After a three game losing streak, Union II defeated Chicago Fire II 3-2 to get back in the win column.
On a beautiful day in Chester, in sharp contrast to the day prior, Leandro Soria had his first brace in MLS Next Pro to help lead the Philadelphia Union II to victory over Chicago Fire II. David Vazquez, in his first appearance since returning from the Concacaf U20 Championships, also scored what would be the game winner. Mike Sheridan had a strong performance in goal with a career-high seven saves.
The win had extra special meaning, as team captain Kyle Tucker’s father passed away earlier in the week. The team honored Kyle and his father, Roger, with condolences over the PA system at the beginning of the game, holding up Kyle’s jersey for the team photo and when Soria scored the first goal, and Frankie Westfield and CJ Olney wearing special “RT” armbands during the game.
Photo credit: Philadelphia Union II
For much of the first half, Union II seemed to be lacking cohesiveness. Chicago’s Peter Soudan got around Mike Sheridan to score the first goal of the match in the 38′, but Leandro Soria netted the equalizer in the 42′ via an assist from David Vazquez. In his goal celebration, Soria held up Kyle Tucker’s jersey as the crowd went wild and the Union II seemed to change the momentum.
In the 55′, Cavan Sullivan took the ball down the right side with some speedy skill and crossed the ball toward goal where it deflected off the hand of the keeper and straight into Soria’s head, who promptly blasted the ball into the net to make the score 2-1. In second half stoppage time, David Vazquez received a pass from Diego Rocio, made a crafty dodge of a defender, and rocketed the ball into the net to seemingly ice the game. Chicago Fire II were not done, however, and scored their second goal courtesy of David Poreba, MLS Next Pro’s leading goal scorer, in the waning moments. Union II would finish off the game and hold the 3-2 lead to get their first victory in almost a month. They currently are in second place in the East and third overall in the standings.
Coach Marlon LeBlanc’s post game comments
Union II coach Marlon LeBlanc, who always has a strong focus on development in the players, had frustrations despite the win, saying “The result in itself, I could care less about. I hate the way we conceded that goal right after scoring… it’s more about these guys and their performances and trying to get them to the next level.”
Several of his players have, in fact, gotten to the next level. The most recent homegrown signing, CJ Olney, has made one appearance with the first team, and Marlon noted he was “super proud” of CJ. He commented, “CJ has not had this rising pathway. There’s been ups and peaks and and there’s been some valleys along the way, but he’s earned everything he’s gotten, and I think, honestly, you’re talking about a 17 year old kid- the best is still yet to come from him.” Marlon went on to note that players like Cavan Sullivan, CJ Olney, and David Vazquez having made it to the next level, and eventually Neil Pierre will get there too- serve as examples for the next crop of players coming up through, and guys like CJ lead the way. “I’m incredibly proud of him and he serves as one heck of … an example of how this process can work, and work for players to make it to the first team.”
CJ Olney on his new homegrown contract
CJ Olney beamed with enthusiasm when talking about what it meant for him to sign his homegrown contract. He remarked, “I mean it’s a dream come true, it’s something that when I started playing soccer, my teacher in kindergarten asked what do you want to be when you grow up and I said soccer player, and here I am. So it’s really cool to put the pen on the paper and finally make it official, so I’m through the moon happy.”
David Vazquez on his time with the U20 national team
David Vazquez returned to the lineup after being with the USA U20 team in the Concacaf U20 Championships. He spoke about his time away, saying “Overall the experience was was unbelievable, guys from all over the world coming together and fighting for that championship. We didn’t get the result we wanted, but I think we played our hearts out.”
Mike Sheridan’s solid performance
Mike Sheridan made some huge saves in the game, however a late goal was conceded shortly after David Vazquez had scored. Mike discussed that goal: “I mean, we’re a young group, stuff like that happens where guys just… it’s a mental lapse. You got to focus, you got to see it out. We’re such a young group, stuff happens like that, but they’re all going to learn from it, that’s not going to happen again. It’s all we can do.” Additionally, as Marlon and others have said, the lineup changes frequently due to first team players coming in, some players going up to the first team, and academy players coming in. Some players have been training with the first team a lot, so the cohesiveness of the team sometimes takes a little bit of a toll. It is all part of the development process, though, and the Union II staff are finding a lot of success.
Other Union II notes
-The first and second team supporters groups blended together for the day as the Sons of Ben and the Bridge Brigade combined to support Union II. It was a great crowd to cheer on the boys in blue, and hopefully encourages more people to attend the matches.
-Union II forward Eddy Davis is reportedly trialing at Lyngby Boldklub in Denmark, of the Danish Superliga, which the Union have a strategic investment in. He still is second in goals in MLS Next Pro at 11.
-Kyle Almoney interviewed Marlon LeBlanc and Leandro Soria at practice last Thursday ahead of the Chicago Fire II match:
Union II will travel to York Lions Stadium to face Toronto FC II on Sunday, August 18 at 3:00 PM. Union II won 4-0 the last time they faced them.
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