Photo Kevin Barrett.

Now that Philadelphia Union II has played its 13th regular-season match, it is time to begin PSP’s midseason roster analysis.

Before we begin the player-by-player discussion, we offer some general observations about the organization’s process.

Each player gets eight to ten games as an evaluation run. That quantity provides a variety of game situations and opposing styles, and it allows for nerves to be overcome and adjustments to be made.

Age is a major Union criterion, especially if a player might be a candidate to be sold onward, as is the organization’s fundamental business strategy. As a general principle, the organization offers professional contracts when a player is 17, i.e., a junior in YSC Academy’s schoolhouse.

But there is a qualifier. YSC Academy’s admissions process, academic curriculum, and stated goals are entirely and thoroughly college preparatory. To date, all of its graduates who have not turned professional – and several who have – have at least begun the college process. For those familiar with Greater Philadelphia secondary education, YSC Academy’s classroom product is “Inter-Ac level.” Therefore, foregoing a potential athletic scholarship is a major economic and developmental decision not to be made casually by either the player or the organization.

In consequence, candidates for pro contracts who are less certain than others to “make it” professionally can be closely followed during their college soccer careers and have, upon occasion, been offered professional contracts later. Union first-teamer Jeremy Rafanello and  last season’s Union II captain Nick Pariano exemplify this second less publicized “pathway to the pros.”

The review

This year, we divide the 23 players we are going to discuss by positional groups: Forwards, Midfielders, Defenders, and Goalkeepers.

The data we provide for MLS and MLS Next Pro play is official from the team’s website. Estimates of minutes played in the CONCACAF Champions League are compiled by PSP and not official. 

Forwards— 6

Stas Korzeniowski: all data as of 6/6/26. Age = 23.3. Union CCL matches: 3 appearances, 194 minutes played, 2 starts, 2 goals, 0 assists. Union MLS matches: 6 appearances, 1 start, 136 minutes played, 0 goals, 1 assist. Union II matches: 4 appearances, 4 starts, 327 minutes played, 5 goals, 1 assist. 

He holds a first team contract. However, when MLS published the league-wide roster constructions at the beginning of the season, Korzeniowski was listed in Supplemental Slot 31 on a full-season loan to Union II. Considering the nature of Slot 31 and the fact that he has participated in first team matches outside of emergency situations, we conclude that he is instead in one of Supplemental Reserve slots 25-28, as known his base salary strongly suggests. It equals the published minimum for those slots. 

Korzeniowski continues to prove himself to be above the level of MLS NEXT Pro. Many of his goals this season occurred on solo runs with the ball from midfield. He is slowly but surely breaking into the first team’s striker pool. His physical presence and the hold-up play he developed in 2025 with Union II make him a promising option for the future. He is being transitioned to first-team football. 

Malik Jakupovic: all data as of 6/6/26. Age =16.9. Union CCL matches: 2 appearances, 0 starts, 49 minutes played, 0 goals, 0 assists.  Union MLS matches: 4 appearances, 0 starts, 59 minutes played, 0 goals, 0 assists. Union II matches: 9 appearances, 9 starts, 759 minutes played, 3 goals, 0 assists. First team contract, supplemental roster slots 25-30.

Philadelphia’s other highly-rated young attacker, born in 2009, signed his first-team deal on April 2, 2026. Jakupovic has spent the better part of the season learning the ins and outs of how the first team’s forwards operate and is attempting to apply that knowledge in NEXT Pro. To use the words of former Union II and now interim first-team head coach Ryan Richter, Jakupovic “knows where the goal is” and has no problem picking it out from distance. His ceiling remains incredibly high, as do the expectations for his performance in the FIFA U-17 World Cup later this year. 

He has, however, had a noticeable dip in form since signing his first-team contract. He no longer is taking opponents by surprise.

Sal Olivas: all data as of 6/6/26. Age = 19.9. Union CCL matches: 1 appearance, 0 starts, 45 minutes played, 0 goals, 0 assists, 1 yellow card. Union MLS matches: 1 appearance, 0 starts, 7 minutes played, 0 goals, 0 assists. Union II matches: 7 appearances, 4 starts, 357 minutes played, 0 goals, 0 assists. First-team contract, off-roster homegrown.

Olivas’ season thus far can be described simply using his 31st-minute second yellow and subsequent tantrum that led to an extra two-match ban during Union II’s May 13th home loss to New England Revolution. He is not producing at the level he expects himself to, and is growing frustrated by it. His positional awareness seems to have improved, but the end product has been nonexistent this year. 

Olivas is the only Union II striker on a professional contract to be without a NEXT Pro goal this season. He could perhaps be a candidate for a loan experience elsewhere. 

Eddy Davis III: all data as of 6/6/26. Age = 19.9. Union II matches: 6 appearances, 5 starts, 363 minutes played, 1 goal, 0 assists. First-team contract, off-roster homegrown.

Davis has struggled with two lower-body injuries that have kept him from seeing regular minutes in 2026. To his credit, he had an impressive long-range goal against CT United FC on April 26. 

John Ruf: all data as of 6/6/26. Age = 17.1. Union II matches: 7 appearances, 2 starts, 245 minutes played, 0 goals, 0 assists. Academy amateur. 

Ruf will be a senior at YSC Academy in the fall. He is verbally committed to begin his collegiate career at UCLA. He is in the early stages of integrating into the second team and will have another year to play at the NEXT Pro level. Ruf has yet to find the back of the net for the second team, but was prolific for the Union Academy Under-18s this past season. 

Theo Reed: all data as of 6/6/26. Age = 17.6. Union II matches: 4 appearances, 2 starts, 121 minutes played, 1 goal, 0 assists. Academy amateur. 

Reed will be a senior at YSC Academy in the fall. He is verbally committed to begin his collegiate career at Michigan. He, like Ruf, is just beginning to break into Union II and will continue to get the bulk of his playing time for the Under-18s when the MLS NEXT season starts in the Fall. His one-touch, game-winning goal against Atlanta United 2 shows promise going into the second half of the season.