The Eastern Conference Final matchup is locked in as Philadelphia Union II hosts Columbus Crew 2 with a spot at MLS NEXT Pro Cup on the line on Saturday, November 2nd at Subaru Park. To purchase tickets, click here!
The Eastern Conference Playoffs have gone through Subaru Park with Union II showing incredible maturity beyond their years during their run to the Eastern Conference Final. Union II picked up its first-ever MLS NEXT Pro postseason win against New York City FC II on Sunday evening. Homegrown CJ Olney sent Subaru Park into a frenzy as he took a long pass from Neil Pierre and smashed a shot off the crossbar and into the back of the net in the 86th minute. In their first-ever Eastern Conference Semifinal, Union II prevailed in a penalty kick showdown against Crown Legacy with Andrew Rick making two saves while Olney delivered the winning finsh once again.
The youngest team in the Eastern Conference, the Boys in Blue earned its highest finish in the conference table in club history with a record 15 wins and 52 points across the regular season. Union II comes into the playoffs with the best offense in the league with 59 goals scored and the second best defense in the East. 2024 has already been a historic run for the club with Union II earning its first ever home playoff match via a comeback win against New York City FC II on September 23rd. On the individual front, Academy graduate Eddy Davis III scored 13 goals to surpass the single-season scoring record previously held by former Bethlehem Steel FC and current Marseille forward Faris Moumbagna. CJ Olney, Andrew Rick and David Vazquez have also impressed this season, each earning MLS homegrown deals with the club's first team.
The matchup between the two Eastern Conference foes will be their fourth with the home side prevailing in each of the previous contests. Union II grabbed the home win via a 3-1 margin led by a Sal Olivas brace. Crew 2 and the Boys in Blue battled to a 3-2 result that seemed destined for a shootout after Gavin Wetzel scored late but Columbus stole the winner with a PK conversion from Gibran Rayo. In the final regular season showdown the game did go to a shootout with the Boys in Blue winning by a 5-4 margin in six rounds.
Columbus is the two-time defending Eastern Conference Champion and finds itself back one win away from MLS NEXT Pro Cup after back-to-back road wins. They began their postseason stretch as the No. 7 seed but didn't show it with a resounding 6-2 scoreline at Inter Miami CF courtesy of six different scorers. On Sunday afternoon they kept up their strong form with a back and forth contest at Chicago Fire II where they prevailed with a 3-2 win.
