Gavin Wetzel scored in stoppage time but a late penalty kick goal saw Philadelphia Union II fall to Columbus Crew 2 on Sunday evening.
The Eastern Conference leading Union II turned to quite a different looking lineup with David Vazquez with the U.S. Under-20 Men's Youth National Team for the 2024 Concacaf Men's U-20 Championship in Mexico along with Frankie Westfield, CJ Olney and Andrew Rick appearing on the Union’s Leagues Cup matchday roster on Saturday night. The changes saw Jamir Berdecio shift to left back while Nick Pariano had to take a more attacking role in the midfield alongside team captain Kyle Tucker. The front three saw homegrown Cavan Sullivan just behind Markus Anderson and Eddy Davis III.
The road side came out looking to pressure the Crew’s backline with constant pressing all over the pitch from the front line of Davis and Anderson. With the duo pushed forward, it created direct scoring chances and earned early corner kick. Tucker whipped in a cross that was cleared out but a quick throw in saw Sullivan attempt to score for the second time in a week inside Historic Crew Stadium but saw it stopped with a diving attempt.
Philly’s defense created another scoring chance in the 21st minute as homegrown Nick Pariano gathered possession and shook off a defender before ripping a left-footed shot inside the 18. The midfield was denied the opening goal as Stanislav Lapkes made the reaction stop but continued to be under pressure from Union II. On the next attacking wave, Tucker backheeled a central pass to Davis for a one-timer that again was saved by the Columbus goalkeeper.
The Boys in Blue continued to knock on the door for the opening goal as an attack up the left flank sent Anderson into the box. With just the keeper to beat, the delivered a powerful shot that again was saved. On the rebound, Union II again got the ball out wide with a cross for their Golden Boot challenger Davis but the headed attempt was just off the mark.
As the Ohio side tried to solve the Union’s pressure, Columbus was finally able to deliver a scoring chance in the 36th minute. Crew 2 drove high up the field with a right sided attack that stretched Philly’s backline. As they retreated to goal, Columbus cut a pass to the top of the box where Owen Presthus unleashed a blast that was saved by goalkeeper Mike Sheridan.
Columbus broke through on their next attack as Presthus led a counter attack from the left side and delivered a perfectly weighted cross that was headed into the back of the net by Anthony Alaouieh in the 39th minute.
With three minutes added to the first half, Union II used every second of it to try and find an equalizer before the break. After absorbing a half chance from the homeside, the Boys in Blue pushed with a second attack as Sullivan raced into the box and opted for the back post cross to Anderson but missed by a matter of inches.
Like the city on their crest, the Boys in Blue were resilient and kept grinding as they knew their club philosophy would present more chances at an equalizer. That paid dividents with a counter attack in the 53rd minute that began at the top of the Union’s 18. Makhanya started the action with a tackle at the edge of the box which was quickly read by Pierre who stepped forward to gain possession. The 16-year-old defender shot a pass to Ngabo to spark the counter as the midfielder raced pass the center stripe. Facing a 3v3 attack, the 20-year-old threaded a pass to Davis inside the Crew 2 box where he patiently took a touch to gather space before floating it over the keeper and inside the back post.
With the match back on level footing, both sides sought to find a go-ahead goal as Philly thought they were on the verge of a dangerous scoring chance inside the Crew’s box as Markus Anderson forced a turnover but was ruled offside. On the other end of the pitch, Sheridan and Wetzel came up with a big block at the door step as they teamed up to deny a possible finish from Alaouieh.
Head Coach Marlon LeBlanc made a trio of changes just after the hour mark as Sal Olivas, Kellan LeBlanc and Carlos Rojas replaced Davis, Ngabo and Tucker. The fresh legs denied the Crew of trying to build through the middle of the pitch as they were forced to slow any potential attacks. Meanwhile the Boys in Blue got their first chance to take the lead in the 78th minute as Sullivan hit a pass to his U-17 teammate Kellan LeBlanc for a curler but saw it blocked out for a corner.
Columbus made an impact change in the 79th minute as forward Jayden Da replaced the goalscoring Alaouieh. Less than a minute later Da put the homeside ahead as he took a floated volley from Brent Adu-Gyamfi that barely got over Makhanya and put it past Sheridan to make it 2-1.
Philly countered with a pair of attacking substitutions as Jamir Johnson and Leandro Soria replaced Pariano and Anderson to add pace out on the flank against a tiring Crew 2 defense. End to end action saw Da commit back to back yellow cards and get sent off in the 90th minute to give the Union an advantage on the pitch. On the ejection worthy foul, the referee gave advantage to Philly as Johnson gained possession from Berdecio before being upended by the Crew 2 forward. The U-17 attacker raced forward and laid it off to LeBlanc for a curling shot that skipped in front of the Columbus net but just wide.
Philly kept pushing and with numbers in the attack, made their advantage pay off in the second minute of stoppage time. Makhanya pushed up the pitch and shot a pass out wide to Sullivan. The 14-year-old MLS record breaker teed up a perfect cross before going out of bounds that bounced to the far side of the box. Gavin Wetzel raced into the cross and slotted it perfectly pass the keeper for his first MLS NEXT Pro goal.
The match wasn’t done with momentum swing as the homeside made one final attempt to prevent the match from going to a penalty kick shootout. Adrián González raced into the box and collided with a Union II defender that quickly saw a point to the spot by the referee. With seconds left in the contest, Gibran Rayo sent Sheridan the wrong way to deliver the game-winning finish from the penalty spot.
Union II returns to Subaru Park for a big contest on Friday afternoon against FC Cincinnati 2. The top two teams in the Eastern Conference face off for the final time in the regular season on Friday, August 2nd with kick off set for 3PM ET. Tickets for the match can be purchased online by clicking here.
