Photo courtesy of Philadelphia Union II

Philadelphia Union II put on a dominant performance at Subaru Park on Sunday afternoon against Toronto FC II, highlighted by a stoppage-time brace from Malik Jakupovic. 

In advance

The match took place in the afternoon, following yet another first-team away trip that saw multiple Union II regulars travel with the first team. Cavan Sullivan made his first MLS start the evening prior and did not dress for the second team. Neil Pierre, Sal Olivas, David Vazquez, and Markus Anderson all traveled, but did not come off the bench. All but Sal Olivas were in the starting lineup for Coach Richter’s side on Sunday afternoon. 

First half

The home side had two promising chances in the opening minutes of the match, but shots from Nick Pariano and Markus Anderson were unable to find the target. Union II held the bulk of the possession and attacking pressure in the opening quarter of an hour. The attacking play appeared very fluid. 

Pariano had an even better chance in the 17th minute off a low cross from Markus Anderson, but got his legs tangled with Toronto’s keeper, Adisa De Rosario, and was unable to swipe the ball into the net after falling. His frustration was audible from the press box. 

Union II’s attacking pressure paid off in the 27th minute, when Kellan LeBlanc found Markus Anderson in space outside of the 18. The forward beat his defender and placed a low shot into the back of the net for his second NEXT PRO goal of the year.

Shortly after the goal, the head official stopped play for a hydration break, as dictated by the 87-degree heat in Chester. Toronto II’s head coach, Gianni Cimini, spent the entire minute break screaming at his players to “wake up” and “this is a disaster.” Toronto’s defense was lacking up to that point, allowing multiple chances for Philadelphia and committing errors that led to several turnovers. Both the players and staff of the visiting side were audibly frustrated when they failed to convert on the throw-in after play restarted.

A moment’s lapse from David Vazquez put Toronto through on goal in the 38th minute, but recently converted right back Gio Sequera was able to put in a sliding challenge on the attacker in a moment that should have been the equalizer for the visitors. 

Through the first 45, Union II outplayed Toronto II and went into halftime leading for the first time in over a month.

Second half

Toronto made three changes coming out of the break in hopes of shaking things up. Coach Richter did not go to his bench. 

A miscommunication between Toronto’s keeper and center back Ythallo saw De Rosario take his defender’s full weight onto his head after trying to lie on top of a loose ball in the box. De Rosario was unable to continue. By that point, the Toronto defense had all but fallen apart, opening the floodgates to the oncoming pressure from Union II. 

Philadelphia continued its attacking pressure through the 62nd minute, where CJ Olney capitalized on a rebound to put the Union up 2-0. Sequera won the ball directly in front of the home side’s bench and combined with Kellan LeBlac to find Markus Anderson wide open in the near corner to send in the cross. 

After the restart, Toronto substitute Patrick McDonald put in a hard tackle on Nick Pariano, which saw the Union II captain needing attention to his left knee. McDonald was issued a yellow card after the play for the challenge. The second hydration break of the match was called shortly after. 

The restart saw Toronto down a man while Ythallo received treatment for a knock and could not be substituted out because the visitors had already used all of theirs. Kellan LeBlanc had two volleys blocked by Toronto’s backup keeper, Shafique Wilson, before Ythallo reentered the pitch. 

A foul on David Vazquez immediately after gave the teenager a free kick just outside the box, which he confidently placed into the net. 

Union II changes after the goal saw Willyam Ferreira make his second-ever professional appearance. Nick Pariano left the match as a precaution after the earlier foul on the captain. CJ Olney moved to the defensive midfield position for the remainder of the match and did not seem out of place in the position. Pariano is expected to be fit for training this week. 

Pierce Holbrook called to claim a ball on a Toronto II cross and was challenged by an attacker who hit him in the head. After a brief stoppage, the Marine was deemed fit to continue. 

The fourth official decided on 14 minutes of stoppage time, much to the dismay of everyone at Subaru Park. Toronto found an attacking spark, but Pierce Holbrook stood tall in his net to deny them.

Malik Jakupovic scored his second professional goal in stoppage time, thanks to an unselfish pass from Sal Olivas. The pair caught Toronto on the break and took advantage of a 2v1 situation. Willyam Ferreira played the initial through ball to Olivas, and thanks to MLS counting hockey assists, Ferreira is credited with his first professional assist on the goal.

Jakupovic scored again at the death to make it 5-0 on yet another assist from Sal Olivas. The dejected Toronto defense could not keep up with the fresher legs and attacking quality of the sixteen-year-old. 

With the regulation victory, Union II moved to second place in the East with a game in hand over first-place New York Red Bulls II. The team also increased its goal differential to +22, a feat for both the attacking unit and the four unique goalkeepers to feature this season.

Next match

Union II returns home on Sunday, July 13th at 3 PM against Chattanooga FC.

 Three Points:

•  Rafael Uzcategui continues to impress. His confidence and leadership bring a lot to the back line to support his slightly younger teammates. 
• Malik Jakupovic has scored three goals in just over 30 minutes of playing time this season. 
• Union Academy amateurs Malik Jakupovic and Jamir Johnson have been named to the 2025 MLS Next All-Star Game roster. The match will take place on Monday, July 21, at Palmer Field in Austin, Texas, and will be available for streaming on MLSSoccer.com and the MLS YouTube channel. 

Lineups

Union II (4-2-2-2, L-R) Head coach Ryan Richter, Bethlehem Steel FC’s original captain. 1st – 7+1; UII – 4+3; A – 0+2.

Pierce Holbrook; Isaiah LeFlore (Jordan Griffin– 83’), Neil Pierre (Oscar Benitzez– 85’), Rafael Uzcategui, Gio Sequera, CJ Olney, Nick Pariano (Jamir Johnson– 78’), David Vazquez, Kellan LeBlanc (Willyam Ferreira– 78’), Eddy Davis (Malik Jakupovic– 83’), Markus Anderson (Sal Olivas– 67’)

Unused subs: Mike Sheridan; Stas Korzienowski, Leo Soria

Toronto FC II (3-5-2) Head Coach Gianni Cimini

Adisa De Rosario (Shafique Wilson– 54’); Richard Cukwu (Micah Chisholm– 46’), Ythallo, Reid Fisher, Marko Stojadinovic, Lucas Olguin (Josh Nugent– 63’), Nate Edwards (Antone Bossebberry– 46’), Michael Sullivan, Hassan Ayari, Markus Cimermancic (Malik Henry– 46’), Jahmarie Nolan (Patrick McDonald– 63’)

Unused Subs: Timothy Fortier, Costantinos Iliadis, Stefan Kapor

Scoring Summary:

UII: Anderson– 27’ 

UII: Olney– 63’

UII: Vazquez– 78’

UII: Jakupovic– 90+4’

UII: Jakupovic– 90+14’

Discipline Summary:

TII: McDonald– 65’

UII: Pierre– 80’

UII: Olivas– 89’

Stats

Whistle and flags: 

Ref: Danielle Chesky, AR1: Logan Reeves, AR2: Aaron Riley, 4th: Gary Gutierrez