CHESTER, Pa. — The Union Academy U-15 and U-16 squads kicked off their 2026 Snow Bowl campaigns on Monday afternoon at WSFS Bank Sportsplex, with the U-15s facing English side Manchester United and the U-16s taking on Portugal’s S.L. Benfica.
For the Philadelphia Union Academy, the U-15s opened the day with a scoreless draw against Manchester United.
The U-16 side would not fair much better, conceding two 2 goal leads in and drawing 3-3 with S.L. Benfica to end the day of matches.
Union U-15s vs. Manchester United
The Union U-15s started the match in control during the opening six minutes, aside from an occasional Manchester United counterattack.
Through the first 15 minutes, the Union Academy defense made several key stops and defensive plays to thwart Manchester’s attacking opportunities.
On the other end of the ball, while Philadelphia enjoyed spells of possession, they were unable to create anything truly meaningful in terms of chances, outside of a corner kick in the 22nd minute that went wide of the far post.
Manchester United found some attacking prowess in the final five minutes of the first half. A chance in the box bounced around before being well defended and cleared by the Union Academy. Moments later, two clear shot opportunities from Manchester forced the Academy goalkeeper to sprawl and make a pair of impressive saves to keep the match scoreless at halftime.
Manchester United opened the second half as the stronger side, keeping the ball in their attacking half. The Union goalkeeper was called into action again early in the second half, making another clutch save on a shot across the goalmouth, stretching out to deny the chance with his hand.
As the half progressed, Philadelphia’s U-15s generated a few attacking looks of their own, though United was able to counter and force the Union Academy back defensively. Those attacks were shut down, leading to a scoreless final 10 minutes.
The Union pressed in the closing stages in search of an opening goal, both from set pieces and the run of play, but it was not to be, as the teams settled for a 0-0 draw in the Snow Bowl opener.
While disappointing not to claim all three points, the Union U-15s held their own defensively against a strong Manchester United side.
Both teams will look to pick up three points on Tuesday, as the Union Academy faces Newcastle United at 3:00 p.m., while Manchester United takes on Borussia Dortmund.
Elsewhere in the U-15 bracket, the Chicago Fire defeated Newcastle United 3-1, scoring three unanswered goals after trailing early in the 14th minute. CF Monterrey and Borussia Dortmund played an exciting match, with Dortmund racing out to a three-goal lead before Los Rayados made it interesting. The German side ultimately held on for a 4-3 victory in their opening match.
Union U-16 vs. Benfica
In the final contest of the first day, the Union Academy U-16 side faced S.L. Benfica.
As in the previous match, Union went on the attack early, creating a few chances on goal against the Benfica squad.
Both teams defended each other’s chances well, especially S.L. Benfica, who shut down the Union Academy’s opportunities at nearly every turn. As the first half progressed, Benfica began to grow into the match, creating a few more chances of their own, which the Union Academy defended and attempted to counter.
The Union found the back of the net first in the 21st minute. The Union press forced a turnover from the Benfica goalkeeper, creating an opportunity down the left side that allowed the Academy side to open the scoring and make it 1–0.
The Union doubled their lead moments later on a well-worked breakaway to make it 2–0. After falling behind by two goals, Benfica responded quickly, pulling one back in the 25th minute.
In first-half stoppage time, the Union added a third goal on a set piec. Both teams headed into the break with the home side from Chester holding a 3–1 lead after 30 minutes.
The second half featured plenty of action from both sides, with the Portuguese side looking to close the gap and Philadelphia aiming to extend its lead.
Benfica made it 3–2 in the 42nd minute with a well-taken goal that beat the Union Academy defense. The visitors would then draw level in the 59th minute as they continued to break down the Academy back line.
The Union had one final chance to regain the lead in the closing moments, but the corner kick was defended by Benfica, ending the match in a 3–3 draw.
It was a very entertaining match overall, and it will be interesting to see how both sides fare as the tournament continues, as they could meet again later in the competition.
Benfica will face Borussia Mönchengladbach tomorrow at 9:00 a.m., while the Union U-16s will take on Lyngby Boldklub at 4:30 p.m.
In other U-16 matches, Chicago Fire fell 3–1 to Lyngby Boldklub, while Mönchengladbach defeated PSV Eindhoven 3–1 to round out the first day of the tournament.
Both the U-15 and U-16 sides have an opportunity to move up the standings tomorrow with plenty of time remaining in the competition. The Philadelphia Union U-18s will kick off their Snow Bowl campaign tomorrow against S.L. Benfica at 6:00 p.m.
More coverage coming your way this week on The One Team We Agree On website.
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