CHESTER, Pa.— Starting off the season 2-0, Union II are looking to keep the momentum rolling as they have their third straight home match, hosting expansion side Connecticut United on Sunday at Subaru Park. The visitors are the latest squad to join MLS Next Pro, and are an independent team like Chattanooga and Carolina Core. The youthful Philadelphia squad will have their biggest test yet according to head coach Ryan Richter.
“I think it’ll be our hardest game of the year so far,” Richter shared with The One Team We Agree On prior to the match. “So we’re trying to prepare the guys accordingly and ready for a different test than I think we faced in the first games. With a couple guys that are kind in their twenties and becoming grown men, that’s a different challenge than what we saw the last couple of weeks.”
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This new-look Union II, should not be too affected by the away match for the first team in Atlanta on Saturday, and should have a strong squad. However, according to Richter, they will be without left back Jordan Griffin due to a hamstring strain suffered in the previous weekend that saw him exit the match against FC Cincinnati 2 early. They may have another option available at fullback, however, in Giovanny Sequera, who was not in the squad the first two matches due to being pulled to the first team.
Sequera made his MLS debut last Saturday against San Jose, starting the match at left back and playing 82 minutes while on a short-term call up. While he had many great moments during his appearance, he got caught up and fell victim to Timo Werner’s expert pass to Ousseni Bouda, and could not prevent the game-winning goal for San Jose. Richter shared his thoughts on the learning experience for the Venezuelan defender:
“This is how you learn. You know, you learn by making the mistake, and especially the consequences that come with these mistakes. And for him, you know, he hasn’t played that position his whole life. He’s played as a fullback for maybe 20 games. So I think it’s normal that you get caught out sometimes.
“But that being said, he has to learn from it, and that’s what we try to tell these guys: that stuff will happen—especially at the Union II level—that stuff will happen. But you try to correct that before you get to the first team level, because it’ll happen quicker. The players have more quality, they’ll recognize the space, they’ll be able to play this pass. So it’s unfortunate for him that it happened in that game, but something that he has to learn from, and he’ll get better from. He’ll correct it, and he’ll improve as a defender because of this.”
Speaking of learning, Union II have many players who are finding their footing at the Next Pro level and showing promise. Óscar Benítez, returning after a 2025 season that saw great growth, and Timo Mendoza, a U-18 Academy amateur, have been paired in the defensive midfield and have put forth solid performances so far.
“Yeah, I think they have skill sets that complement each other very well,” Richter said of the two. “I mean, Óscar is an excellent ball winner in midfield, and Timo has a composure to kind of find the ball in tight spaces and be able to play forward passes. So they make a really nice complement for each other, but for them, it’s about improving in the other side, for Óscar being a little more brave to receive the ball in tight spaces, to turn and play these forward passes, and for Timo to get better in his duels, better in winning second balls, better against the ball. But really in the 1v1 duels is where he can really grow.
“So I think they are a great complement for each other, but it’s not just like one. One can’t just be the ball playing guy, one the ball winning guy. Óscar will always have this profile where he’s more of a ball winner, but let’s improve a little bit with the ball. Timo will always have this profile where he’s a little better of a ball-playing six, but let’s improve your work against the ball then. So if they can both raise their level in the things that they need to improve in, in the part that is maybe not the strong points of their games, I think that they’ll continue to complement each other even better.”
Another face to keep an eye out for is Tyler Gladstone, a U-18 midfielder who has been training with Union II and who Richter said would be in the squad on Sunday unless something changes last minute.
“He’s grown from a guy who’s been playing in the U-18s and being a good player to a guy who’s been a standout player with the U-18s in the last couple of months,” Richter shared of Gladstone. “So he’s really taken a step in that case, and now it’s time for him to take another step—go from being a guy in training to a guy who’s a performer in training, to a guy who’s considered for match minutes, to a guy who’s making a difference in Union II.”
Gladstone has not yet appeared with Union II, but could get his chance against Connecticut United. Richter explained what he has been seeing from him:
“The idea is to get him involved in the bench for the first time this weekend. But like I said, everyone’s at a different pace, and he’s done a good job. He was with us in preseason, then he’s been back with the U-18s. And you know, that can drop your confidence a little bit, and he did a good job to kind of stay focused through that, and keep focusing on his performance and getting better. And he’s done that in the last few weeks, certainly through the Snow Bowl, through the first couple games for the U-18s against MLS opponents. And now we look to see how we can involve him in Union II a little bit as well.”
On facing Connecticut United
CT United are 1-1 and coming off a 4-2 loss to Chattanooga. Before that, they opened their campaign with a 3-1 victory over FC Cincinnati 2. While they are facing a new opponent, Richter and his staff are not facing total strangers in CT United. “They have some guys that are a little older than our group, but guys that are familiar with the league and guys that we we do know, we’ve played against before, been with different clubs in MLS Next Pro, and a couple local guys as well that we know from their academy days,” he said.
“But no, I really like what I see from them trying to play forward in transition, organized defensively. I really like what I see from because it’s not so many teams that are trying to play this transition style in Next Pro. So it’s cool to see another team kind of try to use that model a little bit and see how successful they can be with it. It’ll be a tough game definitely.”
Building and growing
Richter said that he saw big improvement from his squad from the first game to the second, which were both 1-0 victories against Toronto FC II and FC Cincinnati 2. Now, he sees a tougher opponent in CT United, and wants to see more chance creation from his squad. They won their first two matches by tight margins, decided by Malik Jakupovic and Finn Sundstrom goals, strong defense led by Rafael Uzcátegui, and two clean sheets by goalkeeper George Marks.
“For a lot of the good actions that I saw with the ball from our team, whether in transition or in build up and build up opportunities, we need to do more of that and then start to create better chances, bigger chances, off these opportunities. So we have some good situations that we create to get into dangerous areas and not exactly turning them into dangerous opportunities.
“So that’s what we talked about a lot this week, is when we get into the final third, if we’re able to play through the middle, which we did a much better job of in the second game, we’re able to combine in the final third. Can we get more numbers in the box? Can we create 2v1s and really recognize these moments to accelerate at speed and commit numbers to get in the box? Can we combine a little quicker? And can we continue to show our individual quality as well? If you get in 1v1 situations, to be brave, to take guys on, to try to make something happen, try to make a difference in the in the game.
“And I think, Willyam [Ferreira] and Kellan [LeBlanc] and Malik [Jakupovic] did a better job of that in the second game. Timo, much better job in the second game as far as bravery on the ball. And these guys have to express themselves. They have to express themselves and attacking players try to make a difference in the game. You know, don’t be a passenger. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be just giving the ball to the next guy. These guys have way more quality than that, that they can actually make the difference. So I’d say the biggest improvement is trying to lead some of the good play in the bigger chances, and for the guys to try to make a difference in the game, not just be a passenger.”
One thing is for certain: there is a lot of raw talent just waiting to show what they can do at the Next Pro level, and like Richter, this writer has seen the growth just from the first game to the second. With a third home game in a row, it is an opportune time to break out and finish those chances before hitting the road to face a tough opponent in last year’s champion Red Bull New York II.
The match will kick off at 3:00 PM at Subaru Park on Sunday, March 15 and air on the MLS Next Pro website/OneFootball.
Main article photo courtesy of Philadelphia Union II.
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