Philadelphia Union Academy enjoyed mounds of success in its first full month of MLS NEXT competition with the five teams combining for 23 victories and an astonishing 16 shutouts.
Check out some of the stand out performers from the Union Academy in October.
Johnson racked up four goals and three assists during the U17s perfect October where the Boys in Blue knocked off MLS NEXT competition including Nashville SC on the road.
"Jamir continues to excel in understanding how his role is best achieved within the system," U17 Head Coach Peter McDonnell said. "His movement off the ball has contributed to our team's fantastic defensive performances, whilst on the other end creating many goalscoring opportunities for not only himself, but others around him."
Gabriel Wesseh helped set the standard for the brand new U16 Union Academy squad where he racked up five goals in five league matches. Wesseh's breakout match came in the WSFS Bank Sportsplex opener where he bagged a hat trick against Baltimore Armour.
"Gabriel is an extremely talented forward for our club and brings his best each and every match," U16 Head Coach Guillermo Hamdan Zaragoza said. "Each match he continues to grow on both ends of the ball whether that is scoring goals or creating chances."
Samuel Gallego earns the October Player of the Month recognition for the U15s where he earned three assists and added a goal from the midfield. Gallego helped the squad to three big wins in league play and was a constant threat both offensively and defensively within the Union system.
"Samuel has had a strong month and has been a real contributor in all phases of the game," U15 Head Coach Henry Apaloo remarked. "He has helped the team create chances and score goals but also has defended well in the structure of the team. His positioning in transition has been really good in counter attacking moments but also on defensive transition moments where he is counter pressing well to help regain the ball. Overall Samuel's entire work rate and quality has been excellent."
Forward Timoni Gbalajobi netted a trio of hat tricks for the U14s as they went a perfect 6-0 in MLS NEXT competition. Gbalajobi earned his first hat trick against Baltimore Armour and followed up the performance with back-to-back three goal matches against TSF and Real Jersey FC.
"Timoni has an incredible work ethic that translate into the field," U14 Head Coach Phil Karn said. "He has great feel around the goal and when he lose the ball is not afraid to work hard to win the ball back."
The final recipient of the Union Academy's October Player of the Month is Ethan Wirtz. The center back helped the U13s to a 4-1-1 record in their first matches of MLS NEXT competition where he helped play a key role defensively in route to four shutouts.
“Over the last month I have seen excellent improvement with Ethan, and this has especially been demonstrated in the last couple of games of October," U13 Head Coach Willy Topp said. "I am really excited to see him continue with this development for the rest of the season.”
