Philadelphia Union II claimed the MLS NEXT Pro Eastern Conference Championship, defeating Columbus Crew 2 by a 4-0 margin in front of the largest second-team crowd in club history.
Union II turned in a dominant display on both ends of the field with three different goalscorers on the scoresheet while limiting the two-time Eastern Conference Champions to just one shot on the night. Union forward Markus Anderson bookended the the contest with a brace to help Union II on the socring front, finding the back of the net in the 16th minute to put the home side ahead. 15-year-old Cavan Sullivan sent Subaru Park into frenzy with his second golazo of the season against the Ohio side in the 42nd minute to put the Boys in Blue in the driver's seat.
The second half was all Union II with vice captain Frankie Westfield bagging a goal just before the hour mark before Anderson completed the brace.
With the win, Union II will represent the Eastern Conference at MLS NEXT Pro Cup 2024 and will travel to Western Conference Champions North Texas SC for the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro Cup on Saturday, November 9th. Kick off from Toyota Stadium is set for 8:30PM ET.
Rolling with the exact same lineup from their Semifinal victory last week, Union II showed no fear against the two-time defending Eastern Conference Champion as they stuck to their high press philosophy. That pressure and intensity was on display throughout the entire first half as they didn’t concede a single shot and won nearly every duel against the champs.
Their high pressing intent showed early on as Cavan Sullivan and Frankie Westfield sought to connect with single-season scoring record holder Eddy Davis III only to see it cleared away in the box inside the 10th minute.
Just as the visiting side looked like they were growing into the contest with their possession based attack, Union II forced a turnover and quickly went forward with a diagonal ball from David Vazquez sending CJ Olney into space on the left flank. The postseason hero of the past two matches delivered hard cross into the box where Davis shielded out a Columbus defender to allow Markus Anderson the back post blast into the back of the net.
Philly didn’t step off the accelerator but instead kept on pushing as they nearly found a second goal in the 21st minute. With a play off the training ground, David Vazquez sent in a cross that quickly was headed to the boots of 15-year-old Sullivan inside the box but forced a half clearance from the visitors. The possession was down however as the Boys in Blue recovered and sent in a second cross that Westfield headed just wide. Just after the half hour mark the Union turned up the pressure again with Sullivan picking the pocket of a Crew 2 defender and seconds later unleashing a blast from the top of the 18 that went wide.
That movement was a precursor as Crew 2 was seeing déjà vu in the 42nd minute as Sullivan notched his second long-range golazo against the Ohio side. Receiving a pass from Nick Pariano off a won duel, the midfielder quickly attacked centrally before ripping a left footed shot that crashed off a defender but had enough power behind it to remain on target and past the keeper.
The second half saw Crew 2 seek a jump start to their offense after failing to register a single shot on goal and only three touches inside the box Taha Habroune replacing Gibran Rayo.
Despite the change, it was still the home team playing like they needed a goal as they rattled woodwork off a header from Neil Pierre in the 48th minute before the rebound by Davis was blocked. A few minutes later the Union midfield was once again putting Crew 2 in trouble was Vazquez and Sullivan forced the defense to stay on their heels.
That allowed space to open up atop the box and Union II captain Frankie Westfield delivered the exclamation mark with a long-range blast that snuck through the defense and into the history books.
The offense continued to roll with Vazquez denied a stunning goal only to set up the rebound for Anderson in the 74th minute.
