A youthful Philadelphia Union II squad couldn’t completed the regular season sweep of rivals New York Red Bulls II, falling by a 4-1 margin at Subaru Park.
Philly and New York were well acquainted with each other with Wednesday’s match the third time the two rivals had squared off this season. With match direct styles, it was the visiting side that had the scoring chances early with a threaded ball from Tanner Rosborough to Frank Ssebufu nearly turning into the opening goal four minutes in. Union II’s Carlos Rojas was properly positioned in the showdown, staying with the Red Bulls II forward to deny a shot on frame and concede a corner. One minute later it was Red Bull and Ssebufu getting on the board as they forced a turnover to quickly set up a 5v2 counter attack at the foot of Malick Dembele. Rojas came up to try and cut down the play but the ball got around him to set up a 1v1 for the Red Bulls forward which he converted with a rocket into the upper netting.
Trailing by a goal, Union II looked to respond quickly with Academy graduate Eddy Davis III attempting the first shot for the homeside from the top of the 18 but seeing it saved by the keeper. Two minutes later, homegrown Cavan Sullivan took a pass from the sideline and made a darting run into the attacking area. With the Red Bull defense all trained on the 14-year-old midfielder, he laid off a pass to Giovanny Sequera for a one-timer that forced a save once again.
Union II saw its momentum stifled by a pair lengthy stoppages that started with Carlos Rojas going down in the box as he attacked a corner kick and collided with a defender. Moments later Sal Olivas was taken down with a crunching tackle. After play resumed with all 11 men back on the pitch for Union II, Red Bulls added a second with a fortunate deflection as Dembele hit a cross that ricochetted off Rojas in the 29th minute. Goalkeeper Holden Trent gave his best effort to punch the ball over however the spin saw the ball go over his leap and into the back of the net.
Down by a pair of goals, Union II turned to its press to generate a scoring chance and found success in the 38th minute when Sullivan intercepted a pass at midfield and pushed forward. As the midfielder attacked, he flicked a pass out wide to Olivas to continue offensive build up on the right side. The Union II forward ripped a cross centrally to Davis III. Instead of attempting the shot, Davis III went to the back heel pass to set up a driving shot from Nick Pariano but the left-footed effort went just wide of the far post.
The pair of lengthy stoppages along with a hydration break presented 10 minutes for the Boys in Blue to grab momentum heading into the break. In the third minute of added time, Vice Captain Frankie Westfield flicked a ball over the top for darting run from Pariano. With the Red Bull defense in recovery mode, the Union homegrown shot a cross on the grass to a crashing Davis III for the toe-poke finish but saw the effort again go just wide. Union II kept pushing as in the final seconds of half a quick restart from Sullivan saw a perfectly floated ball to Pariano on the right side unmarked. A deft touch took the midfielder into the box for a left-footed attempt that the keeper collected to preserve the two-goal advantage for New York Red Bulls II at the break.
Head Coach Marlon LeBlanc made two changes at the break to send on Sanders Ngabo and Leandro Soria in place of Pariano and Olivas. 37 seconds into the half, Union II got its first chance to trim the deficit to one with Sequera getting the ball out wide to Jamir Berdecio for a crossing opportunity. The Bolivian defender whipped in a pass with his right foot for the back post run from Sullivan however the one timer ended up on the wrong side of the net with the ball rattling the side netting out of play. Moments later again Sullivan found a scoring chance after receiving a leading pass into the box from Davis III. With an inside out shot with the laces of his left boot, the keeper made the low save. Soria used his fresh legs to press and force a turnover right outside the Red Bulls box and again fed the homegrown midfielder with a threaded pass toward the penalty spot but alas the shot went wide and saw a sigh of relief from the New Jersey defense.
Just past the hour mark the match saw its third lengthy stoppage for treatment but this time for a member of Red Bulls II. When play resumed, the visitors immediately added to their lead as a free kick went short to Curtis Ofori for a cross into the box the Dembele headed home in the 64th minute to make it 3-0.
Kyle Tucket and Alex Perez joined the contest four minutes after the deficit grew to add fresh legs to the midfield, taking the place of Rojas and Sequera. The visitors didn’t sit back as substitute Juan Mina ripped a shot from long distance that rang off the post. The rebound fell right back to Ssebufu however Westfield put his body on the line to block the shot as he keeper regained his balance after the previous attempt. Red Bulls II added a fourth in the 73rd minute from the penalty spot as Rafael Mosquera unleashed a blast to the same side as Trent’s diving attempt.
In the 84th minute, Union II broke through on the the Red Bulls defense with Eddy Davis III rising up to head home a cross from Westfield. Davis’s finish was his sixth goal of the 2024 season while Westfield collected his fourth helper of the campaign.
Union II concludes June with a trip north of the border to take on Toronto FC II on Sunday afternoon. The two Eastern Conference sides will square off at York Lions Stadium with the match broadcast for free on MLSNEXTPro.com starting at 2PM.
