Philadelphia Union II midfielder Jack McGlynn made club history Saturday night but it wasn’t enough as the club concluded its 2020 USL Championship with a 2-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Riverhounds via another late goal.
McGlynn capped off his rookie campaign with his fifth goal of the season with a second-half equalizer from the penalty spot. With his fifth goal not only did the 17-year-old become the 14th player to hit that milestone, he became the youngest to do so.
With a pair of lopsided losses serving as motivation for the club, Union II focused on his defensive strategy and compacted the midfield to force the Riverhounds to create only on the flanks. The gameplan was executed strongly along with some big stops from Union Academy goalkeeper Ben Martino. Making the state against his former Academy host, Martino was passed his first two tests with stops in the sixth minute and as well as a reaction save off of a 15th minute corner. Seconds later the pesky Riverhounds regained possession and found the back of the net with a finish from Ray Lee.
Trailing by a goal, Union II maintained is composure and turned the match on its head in the second half of the contest. After a few halftime adjustments, Union II was more decisive and direct in the final third and it paid off with a penalty kick chance. After a defensive takeaway future Union homegrown Nathan Harriel threaded a long ball over Pittsburgh’s back three where Patrick Bohui raced under the ball. Bohui found space inside the Riverhounds box and was fouled to set up McGlynn’s tying goal in the 63rd minute.
Union II kept its foot on the pedal and nearly took the lead late with a pair of chances off a set piece of their own however as the clock struck the 90th minute, the match saw a result slip away as the Riverhounds scored off a corner kick late in stoppage time.
