Chester—It is a rematch that has almost seemed inevitable. Union II, having finished second in the regular season in the Eastern Conference, and coming off a 1-0 win over Huntsville City FC, will face the number one seed in the East, New York Red Bulls II. Philadelphia, last year’s Eastern Conference Champions, are looking to repeat that feat and return to the MLS Next Pro Cup. It will be a clash of two talented teams that have been on a collision course, and the victor will host the MLS Next Pro Cup as the top team in the league, St. Louis CITY2, get knocked out in the semifinal round.

In their first meeting with Red Bulls II, which was in March and the second match of the season, Union II won the penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw. However, the last time Union II faced them, back in August at MSU Soccer Park, it was a 2-0 loss for the Boys in Blue and a low point in the season.

“Yeah, I don’t think we played our best game in either game that we played against them this season,” head coach Ryan Richter said. “The first one was early in the year, but certainly in the second one, just a lot of things that didn’t go great and was not the best version of us.”

Looking back at the away match, the visual of Neil Pierre sitting on the ground after the final whistle, the frustration of the players, an uncharacteristic goalkeeping mistake… it seems like some redemption is in order. Are Union II looking at the match as an opportunity to not only move on, but to prove something? Richter sees it that way, and relishes the chance.

“I’m excited to see with the group that we have the best version of us, and see how we compete when we stack up against them like that,” he said. “And I think we’re in a good spot. The guys feel good. They’re in a good place mentally. And we’ll arrive for the game in the right way, you know, whether that means we win or lose. I’m excited to see the best version of us against hopefully the best version of them.”

Looking at the stats of both the teams, they are similar in the amount of goals they have scored as both boast a strong attack. Red Bulls II scored 68 goals in the regular season, while Union II scored 64. The glaring difference is the goals against, where Union II only conceded 34 goals and had a league-best goal differential of 30. Red Bulls II, on the other hand, allowed 56 goals and had a goal differential of 12. They will also be without their top goalkeeper in Aidan Stokes, who is with the U-17 MNT for the U-17 World Cup. This could bode well for Union II as Stokes only allowed one goal all season to them.

Chicago Fire II, who fell to Red Bulls II by a score of 5-3 in the semifinals, were similar in that they scored a lot of goals, but conceded a lot. “They have a very dangerous attack and a good midfield that they build through,” Richter remarked about Red Bulls II. “And for us, the way that we defended as a group against Huntsville, I think this has to be the approach, and this has to be the mindset and mentality from our guys, is to commit to that, and you see what’s possible when you do as a team. That’s going to be even more important in this game with the real quality attacking players they have.”

Richter pointed out that neutralizing the dangerous attack would not be just a 1-v-1 job for the individuals on the back line, but a team effort. “I think the mentality from the group to defend first as a unit, to fight for each other, to do the extra running. This is a important point that lets us kind of take away some of their dangerous weapons, but it’s a team effort. It’s not an individual thing.”

They are also keeping the focus on the match at hand, and not getting ahead of themselves. Naturally, especially for the players who have been there before, there is a desire to reach the summit after coming so close in 2024. But to get there and bring the Final to Subaru Park, business has to be taken care of at Sports Illustrated Stadium.

“We haven’t spoken much about what’s after this, you know, we’re focused fully on the game on Saturday and kind of going from there,” Richter said. “At least that’s where my mind is, and that’s been the whole discussion, because that’s the truth. That’s where we’re focused at. We’re one hundred percent in for this game, and then see what happens if we can get a result.”

To get that result, Richter gave his keys to the game: “Organized team defending committed in the same way that we were against Huntsville, being able to connect the first pass in transition and really challenging their back line with deep runs.”

The team defending starts with the strikers, and that was seen with Eddy Davis, Stas Korzeniowski, and Sal Olivas against Huntsville. Richter shared, “In the way that Stas, Eddy, Sal… the way they were working against the ball- I mean, that’s tough to ask a striker to do, and tough to get them to commit to this, but they did it. And, you know, really limited Huntsville. They had two shots in the game. And this is not just because Neil’s heading every ball out, but it’s because of the work of every player in the field.”

A whole team effort will be crucial to fend off the attack of Red Bulls II, and that was apparent in the semifinal with Huntsville. It was also clearly missing from Union II’s play against Red Bulls II in August.

“If we can have this kind of mentality of the team defending, of this work against the ball, we can limit a lot of things that they do,” Richter said. “If we get lazy with that, they [Red Bulls II] have the quality that they can play through us, and they’re really good through midfield. They have dangerous attacking players. If we give them time, they can advance the ball past our first line without real pressure and without the commitment to come back in the game. Then we end up chasing the ball around, not being able to really get around the ball, but if we have the committed effort as a group, like we did in the Huntsville game, I think that sets us up for success.”

The MLS Next Pro level is competitive, but there is so much development going on. Richter and his staff have been guiding their squad in that regard and anyone who has been paying attention has seen the buy-in from the players.

Richter shared, “There’s things we have to do better than we did in that game [against Huntsville], but it’s the mentality and the effort. It starts with that, the additional running, the extra running against the ball, the coming back in the game, the running back in transition, all the little things… that dirty work, and doing it as a group and committing because this is our style, and this is how we can be most effective.”

It is a big weekend for both the first and second teams. The Union will be in Chicago, kicking off at 5:30 in the second of a best-of-three first round. Some of those players (Frankie Westfield, Olwethu Makhanya, Cavan Sullivan, for example) spent time with Union II and got that big-game experience in 2024, for example, during the team’s run to the MLS Next Pro Cup. Now they are striving to win the MLS Cup with the first team and making valuable contributions.

Union head coach Bradley Carnell said what Union II has done this season has been an “incredible achievement.” He said in his presser, “What Ryan Richter and staff have done there, smashing their points record this year, I believe. And I think there’s just been full support and synchronicity between the two departments. And you know, when they need a number, when we need a number, it’s just a phone call away. We work really closely with each other. “

Photo credits: Philadelphia Union/Union II

It has definitely been apparent how well they work together, and very seamlessly. This writer regularly sees the first team staff at Union II games, as well as Academy staff. They are around each other on the campus. The communication is there. The pathway from academy to professional is like a well-oiled machine.

Carnell shared, “Every game, you know, I’m supporting him, meaning Ryan and his staff and team, and we’re watching all our players, and every home game we have, [Richter] is in the stands. And [Head of Union Academy] Jon Scheer… everybody just rooting from the same stand, and with one focus in mind, and that’s the project, the organization, the teams, and that’s been the most important thing.”

Union II players, who could be future stars of the first team as some who came before them, have a chance to make their marks this weekend as they strive to bring the MLS Next Pro Cup Final home to Chester. The game kicks off at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey, on Saturday at 7:00 PM, and can be viewed on MLS Season Pass on AppleTV.

Main article photo credit: Philadelphia Union II