Chester—Gritty is not just the name of the Philadelphia Flyers mascot. It is also an apt word word to describe the play of Philadelphia Union II as they battled Huntsville City FC to a 1-0 victory in the MLS Next Pro Eastern Conference Semifinals at Subaru Park on a chilly Saturday evening.
The lineup
After having rolled with George Marks in goal recently, Andrew Rick—no stranger to high pressure playoff situations—was given the nod. Head coach Ryan Richter shared post-game, “All the goalkeepers that have played this year, we trust them. So if it’s Andy [Rick], George [Marks], Mike [Sheridan], it doesn’t matter. We trust them. And yeah, with Andy and George, they give the leadership from the back, and that’s a huge starting point for what we want to do. So though he didn’t have much to do, but the couple crosses he came in the way, defended his area. He looked really solid in all his actions.”
With four players missing for the U-17 World Cup, Richter had to adjust his lineup a bit. Jordan Griffin’s absence led to Nick Pariano being moved to left back, while the usual center back pair of Neil Pierre and Rafael Uzcátegui got the start, and Giovanny Sequera was at right back.
Midfield featured some changes with Cavan Sullivan and Kellan LeBlanc gone. CJ Olney and Óscar Benítez were at defensive mid, the latter taking Pariano’s usual spot. At attacking mid, Willyam Ferreira got the start (his second of the season) along with Markus Anderson. Rounding out the lineup were Stas Korzeniowski—a no-brainer given his scoring streak—and Eddy Davis as the striker duo.
How the match unfolded
The match began with a fair amount of Huntsville possession, however it was the visitors who were the recipient of an early yellow card as Tyshawn Rose fouled Anderson, leading to a dangerous free kick opportunity for Olney. The ensuing shot, while well-struck, went to the hands of the Huntsville keeper, Xavier Valdez. Another yellow card was awarded to Huntsville’s Philip Mayaka in the 8th minute after fouling Rick as he punted the ball. Within the first 10 minutes, there were already seven total fouls in what was shaping up to be a very physical match. Sequera received Union II’s first yellow card in the 14th minute, and a few minutes later Pierre received one, making it four yellow cards in 17 minutes.
Union II saw some quality chances from Ferreira, Davis, and Benítez as Union II were bringing pressure midway through the first half. Union II almost broke the stalemate in the 38th minute when Pierre headed the ball into the net off a corner taken by Olney, but the goal was disallowed after the referee deemed there was a foul on the play.
Ultimately, the teams would head to their locker rooms still scoreless after the first half concluded with no stoppage time. Union II had really built into the game and had outshot Huntsville 8-0 in the first half.
The second half began with no changes for either side. Christian Koffi would get Huntsville’s first shot of the match when he ripped one just wide left as the visitors showed some renewed energy. Union II made the first substitution of the match, replacing Ferreira with Noah Probst in the 56th minute, leading to Olney shifting up and Probst at the six. Davis, who had returned to the lineup following a minor injury, took a knock and exited the game, and Sal Olivas replaced him in the 60th minute.
After a brilliant run by Olney, Korzeniowski took the ball toward goal and was fouled in the box by the keeper, who received a yellow card, and Union II were awarded a penalty. Korzeniowski stepped up to the spot and converted to give Union II the 1-0 lead in the 67th minute (and yes, that number was not lost on the young fans in attendance.) It was Korzeniowski’s sixth straight game with a goal, and a total of eight goals in that span.
Richter made his final substitution in the 85th minute, replacing Korzeniowski with Malik Jakupovic. Five minutes of stoppage time was announced as Union II looked to hold onto their tenuous 1-0 lead. Koffi managed a shot that was blocked by Pierre, and Huntsville had several free kicks and corners, however Union II held strong on defense until the final whistle blew in Chester. The match ended with Huntsville not recording a single shot on goal, and only two total. There were also 42 total fouls in the game, and six yellow cards (four for Huntsville, two for Union II), which is indicative of how physical the match was.
Post-game commentary
With their gutsy performance, Union II punched their ticket to their second straight Eastern Conference final, where they will face the winner of the New York Red Bulls II/Chicago Fire II match.
“I thought that’s a really gritty win. That’s a team win, that’s a Union win. I think that’s a very Union-style win,” Olney remarked after the match. “Digging our heels in, getting a lead. Quick counter that leads to a PK. Getting that goal, and then instead of just sitting back and taking pressure, still forcing them to make mistakes, still playing defense by playing offense at the same time and stepping forward and winning tackles, winning balls. I think we outfought them tonight, which was something that we talked about a lot going in this game, with them being an older, bigger, more physical team. I thought everyone stepped up to the task today.”
