Two players from Special Olympics Philadelphia will represent Philadelphia Union at the sixth annual Special Olympics Unified Sports All-Star Soccer Showcase, presented by MLS WORKS and ESPN, as part of Major League Soccer's All-Star Week festivities from July 27-31 in Orlando, Fla.
Zachery Gender(Unified All-Star Athlete) and Emmanuel Molina (Partner) will sport the Union's navy and gold on the Unified Sports Eastern Conference All-Star team. The duo will play in an East-versus-West, 11-versus-11 match featuring Unified players from other MLS clubs on July 31 at 9:30 a.m. ET at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
Gender is a forward but also plays in net while his partner Molina brings versatility beyond his preferred winger spot. The duo attends George Washington High School and competed in May's Philadelphia Unified Soccer Championship.
Their coach, Kathy Paul, describes Molina as one of the best partners she has ever coached while Zac has flourished through his participation in Unified Sports and is a member of the high school's junior varsity soccer team.