Photo courtesy Philadelphia Union II Communications
An exceptional circumstance calls for an exception to customary practice. Playing for hardware is something no previous Union professional farm team has ever done, neither Bethlehem Steel FC nor Philadelphia Union II.
Because tomorrow night at Subaru Park Philadelphia Union II will be playing for actual hardware, the Eastern Conference Final’s trophy, Philly Soccer Page is posting a short preview of the match.
The match taps off at 6:00 pm tomorrow, Saturday November 2nd, in Chester at Subaru Park and will be broadcast on Apple TV Plus’s MLS subscription.
The opponent is the Columbus Crew 2, who like Union II are making their third consecutive annual playoff appearance but who unlike Union II have appeared in the last two MLS Next Pro Cup finals, winning in 2022 and losing in 2023.
The debutante is dancing with the dowager.
Three previous games
Columbus’s achievement this year is considerable since it embodies a significant philosophical change. The dowager is no longer dowager-age
In its first two years Crew 2 was one of the oldest teams in the league. This year according to Keystone Sports and Entertainment’s unspecified evaluating criteria, Columbus and Philly Union II are the league’s two youngest sides.
They met three times in the regular season.
On the second of June in Chester, Philadelphia won 3-1. Sal Olivas scored a first half brace in the 16 and 36th minutes. Columbus’s Adrian Gonzalez answered in the 43rd, but CJ Olney promptly stomped out the fire with one in the 44th. The second half was scoreless.
On July 28 at historic Crew Stadium, Anthony Alouieh opened the scoring in the first half’s 39th minute. In the second half Union II stormed back twice. First, Eddy Davis equalized in the 53rd only to have Jayden Da retake the lead in the 80th. Then Gavin Wetzel equalized in the third minute of stoppage time. But four minutes later in the 97th Union II conceded a penalty that was converted by former Rochester Rhino Gibran Rayo and the fightback went down the drain 3-2.
The third meeting, a month later on August 26 in Chester, saw Cavan Sullivan take the lead in the 29th on a blast from distance off a corner kick rebound. But Brent Adu-Gyamfi equalized in the 65th from a corner kick melee, and the match went to penalty kicks. Tied after five rounds, the spot kicks went to “sudden death.” Sullivan beat correctly guessing Columbus keeper Stanislav Lapkes, and his Union counterpart Andrew Rick saved that same Rayo whose PK had won the previous match in Columbus. Shootout win to Philly 5-4.
Other observations
In his prematch press conference Friday Union II head coach Marlon LeBlanc observed that Columbus is good at playing through Union II’s pressure, and that they will build out of the back. He pointed out that their youthful shift was reinforced by making the former director of their academy their new head coach, Kelvin Jones.
After an unscientific comparison of the Crew 2 starters against Chicago last week to the ones that started for Union II against Crown Legacy, only one Philly starter could drink beverage alcohol legally in the United States. Five of the Ohioans could have done.
Coach LeBlanc also said that ticket sales have already surpassed the comparable number for the NYC FC II playoff game two weeks ago.
PSP’s legendarily Cloudy, Cracked, and Foggy crystal ball says the match will be a draw after extra time and that Andrew Rick will again make the decisive save in the shootout.
I will be there. Looking forward to it. Thanks, Tim, for the excellent report!
Didn’t the Harrisburg City Islanders make the USL finals once or twice as the Union farm team?
Yes, and won the second tier. We also faced them in the USOC.
. . .
It was a good arrangement and I hated to see them fold. We also affiliated with the Reading United AC but I’m unsure if that still exists.
. . .
IMO, having more affiliates that just the club owned reserve team would be wise just like baseball and others.
. . .
Id like to see a lower level team back in the Lehigh Valley again using the Bethlehem Steel FC kit. It preserves the trademark if it isn’t deemed abandoned by now and protects our market range from competitors. Teams in Reading, Harrisburg, and Wilmington or the northern Maryland/Baltimore area would also help.
You are correct that the Reading/Union partnership no longer exists.
– – –
Not sure exactly when that ended but it was over by 2021.
– – –
The increased effort from the league in making a ‘farm league’ like in most other American sports, has killed off most of the MLS x USL (or NASL etc) partnerships we used to see
It’s a game we should win. The harder part is beating whoever wins the Western Conference Final. Both West finalists had better season records than U2 (U2 was 4th overall and 2nd in the East), and the West winner will host the Next Pro Final.
. . .
Our reserve is no joke though. In two knockout matches, it’s there for the taking. For once, seize the opportunity. It will bring incentive for more for those who play for the first team.