Andrew Rick and CJ Olney delivered in clutch situations to send Philadelphia Union II to a penalty kick shootout victory over Crown Legacy FC on Saturday night.
The homegrown duo turned in standout performances after the two sides ended deadlocked at 1-1 after 120 minutes. Rick made two saves in the five rounds while Olney convered from the spot in the final round to secure another home match at Subaru Park.
Union II opened the scoring in the first half with a corner kick combination from CJ Olney to Olwethu Makhanya in the 28th minute. Crown Legacy FC answered back and forced the contest into extra time via an 88th minute goal from substitute Dylan Sing.
The victory sees Philadelphia Union II advance to its first-ever MLS NEXT Pro Eastern Conference Final with the contest to be held on Saturday, November 2nd at Subaru Park. Kick off time and opponent information will be announced upon the conclusion of the playoff round but tickets are on sale now.
It was an emotional day at Subaru Park as the club honored the memory of goalkeeper Holden Trent who passed away at 25 years old prior to the start of the match with his jersey in the starting lineup photo. The attention then turned to the beautiful game that Holden loved with a picture perfect evening at Subaru Park with fans cheering on the Boys in Blue. On the other side the visitors from North Carolina were looking to knock off another high seed for the second straight weekend and nearly bagged the opening goal with a header from Idan Giorno that was denied by a flying Andrew Rick save. Three minutes after the big stop, Crown Legacy was back on the attack with a fast, driving attack up the left side that got to the boot of Cameron Duke. Looking to connect with Giorno in front of goal, the ball off from the former Sporting Kansas City homegrown was a mix between a cross and shot with the ball ultimately crashing off the far post and staying out.
Union II grew into the match after the back-to-back scares from the visiting side with the youngest side in the Eastern Conference getting a strong look in the 26th minute as Cavan Sullivan laid off a pass to Gavin Wetzel on the right. The Union Academy defender whipped in a cross for leading scorer Eddy Davis III but the attempt was snatched out of the air by the keeper.
The first corner of the contest match was a fruitful one for Head Coach Marlon LeBlanc’s side as the hero of Union II’s first playoff contest once again provided a highlight. Olney was pin point with an accurate cross as he found Olwethu Makhanya inside the six for the goal.
With another one-goal lead in front of the home crowd, Union II looked to extend its lead out of the break with a change of pace inserting Sal Olivas for Markus Anderson. Philly nearly scored at shortly after the hour mark with a free kick blast from David Vazquez that was somehow denied by a diving stop from Chituru Odunze.
Union II made a tactical change in the 67th minute as Carlos Rojas replaced Sullivan and with it came a swap from the 4-4-2 diamond to a 4-2-2-2 with the new substitute alongside Pariano in front of the defense.
Crown Legacy forced the game to extra time under the Subaru Park lights as Nicholas Scardina sent in a cross from the right side to substitute Dylan Sing for the up close finish.
During the two 15-minute extra time halves neither side could break the deadlock with Neil Pierre connecting on a long pass to set up a Jose Riasco header in the 116th minute proving the only scoring opportunity for either side.
In the penalty kick shoout out the two sides scored in the opening round before Crown Legacy grabbed an advantage in round two after making a save. Rick responded on the very next attempt with a diving denial to his right which was followed up with a goal from Makhanya. Both teams converted in the fourth round before Rick went to his left to stop Tyger Smalls and then set up the game winning finsh for the second straight weekend by Olney.
