The reigning MLS Next Pro Eastern Conference Champions, Philadelphia Union II, are gearing up for a new season and look to build on last year’s successes. Like the first team, this squad also has a new head coach as Ryan Richter moves from assistant coach of the first team to this role.
Rhode Island FC
Union II will kick off their preseason matches on February 2nd at 1pm versus defending USL Championship Eastern Conference Champions, Rhode Island FC who, after a remarkable first season as club, will look to continue their winning ways in 2025.
Last year, Rhode Island finished 5th in the eastern conference with 12 wins, 7 losses, and 15 draws and ranked 3rd in USL with a +15 goal differential. They then parlayed that in a historical run in the USL Playoffs making it all the way to the Championship match before losing to Colorado Springs Switchbacks 3-0.
Two names that Union fans might remember from their time spent on the Union II staff are Karl Spratt and Dave McKay, both of whom are now assistants with Rhode Island FC. Spratt was the Assistant Coach for Philadelphia Union II and Head of Goalkeeping for the Philadelphia Union Academy during his time with the club, while McKay served as Assistant Coach and Performance Coach for Philadelphia Union from 2019 to 2021 prior to coming to Rhode Island.
Tampa Bay Rowdies
The baby snakes will then face another USL Championship side in the Tampa Bay Rowdies on February 8th at 1pm. For those of you that are not familiar with the Rowdies, they have been in and out of the USA professional soccer landscape since 1975 when they won the NASL Cup that year.
Last year in the USL Championship, the Rowdies finished just behind Rhode Island FC in 6th place in the East with 14 wins, 12 losses, and 8 draws. Former Union Academy midfielder from Brazil, Leo Fernandez (20 goals and 9 assists in 2022), is part the Rowdies squad after scoring 3 goals and 4 assists in 2024. Also, former Union center back Damion Lowe spent time with the Rowdies.
University of South Florida
Wrapping up their preseason camp in Florida, Union II will then face NCAA Soccer Division I opponent University of South Florida on February 14th at 11am. The Bulls finished their 2024 campaign 6-6-4 and were knocked out of the first round of The American Men’s Soccer Tournament by 3 seed Charlotte 1-0.
Fun fact: Does anyone reading this remember that the first team played USF in 2011 and beat them 2-0? Anyway, there is a Union tie here as well as former Union Academy goalkeeper Tim Divine is a member of the squad. He did not see any action in 2024 but perhaps he will get some spring minutes against Union II.
Westchester SC
The Union will return back to Chester for training following their match on February 14th. To wrap up their preseason schedule the Union will face new upstart USL League 1 squad Westchester SC (Not to be confused with the West Chester United Predators) on February 22nd which is the same day that Philadelphia Union kick off that night in Orlando.
For Union fans, its a fun fact that Union will bookend their preseason matches with teams of the older brother of one of their own. Conor McGlynn, who is the older brother of Jack McGlynn, spent 2024 with Rhode Island FC. While his time in Rhode Island did not work out for him, he gets a fresh start in Westchester.
There is no word yet from the club if the game with Westchester would be open to the public, but it would be a great idea to boost second team support to allow fans to come check out the new Union II that day and drum up support for those players.
Meanwhile, several players who spent significant, if not all of their time with Union II in 2024, are currently in Marbella, Spain with the first team and looking to make an impression. Markus Anderson, Eddy Davis, Olwethu Makhanya, Sal Olivas, CJ Olney, Nick Pariano, Neil Pierre, Andrew Rick, Mike Sheridan, Cavan Sullivan, David Vazquez, and Frankie Westfield have made the trip, and all but Sheridan got minutes in the first friendly versus Slavia Prague.
Stay tuned for more Union II news as the season gets ready to roll!
(Kyle Almoney contributed to this article. Thank you to José Nuñez for contributing stats and other information for this article)
Main article photo courtesy of Philadelphia Union II
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