Philadelphia Union Academy's U-16s traveled to the West Coast for MLS NEXT Fest, facing off against FC Dallas, Minnesota United and Columbus Crew. Check out how the squad fared during their trip to California.
Philadelphia Union (1) vs. Columbus Crew (0)
The Philadelphia Union U-16s kept their undefeated streak in tact on Wednesday afternoon, defeating Columbus Crew 1-0. The team put on a strong showing to close MLS NEXT Fest, keeping their opponent scoreless through the final whistle. The lone goal of the match came from none other than Malik Jakupovic, who scored his fifth goal of the showcase by way of a game-securing header.
Philadelphia Union (6) vs. Minnesota United (1)
The U-16s impressed with another dominant performance on Tuesday afternoon, defeating Minnesota United by a five-goal differential. Chuka Ebo opened scoring with a chip over the keeper two minutes in creating an early lead for the Baby Snakes. From there, the team scored five more unanswered goals starting with Malik Jakupovic, who beat a Minnesota defender 1v1 inside the box before cutting left for the finish. Timo Mendoza assisted Tyler Gladstone to make it 3-0, and Jakupovic found his second goal of the day on the counter attack to make it 4.
Adding to his brace, Jakupovic passed forward to Charlie Rihn for a bottom right finish that boosted the team's total to 5. The team's final goal of the match came from Timoni Gbalajobi, who capitalized on a rebound from a Keegan Quenneville shot to make it 6-0. Minnesota got one back in the final five minutes of the match, but the Baby Snakes ultimately emerged victorious with a dominant 6-1 scoreline in their second match of MLS NEXT Fest.
Philadelphia Union (4) vs. FC Dallas (0)
Philadelphia Union Academy's U-16 squad came to California unbeaten and started off their MLS NEXT Fest run on a high as they dominated FC Dallas on Sunday morning.
The Baby Snakes jumped out with the first goal via a penalty kick finish from Willyam Ferreira to get the offense rolling and then leading scorer Malik Jakupovic bagged a first half brace with hustle goals. The first came on a breakaway as the big forward timed his run from the center stripe to beat the defense and score in the 18th minute. Jakupovic was perfeclty placed again in the 40th minute as he knocked home a rebound finish after a shot from outside the box was cleared off the goal line.
The second half saw a set piece finish from the Boys in Blue as Dylan Luebbert smashed home corner kick served up by Samuel Gallego.
Date | Matchup | Result/ Kickoff Time (ET) |
December 8 | U-16 vs. FC Dallas | W, 4-0 |
December 10 | U-16 vs. Minnesota United | W, 6-1 |
December 11 | U-16 vs. Columbus Crew | 3:30 PM |
