Philadelphia Union II met Crown Legacy FC on Wednesday evening at Mecklenburg County Sportsplex, battling to a 2-2 draw.
Early in the first half, Union II's defense held strong, and produced a number of runs on goal. The breakthrough came in the 18th minute when a low cross bounced around the six yard box and forward Stefan Stojanovic was able to finish the gritty play and force the ball over the line to give Union II the 1-0 advantage.
Just before the half, in the 42nd minute, midfielder CJ Olney nearly doubled the Union II lead, forcing a great save from the Crown Legacy goalkeeper and earning a corner kick. CJ Olney then took a corner for Union II after his set-up play and found defender Gino Portella, who registered his first goal of the season to double the advantage to 2-0 in the 43rd minute.
The Union II defense and goalkeeper Andrew Rick were able to lock down the Charlotte attack throughout the first half to preserve the clean sheet heading into the break.
Union II opened the second half with great energy, forcing the Charlotte back line to defend on their heels early on. In the 57th minute, Charlotte was able to pull one back when Iuri Tavares was able to finish a counter attacking move to cut the deficit to one goal.
Crown Legacy was able to tie the match up in the waning moments, with Vinicius Mello finding the back of the net in the 90th minute to force the match to a post regulation shootout. In stoppage time, Union II nearly found a late winner, forcing a double save, but could not beat the Crown Legacy keeper. Union II was not able to secure the extra point through the post regulation shootout, but maintained a hard fought point on the road against first placed Charlotte.
Philadelphia Union II return to Subaru Park on Sunday, May 28 (7:00 p.m. ET / Apple TV) where they play Columbus Crew 2.
