonian’s career record of 14.
3. PSP overheard coach LeBlanc a few months ago saying he really liked his team this year. This NYC FC II result shows why.

BOXSCORE

Lineups

Union II (4-1-2-1-2, L-R) 1^st – 8; U II – 7; Am – 5.

 Starters: Andrew Rick; Frank Westfield, Olwethu Makhanya, Neil Pierre, Gavin Wetzel; Nick Pariano (Jamir Berdecio 81′); CJ Olney, David Vazquez (Giovanny Sequera 68′); Cavan Sullivan (Kellan LeBlanc 81′); Markus Anderson (Jose Riasco 74′), Eddy Davis III (Sal Olivas 68′).

Starters’ Average Age =  18.6

Unused substitutes: Mike Sheridan; Carlos Rojas, Jamir Johnson, Zach Mastrodimos.

NYC FC II (4-4-2, L-R)

Starters: Alex Rando; Chris Tiao, Rio Hope-Gund, Klevis Haxhari, Drew Baiera; Jonathan Shore, Piero Elias (Ronald Arevalo 68′), Jake Rozhansky, Maximo Carrizo, Taylor Calheira, Jonathan Jimenez (Camil Ruiz 81′).

Unused substitutes: William Meyer; Matthew Leong, Nicholas Kapanadze, , , Julien Lacher.

Goals

Union II          11th minute           Markus Anderson (CJ Olney, Cavan Sullivan)

NYC FC II        21st minute          Tyler Calheira (Jonathan Shore)

NYC FC II        28th minute         Jonathan Jimenez (unassisted)

NYC FC II        32nd minute         Jonathan Shore (Piero Elias)

Union II           46th minute          Nick Pariano (penalty kick)

Union II           52nd minute         Eddy Davis III (unassisted)

Union II           64th minute          Frank Westfield (Cavan Sullivan)

Yellow Cards

NYC FC II        18th minute          Piero Elias (foul)

NYC FC II        45th minute          Klevis Haxhari (dissent)

NYC FC II        45th minute          Rio Hope-Gund (dissent)

Union II           73rd minute          Markus Anderson (foul)

Union II           84th minute          Giovanny Sequera (dissent)

NYC FC II        86th minute          Tyler Calheira (dissent)

NYC FC II        90th minute           Jake Rozhansky (dissent)

Stats

Whistle & Flags

Ref: Alejo Calume, AR¹: Patrick Casey, AR²: Sharon Gingrich, 4^th: Nick Karnovsky.