Photo courtesy Philadelphia Union Communications

While convention demands that a headline and a lede total all goals scored as a single statement, in preseason that custom can deny truth. The multiple lineups of unlimited substitutions and extra minutes render a single final score irrelevant and meaningless. The head injury to Jakob Glesnes in the 41st minute potentially dwarfs the aggregation of goals scored.

The injury leaves the Union with only two healthy conventional center backs. Olwethu Makhanya is an almost 21-year old virtual rookie with zero regular season MLS minutes on his resume. Neil Pierre is a 17 1/3-years-old actual rookie with only 165 preseason minutes to his name. If Glesnes is out, the only depth behind the rookie pair is left back Kai Wagner. Nathan Harriel’s thigh — per head coach Bradley Carnell — means he has not appeared at all in preseason in 2025.  Ian Glavinovich has not appeared since the first 30 minutes of the first friendly in Spain. Olivier Mbaizo got only 15 minutes in the second match on the Costa del Sol.

The back line’s emergency is illustrated perfectly by the Cincinnati friendly’s last 45 minutes when striker-midfielder Jeremy Rafanello got his first known professional center back minutes replacing Makhanya who had played his allotted 75. (The friendly added an extra 30 minute period at the end as it has against Cincinnati for the last few preseasons.)

As detailed below, the regular season taps off in 14 days. Game ready center backs loom as a potential problem.

In advance

The average age of players rostered to the first team, including still unannounced striker Eddy Davis III, is 24.0. Twelve of the 30 are under 22. Nine are teenagers.

Coach Carnell mentioned Thursday that some reserve players had participated in last Tuesday’s Union II closed door scrimmage against Rhode Island FC in Bradenton. That may explain why Andrew Rick did not play.

The match itself

The friendly comprised three periods of play, two of 45 minutes and one of 30. Its fundamental purpose was to increase the quantity of game readiness for every participating player (see Appendices below). That purpose can be achieved only by playing in actual game conditions. Unlimited substitution means there were six different Union lineups on the pitch over the course of the 120 minutes, six separate mini-games in effect.

We diagram all six immediately below. Coach Carnell used the same 4-2-2-2 “empty bucket” tactical shape in all six. The “empty bucket” keeps two strikers, but sacrifices a central attacking midfielder to gain to  an extra six as a double pivot protecting the central channel in the defensive third. For the first sixty minutes it kept a clean sheet.

Then a poorly weighted clearing pass was intercepted and scored, followed four minutes later by an unlucky double ricochet off a far post and then Andre Blake’s back.

From the 75th minute onward the improvised defense behind the youngsters in the midfield and the attack demonstrated that the Union’s participants were still trying to figure out how to play together in the new system under the new principles. The “figuring out” should surprise no one.

Here are the six separate mini-games given as shape diagrams together with the mini-game’s score. While analyzing, remember that a newly installed system with new principles was contesting a familiar system with well-practiced principles. It should be no surprise that the familiar and practiced punished the new, especially once the youngsters were playing.

First Period – [length, 45 minutes]

No subs. One mini-game. Period ended after 41 minutes following the head injuries to Glesnes and Cincinnati striker Kevin Denkey.

Second Period – [length, 45 minutes]

Three mini-games. Substitutions at the 45th minute, the 60th minute, and the 75th minute approximately.

Third Period – [30 minutes]

Two mini-games. Substitutions at 90 minutes and 100 minutes approximately

Observations: Defense

Building game conditioning is the most fundamental purpose. The accumulated “final score” is irrelevant. More valuable are the scores put up by each of the different units during their mini-games.

The defense that started kept a clean sheet for 45 minutes. And that starting defense did not have the use of Glavinovich, Harriel, and Mbaizo because of injury.

If Glesnes should have a concussion, Harriel, Mbaizo and Glavinovich will be badly missed.

The defensive line that gave up the two goals in five minutes was 3/4ths of Union II’s starting defensive line last year.

The defensive line that gave up the final two goals was respectively:

• finishing its first 100 game minutes in more than a year following knee surgery (Isaiah LeFlore),
• 17.3 years old and a rookie (Pierre),
• originally a striker and an attacking midfielder (Rafanello),
• an attacking or a shuttling midfielder until last August and never before an outside back until Spain. (Nick Pariano).

Westfield looked like he fits right in. He may well start against Orlando since he is the only right back who can be 90 minutes game fit.

Observations: Offense

The offense is always the last unit to round into form, Glesnes’s textbook near post flick from Wagner’s corner kick service in the 8th minute notwithstanding.

That lateness being acknowledged, very few chances were created from the run of play over the full 120 minutes. Of particular concern is that Gazdag, Uhre, and Baribo did not create many chances either for themselves or in combination with each other.

None of the reserve strikers created anything against Cincinnati’s MLS players.

The Union’s only consistent offensive threat was the restart.

Observations: the Youngsters

 Aside from Westfield who counts as a starter, they seemed to have no impact on play against Cincinnati’s first teamers.  Cavan Sullivan began to start to create chances occasionally in the last 20 minutes once his group began to get used to playing together in the new shape in an actual game.

Footnote: Stas Korzeniowski is trying to earn a professional contract of some type. He was the Union’s second round draft pick in the SuperDraft LAST season. He stayed at Penn to play his senior season where he did well. The season-long loan of Jose Riasco to a team in the Venezuelan top division that was announced Friday afternoon may affect Korzeniowski’s chances. He stands 6’4″ and weighs nearly 200 lbs. He played scholastically for Pennington Prep, and also with Players Development Academy. He has been practicing with Union II while resuscitating an ankle according to Union II head coach Ryan Richter.

Observations: The tactical shape

 The 4-2-2-2 has been a defensive formation when Marlon LeBlanc’s Union II has used it in the past. It has six defending and only four attackers. That comparative familiarity might explain why coach Carnell was trying it. It also requires constant positional interchange to “fill the bucket.”

 Next Match

Friday, February 14^th, Valentine’s Day in Orlando at the Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate  against CF Montreal at 1 PM. We  expect no video availability. We would expect several players to go the full 90.  In past years with this match there has sometimes been an unannounced 60 minute scrimmage for reserves earlier in the day. No idea whether that might happen again.

Since Union II is playing University of South Florida at 11 AM the same day, probably in Tampa, there will be no crossover.

The first team almost certainly is flying out of Orlando for Philadelphia right after the match. They will fly back there the next weekend for the season opener.

Appendices

1. Game minutes v FC Cincy

Andre Blake is the only one who played 90 minutes

2. Total preseason game minutes, ranked on total