Richter certainly was impressed with how his squad stepped up to the task. “I thought again for the second week in a row, it was a really high level for MLS Next Pro,” he said. “And this is the level that I believe that these players get better in. Just the overall intensity, the commitment from both teams, the quality from both teams… it was fun to be a part of. And like I said, I think this is the type of game where players grow up, and they really have to step their level up. And for both teams, it was a really good match.”
The team as a whole played excellent defense, according to Richter, but he noted that Neil Pierre was a “standout.” He said, “I think this is the best I’ve probably seen Neil Pierre play. There’s a couple moments that we have to look at as a team of second balls and set pieces when they’re really just throwing numbers forward and try to create anything. And Neil has three guys, and he’s above everyone heading every ball out. So he was on another level, and I was really proud of him, the way he stepped up. And he was a real leader in the game and made the difference.” Certainly a performance befitting the MLS Next Pro Defender of the Year, and done while on a yellow card for most of the match.
Olney had praise for Pierre as well. “I think every time I play with him, I mean, his vision on the ball as well as his attacking off the balls, it’s a joy to play with him.”
“I thought what I was most impressed by him tonight was after he got a yellow early, being able to still play physical and still win balls as well as play smart,” Olney continued. “ It’s always tough to get a yellow in the first half as a defender, especially with a winger like Koffi driving at him every time he gets the ball. So I thought, as a solid performance in set pieces and in the back line, I thought he was awesome.”
Richter’s squad had lots of standout performances, including from Óscar Benítez. He played the full 90 without a yellow card—which Richter was happy to point out, and said he was “fantastic.”
“So there’s certainly a lot of things that he can get better at, but his development over the course of the year has been fun to watch and and fun to see how he goes about it,” Richter said of Benítez. “Sometimes being left out of the team, not getting the minutes maybe he wanted in the beginning, kept his head down, worked through it, and now is a huge piece of everything we’re trying to do.”
Markus Anderson reiterated the strong performance of Benítez. “Absolutely outstanding, defensively, recovers so many balls in the midfield, aggressive, doesn’t shy away from challenges—just exactly what we need in the midfield, especially defensively,” he said. “I feel like, especially in training, everyone sees his talent. He’s not scared to go at defender, not scared to go one on one. That’s exactly what we need here, especially in Philadelphia, especially on the second team—kids that are not scared to play, especially against older guys.”
Benítez shared after the match that all the coaches gave him confidence, and attributed his improvement to that. Having come from St. Louis CITY2, who made it to the Western Conference Final last year, he noted the differences between the two clubs. “The big difference is because we have a lot of young players that come through the academy, and you have to develop those players and they still have not that much experience, though. That was the big difference. So it’s good to be around both sides to see how much I can grow when I play against young players and old players.”
As he was playing in the defensive midfielder position, he also noted that Olney gave him confidence to play alongside him. “Gio with his intensity—sometimes it’s too much, but it was good to have them on my side and CJ with a more technical play forward, when you get the ball and find him in the middle of the field.”
Anderson, a key part of Union II’s success in 2024 and 2025, has been a force, having played at striker, but finding a lot of success this season as a 10. He thought the match was more physical than their first meeting, and noted how well Union II’s defense did.
“Great team, especially Koffi, the number 10, dribbling inside and out. They have very good connection between their players, and us on the right side—me and Gio—knew what we had to do today during the game. And especially Gio, he pocketed [Koffi]… he couldn’t really do anything this game,” Anderson said. “ And overall through the team, especially in the last 10 minutes, Neil was absolutely outstanding, especially in the box, clearing the balls. It’s just exactly what we needed. Everyone put their front foot forward. We were strong, we were complete. That’s exactly what we needed today.”
That performance is the kind that can provide great momentum going into the conference final. The veteran players like Olney and Anderson are excited to be back with another shot to win it all. Standing in their way will be either New York Red Bulls II or Chicago Fire II next weekend, who play each other Sunday evening. On who he would rather face, Anderson said confidently, “I really don’t care. We know what we have to do as a team collectively, and we’re gonna defend, we’re gonna attack, and we’re just gonna come at whatever team that gets handed to us.”
Main article photo courtesy of Philadelphia Union II
The One Team We Agree On 
Leave a comment