CHESTER, Pa. — Philadelphia Union II find themselves on a bye week after securing their third consecutive draw to start the season last Friday on the road against Huntsville City FC. We recapped that match earlier in the week, where Ryan Richter’s squad fell in penalty kicks 4-3, making the team 1-2 in shootouts so far this season.

However, speaking with Richter on Wednesday after training, he continues to see improvement from his squad, even in these first three games.

“I thought we created enough chances that we should normally put the game away at 3-1, and then hopefully more,” Richter said. “After that, we didn’t get the third goal. They scored and got momentum, and then it was tough to end the game for us. But there were a lot of positives from the game and a lot of things we can correct. We went away from it, but we were able to show the guys some things we could do better.”

A few additional notes from that match: Forward Sal Olivas scored his first goal of the 2025 MLS NEXT Pro season. Olivas became the first forward to score for the second team this season, and while it is still early, Richter knows that goal is important for the young forward’s confidence.

“It’s huge,” Richter said. “And you see how many chances he had in the game. The thing that I challenged him with is, look, you ran your tail off, you held the ball up great, got into some incredibly dangerous positions, and scored a great goal. But you could have scored three more. So that’s my challenge for him—take those chances. So it’s great. It’s great to see him confident in the way he’s playing, and then to get the goal was a good step in the right direction.”

Another forward who made his first appearance since the MLS NEXT Pro Cup Final last year was Markus Anderson, who is working his way back from injury. Anderson played 25 minutes and recorded two shots, and for Richter, it was good to see him back on the pitch.

“It was cool for him to be able to come in and contribute. He had one or two chances that I know he wishes he would have taken. But overall, he came in with the right attitude and tried to help the team.”

Anderson unfortunately ended the Union’s chances of winning in penalty kicks. After his first shot was saved by Huntsville City goalkeeper Erik Lauta, referee Alex Beehler deemed Lauta off his line, giving Anderson a second opportunity at the kick. However, Lauta saved Anderson’s shot again, and Union II went on to lose in penalties.

While Richter and Union II fans argued that the Huntsville City keeper was off his line the second time as well, Richter was quick to point out that Anderson could have done better.

“The ref was maybe nervous because the crowd booed the first time. Maybe he was a little nervous for that, I don’t know. But normally, he should do his job, and the penalty should go again. But we should do our job, and if you have two chances at a penalty, you should score.”

In other match notes, defender Rafael Uzcátegui made his MLS NEXT Pro debut on Friday.

With the off week, there is a chance for improvement. Eddy Davis was on the pitch training on Wednesday. The Union II leading scorer from last season had been out with a minor injury, Richter commented, but the forward will be good to go next week.

As for the focus of the bye week?

“I think if you look at some of the attacking transition moments that we created in the game, we didn’t finish them off in the right way. So that’s been the focus this week—continuing the good things that we did to get in these positions, but then making sure they end with goals and not missed chances.”

“We go week to week knowing the guys need to get better. They need to improve individually and collectively. And like I said, doing it for 90 minutes—I think you’ve seen improvements in each game, but it’s never been a complete performance. So that’s where we need to work as a group to make sure we get there.”

In addition to Richter, I had the opportunity to speak with young Philadelphia Academy product Zach Mastrodimos. The 18-year-old midfielder has appeared in all three Union II games so far this season, already eclipsing his total starts and minutes from 2024.

I asked him what he thought the difference was from this year to last year.

“It feels great being able to double my minutes already this season. It’s a little unfortunate—the ties. Hoping we can win the next couple of games. I thought I’ve been playing well, but there’s always room for improvement. You know, just breaking into the starting 11 feels great, but there are always opportunities and different ways I can improve my play.”

When I asked him what areas he feels he can improve in, Mastrodimos was quick to comment about where he sees himself at this point in his career.

“I want to improve on the ball—being able to create more when I win the ball, finding an option that’s threatening in behind or creating scoring opportunities. And I think I’ve improved from last year—my awareness on the field. You know, like, I know there’s a player here, I gotta go the other way because he’s a defender, or it’s an attacker, and my teammate’s making a run through. And I see it more often than not.”

The young midfielder, like Richter, has also seen improvement in the attack over the last few matches and remains optimistic that the squad will get there soon.

“We’re getting those chances. And it’s just a little unfortunate that at the end of games, we’re not able to close it out. But we’ve been working on that, and we’re getting there. You know, we got a lot of shots on goal in the last game. We’re right there. So it’s just about being able to finish our chances.”

Philadelphia Union II return home to Subaru Park on Thursday, April 10, at 7 p.m. against Ramzi Qawasmy’s former club from a year ago, Atlanta United 2. If you are not able to make it out to Subaru Park for that match, you can catch it on Apple TV as part of the MLS Season Package.

Main Photo: Philadelphia Union II