CHESTER, Pa.—The inaugural Snow Bowl tournament at the Philadelphia Union’s WSFS Bank Sportsplex, presented by YSC Academy and The SWAG, concluded on Saturday with matches in the finale that delivered the excitement one would hope for when some top international academies go head to head.
U-15 Consolation: Union vs. Chicago Fire
After suffering their first loss of the tournament, falling to Monterrey 2-1 on Friday, the Union’s U-15 squad took on Chicago Fire in a showcase match to finish off the Snow Bowl.
The Union wasted no time getting on the scoreboard as Ian Heyward blasted the ball in the net 27 seconds in to make it 1-0.
A huge defensive play in the 13th minute preserved the lead as the Union’s keeper was beaten, but Daniel Auguste stepped in and blocked the shot, allowing time for the keeper to get back in for the save. Late in the first half another chance for Chicago came in the 27th minute, but the shot from the top of the box bounced off the crossbar and back out into play where it was cleared. A minute later, Chicago got another shot, but it was saved by the keeper. The Chicago player who took that shot went down with injury just after shooting, and with regulation having run out, the referee called halftime with no stoppage.
The second half saw a couple changes, including Thomas White taking over in goal for the Union. He made a couple saves in the early going, but it was the Union who had the biggest chance when they were awarded a free kick outside the box, but Caleb Chabala’s kick, which was clearly intended to go to a teammate on the right, missed its target and rolled over the end line.
It seemed that the Union doubled their lead in the 41st minute, however Mateo Rosko’s roofed shot was negated by an interference call by the referee.
It looked like Chicago was going to get a breakaway chance in the 60th minute, but the defense hustled in just in time to deflect it out for a corner. With even the Chicago keeper up in the fray for the corner, the Union were able to successfully hold off the threat, and moments later the referee brought the match to a close as the Union held on to that 1-0 scoreline.
U-16 Final: Union vs. Benfica
Following their 5-2 win the previous evening over Borussia Mönchengladbach, the Union’s U-16 squad took on Benfica, looking to hoist the Snow Bowl trophy. It was a spirited match from the get-go.
In the 8th minute, an apparent DOGSO occurred a little outside the box, with the Benfica player at fault being issued a yellow card, though many in the crowd were screaming for a red. The resulting free kick was fruitless, however.
Benfica nearly got on the board in the 14th minute with a spectacular bicycle attempt that Union goalkeeper Kenan Livadic just managed to get a hand on and deflect out.
In the 17th minute, the Portuguese side struck first, albeit on a controversial goal. It appeared that a Benfica player had a handball, but the goal stood as it was apparently in a natural position. The Union saw some chances, but Benfica’s defense was compact and making it hard to break through.
The second half picked up much like the first—very physical and chippy. In the 48th minute, Benfica went down on a breakaway, but Livadic made the save. The Union built up a promising attack on the goal right after, but the cross just missed William Mihelic’s head in front of goal.
Benfica doubled their lead in the 54th minute when they passed to a wide-open player who sent it straight down the middle past Livadic, who was pulled the opposite way. The Union nearly answered a minute later with a ball that just missed going over the goal line somehow, and then peppered the goal with a couple other shots as they started to look better on the attack.
Jayden Kouadio left the match in the 68th minute after going down with an injury during a nice build up by the Union, and was replaced by Liam Holtzman. The Union’s attack, at that point in desperation mode, was getting more chances as time was running out. Despite a few corners near the end and a valiant effort, time ran out on their quest for the trophy, with Benfica winning 2-0. The Union’s Timoni Gbalajobi was the Golden Boot winner as the top goal scorer.
U-18 Final: Union vs. Lyngby
Capping off the evening, the Union’s U-18s faced Lyngby Boldklub in a rematch from two days prior, when they rallied back from a 2-0 deficit to get a 2-2 draw late in the match.
After being with the United States U-17 Men’s National Team in St. Vincent and the Grenadines for the Concacaf Qualifiers, where he played in one match as the USA qualified for the FIFA U-17 World Cup, Matthew White was back in goal with the Union’s U-18s. He was put to the test more than he was against St. Kitts and Nevis.
The Union got a corner less than a minute into the match, and started out putting a lot of pressure on Lyngby. Tyler Gladstone had a couple early opportunities, including on a free kick at the top of the box in the 9th minute.
Disaster almost struck in the 20th minute when White was way out of the goal, nearly at midfield, and went to kick the ball away. Instead, the Lyngby attacker got past him, and if not for the quick efforts by Nick Greer, the surely would have gone in for a goal. Immediately after, Lyngby nearly scored two more times, but it deflected off the goal post and then was kicked wide on the rebound.
In the 22nd minute, the Union had a great opportunity when Gunnar Graham put a nice through ball to Michael Capretto, crossed a ball in front of the goal, but no one was there to finish it and it went wide. Both sides continued to battle, but it was Graham who found the back of the net first. After Jett Harrison flicked the ball forward, Capretto headed it to a just-onside Graham. The Yale commit got past two defenders on a breakaway and blasted the ball from outside the box and past the keeper to make it 1-0 in the 32nd minute, which would hold going into halftime.
As the second half wore on, both sides were seeing chances, with some near misses for the Union. Every time Lyngby looked like they were about to have a dangerous chance, the Union’s defense did a good job of clearing the threat or forcing an errant shot. As the match waned, the Danish side was throwing everything they had forward and were getting set pieces, but the Union’s defense held strong.
Deep into stoppage time and with Lyngby’s goalkeeper way up the field, the Union sent a long ball that took a bounce. Erik Guzman beat the Lyngby keeper to the ball and shot from distance on the empty net as Ronan Sullivan ran toward the goal to try to see it in. A Lyngby defender, however, got there just in the nick of time to deflect it out.
In the dying seconds of the match, Sullivan smartly flicked the ball toward the corner where Harrison trapped it, and the referee signaled the end of the match with the Union U-18s victorious.
Tyler Gladstone was named MVP for the U-18s and the squad received their medals and team trophy with the young SWAG players looking on. It is also worth noting that several very talented U-18s were not in the tournament as they had been in Clearwater, Florida with Union II for preseason, but had just returned the day before and were on hand cheering their teammates on (and even banging the drum), and joined in the celebrations. It goes to show the depth and abundance of talent in that age group with the Union.
Final thoughts
The tournament appeared to be a rousing success and brought fantastic competition from all over the world in front of a great atmosphere. This writer talked to many people who were less familiar with the Union Academy and its players, but either showed up for matches or tuned in to the livestream, and enjoyed watching the up-and-coming talent.
It was also a great example and motivator for the young players from the SWAG who were on hand. One can only hope the tournament not only continues in the future, but grows and brings in even more great international competition. In closing, kudos to the Union and WSFS Bank Sportsplex staff for handling such a big tournament that spanned six days, YSC Academy and The SWAG for co-presenting it, and the teams for an entertaining display of high-quality youth soccer.
Main article photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Union Academy
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