CHESTER, Pa.—The quest to build upon the successes of 2025 and develop aspiring talents is underway as Philadelphia Union II’s preseason has commenced. Entering their fifth season in MLS Next Pro, where the first four seasons saw trips to the playoffs, an Eastern Conference Champion title and coming up just short in MLS Next Pro Cup in 2024, and in 2025 a tough defeat in the Eastern Conference Final, the squad is continuing their drive to be successful in both competition and player development.

Led by second-year head coach Ryan Richter, Union II has begun training in-market and kicked off its series of preseason friendlies today at the WSFS Bank Sportsplex Fieldhouse against USL Championship side Loudoun United FC in a closed-door match that ended in a 2-2 draw.

With the first team away in Spain and preparing to travel back to Philadelphia, Richter’s squad consisted of Union II-signed players, trialists, and amateur/Union Academy players. Willyam Ferreira was absent as he and U-18 keeper Matthew White are at the U-17 National Team camp (and to be joined by Malik Jakupovic, who was in Spain).

Getting the start was a young, Academy-heavy group, consisting of goalkeeper Alex Smith, defenders Jordan Griffin, Kaiden Moore, Lennon Harrington, and Oliver Pratt, midfielders Nehan Hasan, Matheus De Paula, Isaiah Mendoza, and Kellan LeBlanc, and forwards Theo Reed and John Ruf. The actual formation is unknown due to the closed-door status of the match, so the positions listed are where those players typically are to the best of this writer’s knowledge, and it would fit the typical 4-2-2-2 the squad typically employs.

After holding a 2-0 lead at the half thanks to goals from LeBlanc in the 8th minute and a goal by an unnamed player in the 14th minute off a corner, Union II made a few substitutions. Smith, who managed a clean sheet for his shift, was replaced in goal by a trialist. Andrew Craig replaced Moore, and a trialist replaced Pratt. Tyler Gladstone replaced Hasan in the 75th minute for the final substitution. Loudoun would score twice in the second half (63′ unnamed player, 65′ Bolu Akinyode, per Loudoun’s X account), with the match ending in a 2-2 draw.

To those reading this thinking “who?” when looking at the majority of the names, here are a few crumbs of information. A lot of Union Academy U-18s featured, including some I had seen training with Union II at times when I was there in the summer. Smith, a St. Joe’s commit, has been a strong goalkeeper with the U-18s and has trained quite a bit with Union II. He made two bench appearances for Union II in 2025, and one in 2024. Craig is a Michigan commit, and Harrington is a Cornell commit.

Gladstone and Reed have both had national team camp call ups. Ruf, Hasan, and De Paula are also U-18s. This writer has especially heard positive reviews of California native Ruf, who did well at MLS Next Fest in December, scoring three goals. Pratt, a Miami native and the only non-Union U-18 on this list, played for University of Pennsylvania, was second-team All Ivy, and scored five career goals during his four years.

The only Union II players from 2025 to feature were LeBlanc and Griffin, who played in the FIFA U-17 World Cup in November, and Moore, who has returned on loan. Union II’s roster decisions have not yet been revealed, so a few players may just be getting looks right now. Who actually will be a regular with the team remains to be seen, and the status of some other players who featured with Union II last season are yet to be revealed.

Looking ahead

The team will travel to Clearwater, Florida (where the first team will also be) on February 4. While there, Union II will face NCAA Division I Stetson University on February 6 at 7:00 PM. On February 12 at 4:00 PM, they will take on USL Championship side Rhode Island FC at IMG Academy.

Union II will return to Chester on February 13 and conclude their preseason with a closed-door home match against the New York Cosmos of USL League One on February 21 at 3:00 PM. Richter spent time as a player with the previous incarnation of the Cosmos during 2016-2017 when that club was in the NASL. The squad Union II will face is a new iteration of the New York Cosmos brand that will compete in USL League One.

They will open the regular season at home at Subaru Park on February 28 at 3:00 PM vs Toronto FC II. Be sure to follow us at The One Team We Agree On for all your Union II news as the season progresses.

Main article photo credit: Philadelphia Union II