Chester – After having a thinner squad due to players being away for international duty and the MLS Next Cup, Union II looked much more intact going into the match at home on Thursday against New England Revolution II. Rafael Uzcátegui wore the captain’s armband for the first time as Nick Pariano was on the bench. Pierce Holbrook made his third straight start in goal. Giovanny Sequera got another start, but this time the midfielder was moved to right back. Notably, Willyam Ferreira, the 16 year old midfielder signed to a Next Pro contract back in February, made his first appearance on the bench, though he would not play.
The match began with a lot of back and forth, but New England was threatening early on. Both defenses were doing a good job of blocking any chances, but some sloppy play in the midfield led to New England breaking through and Marcos Dias scoring on their first shot on target to put Revolution II up 1-0 in the 26th minute.
A real good chance came from Cavan Sullivan, who shot the ball wide left in the 33rd minute. Another chance came in the 37th minute when Henry Bernstein was able to rip a shot that was blocked and went out for a corner. New England would almost chip Holbrook in the 40th minute, but the ball went over the crossbar. During the first half, there was also an instance where Sal Olivas went down in the box, but no foul was called. It had looked like there was case for a penalty kick, and to Ryan Richter, he was not one hundred percent sure, but at the time it looked like a PK to him. After an underwhelming first half, Union II would head to the locker room without a single shot on target, and were outshot 6-4 by their opponent.
Near the end of halftime, a weather delay was announced as a thunderstorm approached Chester. After almost an hour and a half, play resumed at 9:28, though it was still raining pretty hard, though that would lighten up later in the game. Eddy Davis was subbed on for Stas Korzeniowski, and Óscar Benitez came on for Neil Pierre. Pierre coming off was unsurprising as he will likely be needed for the first team and possibly make his debut on Sunday at Columbus in the wake of Jakob Glesnes being out on yellow card accumulation.
While Union II would get some nice buildup in the beginning of the second half, in the 55′ minute Javaun Mussenden found the back of the net from the right side of the box for a goal that snuck in between the post and Holbrook to make it 2-0, and probably should have been saved. Nick Pariano and CJ Olney subbed on for Henry Bernstein and Kellan LeBlanc, and Union II would respond shortly after when Giovanny Sequera made a little backheel pass to Cavan Sullivan, who then blasted his third goal of the season to cut the deficit in half in the 61st minute. With a new energy, Union II were ready to add on more.
The first yellow of the evening came in the 67th against New England’s Joe Buck. Sullivan took the free kick from a dangerous spot, and Uzcátegui knocked it in to level the match in the 68th minute for his first goal of the season.
Jamir Johnson came on for Cavan Sullivan in the 77th minute. Union II saw several chances and the momentum was definitely in their favor, but they were unable to find the go-ahead goal, so the squads each got a point and it headed to a penalty shootout to determine who would get the extra point.
Nick Pariano started it off the shootout by making his shot, then Revolution II’s Marcos Dias made his his. In round two, Sal Olivas and Malcolm Fry both scored. In round three, David Vazquez’s shot was saved, while Damorney Hutchinson scored for New England. Round four saw Eddy Davis and Joe Buck both convert their chances. Jamir Johnson, the 16 year old recently back from the MLS Next Cup, stepped up with the game on the line as he had to make his shot to keep Union II’s hopes alive. He buried his, but Revolution II could still win the shootout on the next try.
Fortune swung in the home team’s favor again as Victor Souza skied his shot over the crossbar and into the River End seats, so it would go to a sixth round. Giovanny Sequera made his shot, but so did Hesron Barry. Both CJ Olney and Aidan Reilly converted on their attempts in the seventh round. In the eighth round, Rafael Uzcátegui’s shot was good, and the big moment finally came when Pierce Holbrook saved Eli Ackerman’s attempt for the shootout victory. After a lackluster performance in the first half and a long rain delay, Union II were able to claw their way back from being down 2-0 (often noted to be a dangerous lead to have), end up outshooting New England 18-8, and grab two points out of the match. They remain in third place in the East, and are fifth overall in MLS Next Pro.
Following the match, I spoke with Union II head coach Ryan Richter on the team’s performance. “I think the first half, we were a little sloppy with the ball, not aggressive enough in the transition moments, and that led to a lot of the game being really open. In the second half we cleaned that up a lot. I think we played the majority of the second half in their end and got two goals, and I think we deserved them. And it’s always good to win in the penalty shootouts, but I’m just happy from the 90 minutes.”
