In Murfreesboro, Tennessee at the MLS Next Cup U15 Final, the Philadelphia Union’s Academy squad faced off against Atlanta United and took home the trophy with a dominant 3-0 victory. After advancing in a thrilling penalty shootout in the semifinals, the Union were facing an Atlanta side that had been stingy when it came to conceding goals. The Union began with a lot of pressure, peppering the Atlanta goal with shots in the early going. They finally found the breakthrough in the 34th minute as Timoni Gbalajobi found the back of the net after a couple shots were blocked.
The first half ended with a shot by Atlanta that just went a little wide, but it seemed to give them a little hope, and after being outshot 12-2 in the first half, Atlanta seemed to start the second half with a bit of renewed energy. However, that hope was diminished as the Union went up 2-0 in the 57th on a beauty of a goal by Sam Gallego.
The Union continued to be the more dominant force, and would see more chances while Atlanta would continue to be stymied. Logan Huffman would take a yellow card early in the seven-plus minutes of stoppage time for time wasting on a throw in- not a bad move at that point- as the Union looked to finish it out. They were, however, not done scoring, and like the DeVonta Smith touchdown in the Super Bowl, the Union scored the dagger as Gbalajobi nabbed a brace in the 80+8′. The Union closed it out with a clean sheet, becoming the MLS Next Cup U15 Champions after a tremendous performance.
The victory was a testament to the Union Academy’s vision and cohesion in philosophy, as commentator Calen Carr spoke about during the broadcast. Academy director Jon Scheer and his staff have been cultivating a pipeline from youth to the first team and beyond. Players like the Aaronson brothers, Jack McGlynn, the Sullivan brothers, and so on- more and more players are making it to the international stage, but it begins with a strong developmental model.
For players like goal scorers Timoni Gbalajobi and Sam Gallegos, both having been called to the U15 USYNT camp, as well as many other up and coming players like Liam Holtzman, the York native who netted a brace earlier in the tournament, it shows the future is bright and these young men will be exciting to watch as they make their way up through the system.
Main article photo credit: MLS Next
The One Team We Agree On 
Leave a comment