DALLAS, Texas — Make it a perfect three for three. The Philadelphia Union’s U-18 dominated St. Louis CITY in their third and final group stage match at the Dallas Cup to win Group C in the U-19 Super Group with nine points and zero goals allowed. Behind goals from Chuka Ebo, Gunnar Graham, and Tyler Gladstone, the Boys in Blue prevailed 3-0 and advance to the semifinals on Friday, April 3.

The starting lineup saw some rotation from the previous two matches. Charli Lorenz got the start in goal in place of Alex Smith. The back line consisted of Max Owusu-Antwi, Jett Harrison, Kevin Sullivan, and Jack Illig. Midfielders were Peter Doran, Timo Mendoza, Brett Seemuller, and Nehan Hasan. Rounding out the starting XI were strikers Gunnar Graham and Chuka Ebo.

It did not take the Union long to break through as Ebo went 1v1 with the St. Louis keeper on a breakaway, then calmly slotted it past him to the bottom right. The Union would get several chances in the first half, including a dangerous free kick from the right that was cleared out. Their opponent had a few chances of their own, but Lorenz was up to the task with a few first half saves.

The Union kept the pressure up, and that persistence paid off when the St. Louis keeper tried to clear the ball, but it glanced off Hasan and deflected to Doran. He then passed it back to Hasan, who placed it perfectly for Graham to blasted into the net, making it 2-0 in favor of Philadelphia.

One halftime substitution was made as John Ruf came on. The Union saw a couple great chances early in the second half off a corner, and a few additional chances right after that. They continued to be compact on the defense and thwart their opponent’s attempts.

St. Louis would get a dangerous free kick after Mendoza was shown a yellow card for a bit of a retaliatory pulling down of a player who was pulling on him. The ensuing free kick, however, hit the crossbar and deflected out for a goal kick.

Making their return from their U-17 US Men’s National Team camp in Paraguay, Willyam Ferreira and Tyler Gladstone subbed on later in the second half. Gladstone was soon after fouled in the box, setting up a penalty kick that he took and converted with a shot low and to the left to make it 3-0.

Owusu-Antwi departed the match after being down with an injury, and was replaced by Mateo Gallegos. Mendoza was also replaced by Matheus De Paula.

While the Union seemed firmly in control of the match, St. Louis still had a few chances, including an attempted a bicycle kick that Lorenz adeptly saved. Theo Reed then came on late as an injury substitution, and the Union saw out the 3-0 victory.

The time and opponent for Friday’s semifinal has yet to be announced at the time of this article, so stay tuned to our social media on X (@totwag/@silly__jilly) and Instagram (@theoneteamweagreeon/@silly__jilly) for updates.

Main article photo courtesy of Hmsk Content.