As anyone who watched the first team match Wednesday against Chicago Fire knows, Alejandro Bedoya played out of position as a right back, and in the Union II game, there also was a different player in that role. Giovanny Sequera, the Venezuelan who has been red hot lately with his play, filled that role for Union II in the match, and Richter was very complimentary of Sequera’s performance and mentality. When I asked him about the decision to play him there, Richter said,
“Just because he has the mentality, the personality and and the quality, but really, his mentality is amazing. It’s something that all the guys can learn from. And, you know, he’ll do anything to play well and to win. And I’m very proud of him, and we all are. It was cool. Didn’t expect that kind of performance, but it was excellent, really.”
Another Venezuelan, Rafael Uzcátegui, is also having a really strong season. The coaching staff thought it was an easy decision, according to Richter, to name him captain as Nick Pariano was on the bench. He spoke very highly of his character and his play. With center back being more on the thin side with the first team, could Rafael be someone getting a chance at some point in MLS? Richter had this to say:
“You know, you have to see when guys get the opportunity in the environment exactly what they can raise their level to do. He’s a standout for Union II, I think that’s clear, and he’s been probably the most consistent player. But to really know how someone will adapt, you have to see them in that environment, you know, he’ll get that opportunity at some point here. He just has to keep the focus like he has on getting better every day and being ready when that opportunity comes.”
Eddy Davis also spoke highly of his teammate: “Oh, he’s excellent. Like, from the first day I saw him, I was like, wow, this guy is class. Like, he doesn’t speak much English, but he’s a warrior. He goes into every tackle, and he’s a great piece to have in that back line for us. If we don’t have Neil in there, just to have him back there, we feel so comfortable with him, but the pairing of him and Neil is incredible.”
Uzcátegui has been a revelation this season and has been a force when paired with Neil Pierre, or Gavin Wetzel, or Óscar Benitez, and so consistent as Richter said. While he is still working on it, this writer can say he has done well with his English, and I spoke with him after the match.
On what it meant to wear the captain’s arm band, he spoke with a smile that illustrated how proud he was about it: “It is an honor for me to be the captain today of this club. I have to be grateful for the confidence and all the trust that my teammates and the coaches give it to me. I just have to keep working hard and stay humble.” Indeed, the young man comes across as incredibly humble and a leader.
He had a big moment when Cavan Sullivan sent in the ball on a free kick, which then bounced off Sal Olivas’s head and deflected off Rafael and into the goal to level the match. When I asked him how it felt, he grinned from ear to ear and said, “Amazing. It was a lot of lucky. It’s always really good to score a goal and help the team. I’m so happy for it. Now, let’s see for the next game to get the three points.”
“I think we had a really strong mentality, to not let us down, to stay aggressive and keep looking for for the game. I think we were aggressive and with all the effort that the substitutions did and the guys that started too, we did that an amazing job recovering.”
Speaking of substitutions, Eddy Davis was one that came on a halftime after playing the previous evening in Chicago with the first team. He made his MLS debut coming on in the 88th minute for the Union in their 1-0 victory over the Fire, which was a long time coming for the striker from Los Angeles.
“Yeah, I mean, words can’t really describe it. I moved across the country at 15 years old by myself to have a dream to be a professional soccer player. So to step on the field in an MLS match, the words can’t describe it. I’m honestly honored for that to happen.” On what he learned from his first experience, he said, “I’m capable to be on the field with those guys. Like I felt comfortable, I felt confident, I put in a lot of work and I felt like I belonged on that pitch.” He certainly looked at confident, especially pairing up with Markus Anderson, who he has logged lots of time with at Union II.
Davis helped the Union finish out their win the night before, and helped to be a catalyst with Union II. On the second half surge, he said, “Yeah, I feel like the energy just shifted. Ryan [Richter] told me, he was like, ‘Come on and just make it impact and change the energy.’ And like, I feel like I tried to do that, I tried to pick the boys up and we got one, and I knew we were going to get another. I thought we were going to get a third, but you could just see the energy shifted and we wanted it a bit more in the second half.”
Uzcátegui shared about the halftime message as well, saying “He [Richter] talked about taking better decisions with the ball, be most aggressive without it, the counter press is so important for us.”
Richter shared his thoughts as well on how the second half was vastly improved, saying “Yeah, it was great. It was great. And even the way we started the second half, it was okay, and then goals can happen, that wasn’t one because of a lack of commitment and the organization- they scored a goal, and that can happen. And I was just happy that that didn’t then take away from our energy in the second half. You know, we stayed consistent, stayed with a high level of energy and we were able to get the two goals.”
Richter’s squad showed great resilience and fight, and turned what had been a sloppy, uninspiring first half riddled with mistakes, into a fierce battle with much better passing and ball control. This level has such an emphasis on development, and the young men of Union II certainly learned some lessons that can benefit this talented squad as they continue through a busy schedule.
Union II return to action on Monday, June 30 at 3:00 PM as they host Orlando City B at Subaru Park.
Main article photo credit: Philadelphia Union II
The One Team We Agree On 
Leave a comment