Philadelphia Union II returned to MLS NEXT Pro with a thriller against Chicago Fire II on Sunday afternoon, playing to a 3-3 draw at SeatGeek Stadium. Forward Chris Donovan had a match to remember, scoring his first professional goal and leading the Boys in Blue with a brace while Cole Turner took the captain's armband and started the club's comeback from a two-goal deficit.
Union II appeared to open scoring in the 12th minute on a Chris Donovan goal, but a late offside penalty was called that negated the goal. Chicago Fire FC II then drew a foul in the penalty area, which led to a Victor Bezerra goal to the bottom left corner on a penalty kick. Then in the 37th minute, Chinonso Offor scored on a left footed shot from a long range to double the Chicago Fire FC II lead.
A tense match from the opening whistle resulted in three first half yellow cards being shown between both sides. Union II began second half play with a converted penalty kick by Cole Turner to the center of the goal in the 51st minute, bringing the score to 2-1. Victor Bezerra was then shown consecutive yellow cards in the 52nd and 56th minutes of the second half, leading to an ejection. Union II took advantage of playing a man up, drawing even on a Chris Donovan goal, assisted on a cross by Boubacar Diallo.
After Jack Jasinski was booked for a red card in the 70th minute, Chris Donovan responded with his second goal of the match, giving Union II their first lead. Chinonso Offor then scored his second goal of the match in the first minute of second half stoppage time to draw the score even at 3-3, sending the game to a shootout. In the post-regulation shootout, Chicago Fire FC II won 5-4. With the draw in regulation and shootout loss, Union II dropped to seventh place in the Eastern Conference with six points.
Union II are back at home where they will play New York City FC II on Sunday, April 30 (4:00 p.m. ET / MLSNEXTPro.com). Union Season Ticket Members can attend up to three Union II matches for free this year and all other fans can find tickets here.
