After bagging his first hat trick on Sunday night with Philadelphia Union II, homegrown Jeremy Rafanello was named the MLS NEXT Pro Player of the Matchday.
The midfielder collected the Matchday 10 honors after leading the Boys in Blue to a 3-2 comeback victory against defending MLS NEXT Pro Champions Columbus Crew 2 at Subaru Park on Sunday night.
After the Boys in Blue fell into a 2-0 deficit, midfielder CJ Olney made a run on goal, dancing through the box and was taken down by Abdi Mohamed to earn a penalty kick for Union II. Rafanello stepped up to the spot and slotted his shot to the bottom left to cut the deficit to 2-1 in the 32nd minute. Just after the kick off, midfielder CJ Olney and Rafanello provided a spark for Union II once again, combining to level the score at 2-2 with Rafanello’s second goal of the match and fourth of the season.
Union II opened the second half with energy, and in the 49th minute, forward Stefan Stojanovic nearly found the scoresheet on the end of a cross, sending a volley just over the crossbar. Then in the 54th minute, Union II were awarded a free kick just outside the box and nearly completed a hat trick, sending the shot into the side netting.
Forward Jeremy Rafanello completed his hat trick in the 81st minute, scoring a beautiful goal, finding the upper 90 from outside of the box to take the lead for the first time in the match at 3-2.
Rafanello and Union II are back in action this weekend as they face off against FC Cincinnati 2 on Sunday, June 4th. Kick off from Ohio is set for 6 p.m. ET with the match streamed for free on MLSNEXTPro.com.
