Unbeaten Philadelphia Union II battles for the Eastern Conference lead as they renew their rivalry with New York Red Bulls II on Sunday afternoon at Subaru Park with the action only on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
Union II is off to its best MLS NEXT Pro start in club history with Head Coach Marlon LeBlanc's side unbeaten in regulation through five matches and owning the best goal differential in the Eastern Conference. The squad is riding high with momentum after a 5-0 thumping of Atlanta United 2 on Monday night which saw Chris Donovan bag a brace and two free kick goals from visiting side. After CJ Olney opened up his 2024 scoring account, team captain Kyle Tucker recorded a memorable first professional goal that earned him MLS NEXT Pro's Goal of the Matchweek.
Like Union II, Red Bulls II are also unbeaten in MLS NEXT Pro action through their first five contests. The Eastern Conference leading Red Bulls II are coming off a chaotic 5-5 result against Chicago Fire II that took place last week. Forward Roald Mitchell made league history during the clash, with an 18-minute hat trick to open the match, the fastest in MLS NEXT Pro history to start a match. Mitchell wasn’t done as he extended the lead to 4-0 late in the first half but the Fire turned the momentum late with a pair of penalty kick goals to make it a two-goal margin at halftime. Chicago continued to score with another penalty kick trimming the score to 4-3 before an own goal went to the benefit of New York Red Bulls II which made it 5-3 with less than a half hour to play. The lead didn’t last with two goals in seven minutes sending the match to a shootout from the penalty spot that ultimately went in Red Bull II’s favor.
Unfortunately Mitchell will not take part in the match for the visiting side due to a season-ending knee injury suffered in the match. He'll be different to replace with the 21-year old's eight goals accounting for 61.5 percent of all their goals thus far. One canditate to fill in the scoring role is Ibrahim Kasule, March’s MLS NEXT Pro Player of the Month, whose the only player with multiple goals scored for Red Bulls II.
