Photo courtesy Philadelphia Union II Communications 

Union II won hardware Saturday night, clean-sheeting Columbus Crew 2 4-0 at Subaru Park in the 2024 Eastern Conference Final. It is not the first time Union II has beaten Crew 2 by four goals, but it is the first time in three years they have prevented the central Ohioans from scoring a goal to say nothing of not putting a shot on target.

Markus Anderson had a brace, in the 16th and 74th minutes. Cavan Sullivan had another long range blast in the 42nd, this one enhanced by a deflection. And Frank Westfield successfully redirected a clearance off the right post from the edge of the box in the 56th.

News in advance

A “celebration of life” for Holden Trent will occur Sunday, November 3^rd in North Ccarolina. Details can be found at the end of his obituary in the Greensboro Record. Click here for the document. It is quietly expected that the Union organization will be appropriately represented.

MLS NEXT Pro does not publish playoff eligibility rosters for participating clubs. Those rosters closely limit who can be made available from each first team no matter whether the team’s season continues (Columbus’s) or does not (Philadelphia’s).

Philadelphia’s preview of the match asserted that Union II and Crew 2 are the youngest teams in the league. To roughly and imprecisely test the assertion, we compared the two starting lineups from last weekend’s respective playoff games. Five Columbus starting players could have drunk beverage alcohol legally in the United States, but only one Philadelphia one could have., although a second is close enough to anticipate it.

Attendance at Bethlehem Steel FC’s home opener against FC Cincinnati in 2016 at Goodman Stadium was 3,655. By memory that was the largest crowd ever at Lehigh. Today’s attendance was expected to surpass that.

First half

By and large Philadelphia dominated play in the first half. Columbus had the occasional thrust, but Philly never looked uncomfortable defending, until after Sullivan’s long range blast late .

In first half stoppage time Crew 2 seemed to put Union II onto its heels. But stoppage time lasted only two minutes and the boys in blue survived unscathed.

Second half

Crew 2 head coach Kelvin Jones made one change at halftime, a like-for-like at striker removing Gibran Rayo for Taha Habroune who is more of a 1-v-1 technical player.

And Columbus often seemed to have two strikers in the center along with the two “chalk-on-their-boots” wingers. But there was no real shape change. Outside left channel midfielder Owen Presthus was simply taking more risks moving forward. Gavin Wetzel controlled him the vast majority of the time, and when he did not Neil Pierre intervened effectively.

On Philadelphia’s part, they balanced their attack more, playing up the right side more than they had in the first frame. Fouling was called tightly which restricts Crew 2 striker Jayden Da. Once he did overpower center back Olwethu Makhanya, but was called for throwing him to the ground. Through out the game Philly’s two center backs suppressed Columbus thrusts down the center, almost always before they generated any type of threat.

And goalkeeper Andrew Rick cleaned up the few “key pass” through balls or crosses before they could generate chances. Philly outshot Columbus 23 to 1. Shots on target were 8-0. Andrew Rick made no official saves.

Philadelphia’s midfield generated enough pressure throughout the game that Columbus’s double six of Adrian Gonzalez and Jacob Greene did little to create attacks, especially effective ones. The greatest threat from Columbus’s central midfield came when Greene took off on a run through the central channel without the ball that no Philly mid or defender seemed to notice. But Rick ended the threat before it could generate a chance.

Union II kept the shutout after Coach LeBlanc made his substitutions. That success illustrated his comment from his press conference Friday that none of his substitutes would be thrown untested into the fire. Midfielder LeBlanc was the youngest replacement. Once he was cleaned off the ball while attacking Crew 2’s endline, but promptly spun himself backwards and retook possession, an athletic move that would have been physically and mentally beyond him two months ago.

Our final comment is over and again to applaud  coach’s instinct to try Nick Pariano as a single six after Sanders Ngabo went back to Denmark. The most deserved curtain call of the night was Jamir Berdecio coming on for Pariano in the 85th even though coach will probably say he was protecting against a second yellow card. Columbus would beat the first and second pressures, but not the third because time and again the young man from Duke cleaned them up.

Cavan Sullivan

For the second time in two games the 15-year-old scored on a long blast against Crew 2. The deflection helped it beat keeper  Stanislav Lapkes easily, but the shot would have tested him in any case. The hiccup meant he had no chance. Sullivan came off in the 73rd for LeBlanc the midfielder. He fulfilled his defensive responsibilities. He covers ground at pace.

He had a good night controlling his dribble, more than once successfully splitting double teams.

We should not expect him move into the first team’s attack immediately next year. But it will be interesting to see him team up with a right footed right midfielder like his older brother, because that will set him up to play inverted onto his left foot from the right channel. Right now both he and Vazquez want to do that, which can be too much of a good thing.

Next match

 Union II will travel to North Texas  Details depend on Apple TV Plus’s planning and at this writing nothing official is known. Press box scuttlebutt was leaning towards Saturday for MLS Next Pro Cup, but that is only speculative rumor.

Three points + one

1. Legal beverage alcohol: Six Crew 2 starters can drink, one more than last week against Chicago.  Still only one Union II one can, Pariano, and a second is close enough to anticipate the experience, Anderson.
2. The defense made no grievous mistakes, at exactly the right time of year to do so.
3. Union II’s squad started its best XI all healthy with its bench experienced enough to play their roles. Well done Coach LeBlanc and well done the technical staff.
4. Attendance at Subaru Park was 4,727. By memory that is the second highest home attendance figure for either Philadelphia Union II or Bethlehem Steel FC, the keyword being home.

BOXSCORE

Lineups

Union II (4-1-2-1-2, L-R), 1^st – 8; U II – 8; Acad – 4. Starters’ Ave Age = 18.7

Starters: Andrew Rick; Frank Westfield, Olwethu Makhanya, Neil Pierre, Gavin Wetzel; Nick Pariano (Jamir Berdecio 85′); CJ Olney (Giovanny Sequera 79′), David Vazquez; Cavan Sullivan (Kellan LeBlanc 73′); Markus Anderson (Jose Riasco 79′), Eddy Davis III (Sal Olivas 73′).

Unused substitutes: Mike Sheridan; Carlos Rojas, Kyle Tucker, Jamir Johnson.

Crew 2 (3-4-3, L-R) Starters Ave age = 20.2

Starters: Stanislav Lapkes; Christopher Rogers (Terron Williams 76′), Aboubakar Keita, Xavier Zengue (Christopher Pearson 58′); Owen Presthus, Adrian Gonzalez (Nicholas Rincon 76′), Jacob Greene, Brent Adu-Gyamfi; Gibran Rayo (Taha Habroune HT), Jayden Da, Chase Adams (Anthony Alaouieh 58′).

Unused substitutes: Alexander Zochowski; Tristan Brown, Ibrahima Sy.

Goals

Union II           16th minute           Markus Anderson (CJ Olney)

Union II           42nd minute          Cavan Sullivan (Nick Pariano)

Union II           56th minute           Frank Westfield

Union II           74th minute           Markus Anderson

Yellow Cards

Union II          43rd minute          Cavan Sullivan (celebration)

Crew 2             61st minute           Adrain Gonzalez (foul)

Crew 2             67th minute           Christopher Pearson (foul)

Union II          80th minute           Nick Pariano (foul)

Stats

Whistle & Flags

Ref: Eric Tattersall, AR¹: Zach McWhorter, AR²: Bennett Savage, 4^th: JC Griggs.