Philadelphia Union II takes their winning ways on the road for a Friday night battle under the lights against New York City FC II. Don't miss the action starting at 8:30PM ET with the game broadcast for free on MLSNEXTPro.com.
Union II enters the contest having won four of its last five contests and is coming off an impressive 3-1 victory over a veteran Chattanooga FC side last week. Facing a team that averaged five years senior their age, Union II started the match strong with Eddy Davis III scoring his ninth goal of the season in the sixth minute as he put home a goal set up by CJ Olney. The Tenessee side battled back and found the equalizer off a set piece in the 34th minute of play to take momentum into the break. Head Coach Marlon LeBlanc rallied the group during the break and they came out flying with strong defense turning into the second Union II goal. Carlos Rojas stepped up the pitch to win a tackle and spark a scoring chance. The center back shot a pass on the left side to Westfield in the attacking third. The Union II captain turned and threaded a hard pass into the six for Cavan Sullivan who took a touch with his right and blasted a shot on the grass with his left for his first goal at Subaru Park. Substitute Leandro Soria got his chance to add an insurance goal and coverted in the 71st minute as he put himself in a strong position to tap home a saved shot from Markus Anderson to seal the win.
The Boys in Blue find themselves still in a tight battle with FC Cincinnati 2 with the Eastern Conference lead seperated by three points after 17 matches have been played. NYCFC II finds itself sitting in fifth place however the side has play only 14 matches and currently ranks third in the table based on points per game with 1.93.
A quick glance at the stats seems to predict that Friday's clash will be a low scoring affair with both teams having owning the best defensive record in the East with only 19 goals conceeded. The Union defense will feature some change with Neil Pierre suspended for the match after receiving his fifth yellow card of the season which could see a center back pairing featuring Olwethu Makhanya, Randy Meneses, Carlos Rojas, or Gavin Wetzel. Philly should certainly put the New York defense under pressure though with the top offense in the league with 39 goals scored with Davis III leading the way with nine. The Union Academy graduate sits two goals back in the race for the Golden Boot while CJ Olney leads the way with 10 assists.
Like the Union, NYCFC II are on fire having not lost in regulation since May. During their seven-game unbeaten streak, they've claimed three points in five contests and won one of their three penalty kick shootouts. The squad from New York is coming off a 2-0 road win at Chicago Fire FC II with Piero Elias breaking the deadlock in the 49th minute of play. 17-year-old midfielder Jonathan Shore added the insurance goal in stoppage time for his fifth goal of the season. Union II's defense will certainly be keyed in on Shore but also forward Taylor Calheira who saw his five-game scoring streak conclude in the Windy City.
