Trailing by two goals on the road against a more experienced side, Philadelphia Union II fought back with two goals late to collect a 3-3 draw in the latest exhibition against Hartford Athletic.
Union II saw seven members of the first team make the trip north to Connecticut as goalkeeper Greg Ranjitsingh saw his first minutes with the organization. Six Union homegrowns too made Union II Head Coach Marlon LeBlanc’s starting XI with Brandan Craig, Nathan Harriel, Cole Turner, Jack McGlynn, Paxten Aaronson and Quinn Sullivan each contributing to the club’s success.
Hartford Athletic struck first in the contest, beating Ranjitsingh in the third minute of play on a strike from Bradford Jamieson IV. The Boys in Blue fought back into the contest and found the equalizer in the 13th minute. Homegrown Harriel found space on the right side of the pitch a threaded a perfectly weighted cross to the back post that Union Academy forward Caden Stafford tapped in for the 1-1 scoreline.
Ten minutes later, Ranjitsingh was called into action with the veteran making back-to-back difficult saves to prevent the USL Championship side from reclaiming the lead. On the other end of the pitch, Harriel nearly collected a second assist but the keeper came off his line to stop the back post volley.
With halftime looming both sides pushed for a second goal with Paxten Aaronson seeing a strong 1v1 run end up with a shot off the post while Hartford notched the go-ahead goal on a headed corner from Thomas Janjigian in the 43rd minute.
The second half saw the physicality raised as both second-half substitutes looked to make an impact on the contest. After Aaronson was stopped in the 52nd minute, Hartford grabbed a 3-1 advantage on a 58th minute goal from Juan Carlos Obergon Jr.
Trailing by a pair of goals, Union 2 kept fighting and cut the deficit in half on a set piece goal from Sullivan. After strong service into the box, the homegrown won the second ball at the back post and slotted it into the back of the net to make it 3-2.
Union 2 found even more set piece success on the tying goal in the 84th minute as Shanyder Boregelin won the service and saw his shot ring off the crossbar. Fellow substitute Jack Jasinski quickly tapped home the rebound to complete the road comeback.
Philadelphia Union 2 continues its preseason slate this weekend as the club hosts Loudoun United on Sunday, April 25th at the Power Training Complex.
SCORING SUMMARY
HFD – Bradford Jamison IV (Gabriel Torres) 3’
PHI – Caden Stafford (Nathan Harriel) 13’
HFD – Thomas Janjigian 43’
HFD – Juan Carlos Obergon Jr. (Danny Barrera) 59’
PHI – Quinn Sullivan 62’
PHI – Jack Jasinski 84’
LINEUPS
Philadelphia Union II: Greg Ranjitsingh; Jackson Gilman, Brandan Craig, Mani Diop, Nathan Harriel (Jack Jasinski 74’); Cole Turner (Anthony Ramirez 74’), Dante Huckaby, Jack McGlynn, Quinn Sullivan (Ian Abbey 74’); Paxten Aaronson (Trialist 70’, Jake Spadafora 83’), Caden Stafford (Shanyder Borgelin 70’).
Substitutes not used: Ben Martino
