On Saturday, July 26, Union II and NYCFC II face off for the second time this season, once again in New York. In their last meeting back in April, Union II were victorious 4-1 behind goals from Sal Olivas, Stas Korzeniowski, Nick Pariano (PK), and Giovanny Sequera (his first professional goal). In that match, NYCFC II’s Jonny Lopez was shown a straight red, and Union II played up a man for the entire second half.
Union II are, coincidentally, coming off a 4-0 win at Crown Legacy where they also had a man advantage for nearly the entire second half. They are currently in second in the East and only three points behind New York Red Bulls II, but with two games in hand. They have shown a great ability to perform on the road, with a 4-0-3 away record. Their overall record stands at 8-1-7 with an league-best goal differential of 26 (which is twice the GD of the next in the rankings). Meanwhile, NYCFC II is eighth in the East at 6-7-5, and have a home record of 5-2-2 and a -4 goal differential.
On the performance at Crown Legacy, Ryan Richter was very pleased and saw improvement from the previous match, which had left some to be desired being a draw with shootout win.
“I mean, we played a good game, you know, and it was tough to replace David [Vazquez] in the starting lineup, and Óscar [Benítez] did a great job,” Richter remarked training Thursday. “And again, you see the goals that we score come from- like we talk about all season, if we’re organized against the ball, we’re really committed to this style, then we get a ton of chances from it. There’s another game where I thought we did that. And the second half red card, the game slowed down so much, but it was an overall really strong performance I thought. We didn’t concede see a shot on goal, so that was the most positive stat from the game.”
Though not officially stated by the Union yet, it has been reported by José Nuñez that midfielder David Vazquez is going on loan to San Diego FC. Óscar Benítez, who also will play as a center back, was in a midfield role for the match at Crown Legacy, which was also his first start.
“I thought he did really well,” Richter shared about Benítez. “He kept things simple. Stayed aggressive, and did a good job holding his position in the middle, which is, tactically for him, an adjustment because he hasn’t played so much in the middle this year. And he did a he did a really good job, so see that again this weekend- same type of performance for him.”
What changes has Richter seen with NYCFC II since their last meeting, and what does he expect?
“A couple different players that are in the lineup from the last few games. We’ll see, it seems like they’ve changed their shape a couple times, but was back four, back five. So we’ll try to prepare for both, but it’s the same type of style where they’re really good with the ball. They try to build out, and it comes down to two different styles of who can do it better, you know, if they can play through us, then they’ll be successful. If we can be really organized and win the ball when they’re in their buildup, then we will be successful. So I’m always excited for these games with the ball-playing teams, of seeing the clash in style and for the ones that can get it right.”
Union II will certainly have some different faces in their lineup from the last time the two teams met. Out of that starting lineup, CJ Olney, David Vazquez, Cavan Sullivan, and Gavin Wetzel will definitely not be there. Andrew Rick could be with the first team. There could be other players called up to the first team, especially with Nate Harriel, Cavan Sullivan, and Frankie Westfield out of the lineup. Richter has plenty of depth to work with, however.
Union II acquire Noah Probst on loan
One player that may be new to Union II’s lineup Saturday is midfielder Noah Probst, the 20-year-old Switzerland native who was finally announced officially today as being loaned to Union II from Swiss side FC St. Gallen for the remainder of 2025.
From Union II’s press release: “He made 26 appearances during the 2024-25 campaign. Prior to joining St. Gallen in January 2024, Probst spent two seasons at FC Solothurn, where he made 68 appearances, scoring eight goals and adding two assists. He also featured for FC Concordia Basel/FC Solothurn U17, tallying 2 goals in 23 matches. Over the course of his young career, Probst has totaled 119 club appearances, with 10 goals and two assists.”
I had seen Probst at training the last few weeks, and the 6’2″ midfielder looked solid. According to the press release, he will be added to the active roster pending receipt of his International Transfer Certificate and P1 Visa, so perhaps he will get into the lineup this weekend.
“We’re excited to welcome Noah to the group,” said Richter in the press release. “We look forward to seeing him adapt to our style of play and make a positive impact on and off the field.”
Malik Jakupovic and Jamir Johnson shine
The two MLS Next All Stars for the Union, Malik Jakupovic and Jamir Johnson, competed on Monday in Austin for the East, which was victorious 4-3. The game-winning goal came from a penalty kick by Johnson, who had also been instrumental in the handball that led to the PK. Johnson played the second half, while Jakupovic played the first. Jakupovic played solid as well, though did not see much service that he could finish on.
“Yeah, it’s cool, and you see the picture with Tai [Baribo], Jakob [Glesnes], and Kai [Wagner] with those two in it, so that’s pretty cool, like, to see the connection in the club,” Richter remarked about Jakupovic and Johnson at the All Star Game. Ever the coach to keep them grounded, he continued, “But they have to understand they’re coming back here and it’s like that doesn’t make you better than anybody, or you didn’t do anything we didn’t know about, so get your flowers, enjoy that moment, but come back and and it’s time to work again.”
Keeping the young players motivated, inspired, but grounded amidst the success is a key part of being in a role such as Richter’s. Jakupovic has had a huge four games in which he has appeared, scoring in each of them for five total goals in 101 minutes- a heady stat for the 16 year old, and a lot of buzz has been generated in the process.
“It’s still only four games in MLS Next Pro, so I think he has bigger goals than being successful at this level, but it’s off to a great start,” Richter said. “And one thing that he has, he’s so hungry to score and he knows where the goal is, and he puts himself in position to be to score goals. So that’s a great quality for a striker- he can score every type of goal… left foot, right foot, one touch, header. He has every kind of goal kind of in his bag, so that’s really, really cool and really special to work with.
“But at the same time, he has a long way to go- physically, tactically, emotionally, to keep taking next step. So it’s, you know, he couldn’t get off to a better start, obviously, but he needs to keep that rolling and keep focused on improving his performances every single week.”
Malik will be just one of the many talented, up-and-coming players to keep an eye on with Union II, and you can catch their match on Saturday, July 26 at 4:00 PM on MLS Season Pass on AppleTV.
Main article photo credit: Philadelphia Union II
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