CHESTER, Pa.—Day three of the Snow Bowl proved to be a successful one as the Union Academy’s U-16 and U-18 squads were victorious in their matches against Borussia Mönchengladbach and Alberg NextGen, respectively. The U-15s had the day off from competition, and will next play Borussia Dortmund at 12:00 PM on Thursday.
U-16 vs. Borussia Mönchengladbach
Peter McDonnell’s squad turned in another solid performance, and advanced to the Semifinals after a 3-1 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach. The match remained scoreless for the first half, which was very physical and saw some chances for either side. Their opponent nearly got a breakaway opportunity in the 10th minute, however Landon Mulvenna made a clean sliding tackle at the top of the box to thwart the German side from getting a shot on net. The stalemate carried into halftime.
A rejuvenated Union came out and was mounting pressure on their foe with some chances, and finally broke through in the 37th minute when Samuel Gallego flicked a pass to the right corner, which led to a great cross by Chris Thompson across the goal to Jayden Kouadio, who hit the volley into the back of the net.
The Union did not waste any time doubling their lead when they took possession quickly on a turnover after the restart, where Gallego set up Timoni Gbalajobi to blast the ball low and into the left side of the net in the 39th minute.
One of the goal scorers from the previous day, William Mihelic, subbed on with Enoch Koleth in the 46th minute and the former did not take long to find the back of the net again. Koleth swiped the ball on a turnover, then passed it to Mihelic, who in turn booted the ball from near the penalty spot to make it 3-0 in the 52nd minute.
Unfortunately, a clean sheet was not in the cards because for the second day in a row, a late penalty was awarded to the Union’s opponent, who converted in the 59th minute. However, the Union were able to finish out the match with a 3-1 result and remain atop the standings. The two teams will have a rematch in the semifinal on Friday at 4:30 pm.
U-18 vs. Alberg NextGen
In their second match of the Snow Bowl, the Union U-18s delivered an emphatic 6-0 win against former Union player Roland Alberg’s squad. Opposite of the previous evening’s match against Benfica, the Union had a scoring frenzy in the first half, fully taking charge early. A key part of that was Tyler Gladstone, who had three assists. Just over a minute into the match, he dodged a couple defenders and made a pass to Chuka Ebo, who sent a low shot into the bottom right of the net.
The Union doubled their lead in the 7th minute when Jason Hunt made a pass to Michael Capretto, a guest player and goal scorer from the previous night. Capretto in turn sent a low shot into the left corner of the net. The Union added on another when Gladstone crossed to Gunnar Graham, who finished with a shot down the middle to make it 3-0 in the 13th minute.
Gladstone notched his third assist in the 19th minute when he once again connected with Ebo, who volleyed the shot for a brace. The squad took a 4-0 lead into halftime. The scoring continued when Ronan Sullivan headed the ball in off a corner in the 37th minute to make it 5-0. He would add another goal for a brace on the day in the 44th minute when he converted a penalty kick that was awarded after he took the brunt of a high kick from a defender inside the box.
The Union were able to finish the match with a clean sheet and remain unbeaten in the tournament thus far. They are at the top of the standings and will play Lyngby at 3:00 PM on Thursday.
Main article photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Union Academy
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