On July 18, Philadelphia Union II was crestfallen as they walked off the Subaru Park pitch. An 89th minute winner from TFCII buried them deep in the Eastern Conference standings after Matt Real had heroically tied the match in the 70th.
But The Union Way starts with one thing: Mentality.
Since that loss, Union II is undefeated, and the impetus has come from Union first team players that have made it their mission to bring the right mentality to every minute of Union II action they get.
This epic run has lifted Union II into playoff position, and Real has been at the heart of it all, knocking in two more goals. Paxten Aaronson has added two of his own, and Jesus Bueno has put together an eye-popping one-goal-per-game scoring rate from his holding midfield role.
Incredibly, Union II has hit the accelerator while still struggling with their close-out defense. The team has jelled into a strong unit during the first 75 minutes of matches, but late goals continue to be a concern. If Marlon LeBlanc’s men can clean that up, they will find themselves more than ready to face Columbus Crew 2 and TFCII, the undisputed top teams in MLS NEXT Pro’s Eastern Conference.
First, though, Union II has a midweek matchup with NYCFC II. The rivals from the north have scored 12 more goals than Union II this season, largely through star striker John Denis. At only 5’8”, Denis is not an overpowering box presence, but he’s proven difficult to stop and still has a chance at the league’s Golden Boot.
But as good as Union II has been recently, NYCFC II has been that far in the dumps. After scoring 14 goals in three games over the June-July hump, they have scored only two in their last five while giving up a whopping 13. This simply cannot continue, though whether they break out of this slump against Union II or over the weekend will likely come down to whether Bueno, Real, and the rest of the Union players that have been so instrumental in Union II’s recent success are made available.
Tune in Wednesday, August 24, at 6:00 p.m. ET as Union II travel to Belson Stadium to take on NYCFC II in a huge MLS NEXT Pro matchup that will be featured as the league's Game of the Week, streamed live on MLSNEXTPro.com.
