Chester—The Philadelphia Union are not the only team facing an NYCFC squad this weekend in a match of huge importance. Union II will host NYCFC II at Subaru Park on Sunday for Decision Day, and they also have a lot on the line.
Tied with New York Red Bulls II for first in points, but second via the total wins tiebreaker, Union II will aim to put themselves in the best possible position by getting all three points against their foe and keeping momentum going into the playoffs, and also hope for the Red Bulls to drop points.
Head coach Ryan Richter sees the chance to finish at the top of the Eastern Conference as a “great recognition and reward for the players for the work that they put in this year.” He shared that their focus is to go and and win this game, and while they cannot control what happens between Red Bulls II and Toronto FC II, he wants to see his players to do their part to put them in the best position possible.
“What is in our control is that we win this game,” Richter said. “That we take care of business, we start with the right energy, super aggressive play as a team, but that we handle our business. And that’s winning this game against New York City. And that’s been the message this week—let’s be excited for that. Let’s not worry about what could happen in the other game. Let’s focus on what we can control.”
Reflecting on the match at Toronto
Union II lately have done the work to keep themselves in the hunt, including most recently beating Toronto FC II on the road 2-1. They also benefited from Red Bulls II falling to FC Cincinnati 2 earlier this week.
At Toronto, Union II fell behind 1-0 after a penalty kick was awarded and converted, but striker Stas Korzeniowski got a first half stoppage goal, which Richter noted really changed the momentum going into halftime. “I think we did a better job to kind of change the tactics in the second half to set us up to be a little more successful. So we dropped the line a little bit deeper off goal kicks. We still pressed, but more out of a man-for-man shape, so that we were always able at least to get access to the ball and then drop the line a little bit deeper when it wasn’t a pressing situation. And I thought we had much better control of the game in the second half.”
That switch in momentum and change in tactics finally paid off when defender Óscar Benítez scored his first goal of the season in what would be the game winner. Richter was thrilled for the 21-year-old Colombian.
“It’s amazing,” Richter said of Benítez’s goal. “I’m so happy for him, because if you remember back to the beginning of season, he basically wasn’t really playing. And fair play to him, he stuck with it through the year. He didn’t give up. He didn’t have a bad attitude. Didn’t stop with his training, and now he’s a huge part of the team, and for him to get rewarded and come up in such a big moment, this is a great, great thing for him.”
Third time facing NYCFC II
Union II have faced NYCFC II already two times this season, both on the road, and won 4-1 and 2-0. Their opponent is 9-12-6 (3-7-3 on the road) and eliminated from playoff contention. That does not mean Union II will take them lightly. NYCFC II still has plenty to play for.
“These are all young players that are trying to prove themselves in the game, and for guys in their situation, it’s trying to prove for another year contract, or try to prove young players that should be in for the first team for preseason next year, or guys that you know are fighting for homegrown contracts,” Richter said. “So I think there’s still a lot of motivation on their side, especially with the age of the players that we’re dealing with.”
As when they played against other teams like Columbus Crew 2, Richter relishes the clash of styles his squad his squad faces. He noted, “The style that New York City wants to play is complete opposite of the style that the the Union wants to play. So it’s a great clash of the styles. I love the games like this, when it’s teams that are really committed to their build up, and a team that’s really committed to their organization against the ball.
“And these are my favorite games, because it’s trying to—it’s not only to win the game, of course, but to prove that the style that we believe in is the right way to be successful. So I love these games. They have a good team, a good coach, but I’m really excited for the matchup of the two styles against each other.”
For Union II, a matchup that will hopefully go in their favor toward further breaking their record for points on a season, which they achieved in the last match, and give them momentum into the postseason. The match versus NYCFC II will be at Subaru Park at 1:00 PM and can be viewed on MLS Season Pass on AppleTV.
National team call ups, Richter’s unique perspective, and the strength of the Union organization
Recently, it was announced that Jordan Griffin, Jamir Johnson, Kellan LeBlanc, and Cavan Sullivan were named to the U-17 MNT camp roster ahead of the U-17 World Cup. On Friday, more call ups were announced for October national team camps. Eddy Davis and Andrew Rick were selected for the U-20s, Neil Pierre for the U-19s, and Malik Jakupovic for the U-17s. Additionally, Davis is returning from Chile where he was a training player with the U-20 MNT for the U-20 World Cup. Frankie Westfield, who has made a huge splash this season playing with the first team, has been a starter so far in that competition and has a goal, an assist, and a secondary assist.
Photos courtesy of the Philadelphia Union/Union II/Academy
Richter has a unique perspective in that he has been with the Union since 2018, coaching at the Academy, assistant in MLS, and now head coach in MLS Next Pro level. He has known many of his current players for a long time.
“It’s awesome,” Richter said of the call ups for the U-17s. “So that group, for my personal perspective, those kids—the 2008 and Cavan 2009, but the 2008 group was the first group of kids that I started working with when I joined the Union. I think they were under-10 players at the time, and Jordan, Jamir, Cavan… and Kellan joined later in that season, I think maybe it was the year after that he joined full time. “
“But to see those guys progress through from from that young age to now representing the national team, I think it’s just the camp, but hopefully the World Cup as well for the U-17s is pretty cool. It’s been fun to follow their journey and see their commitment, their love for the game, grow over the years. And now, you know, it’s starting to get real for them. So they’re getting to the point where they’re pushing through as professionals.
“This is another awesome experience for them, awesome opportunity, and we’ll see, hopefully, it leads to the U-20 World Cup, and the Olympics, and then the senior team. That’s the dream for these four guys. But to see them still in it now and progressing, it’s just another recognition of their talent, their hard work, and their commitment to everything they’ve done through the years.”
Photos courtesy of the Philadelphia Union
It is no secret that the Union, as an organization, has seen a lot of success with developing players. Richter has seen it firsthand from the different levels he has coached, including successes with the Academy squads he coached, being an assistant coach with the first team that went to the MLS Cup Final in 2022, and now having a strong season in his first at the Next Pro level and about to head to the playoffs. The U-15 squad under Ben Moane won the MLS Next Cup this year. Union II went to the Next Pro Cup Final in 2024 under Marlon LeBlanc. Bradley Carnell and the first team are looking to win the Supporters’ Shield and are headed to the playoffs. What does Richter make of all the success the organization is having?
“I had a good conversation with Ernst [Tanner] yesterday, and it’s what he believes in leads to success, is the development of everyone that’s involved, that’s the staff, that’s players, that’s front office, that’s everyone, the development of the individuals, and believing in that development and the mentality of, again, the staff, the players,” Richter shared.
“We believe that the training matters, the day-to-day matters, the group matters more than the individual, and that we keep pushing this and get the right people that buy into that kind of message that can lead to success with great development. And it’s something that I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of over the the eight years that I’ve worked here, and see it through the academy, see it with the first team, and see the success of the second team—not just this year, but in the last couple of years as well. And it’s really something cool to be a part of. It’s it’s something I’m proud to be a part of, and something I’m a product of.”
Will 2025 prove to be the year the squads get over the hump and be a high water mark? Only time will tell, so buckle up, Union fans—the playoffs are coming and the vibes are high in Philadelphia.
Main article photo courtesy of Philadelphia Union II
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