KISSIMMEE, Fla.— Looking to get back in the win column after three straight one-goal losses, Philadelphia Union II flipped the script in a gritty 2-1 win at Orlando City B. The home team was in third place going into the match, with the second-highest number of goals in the league. With an inspired effort in goal by Pierce Holbrook, who had 10 saves in the match and nearly getting a clean sheet if not for a very late OCB goal, Union II secured their first win under interim head coach Chris Harmon.
The starting lineup saw a few changes from the previous week. Sal Olivas got the nod at striker in place of the absent Malik Jakupovic (who was apparently getting time off), paired with Eddy Davis. Willyam Ferreira, Kellan LeBlanc, and Óscar Benítez reprised their midfield roles, while Lennon Harrington made his first pro start in place of Matheus De Paula, who was suspended on yellow card accumulation. The back line saw the return from suspension of Giovanny Sequera at right back and Finn Sundstrom at center back, along with Rafael Uzcátegui at center back and Pierce Holbrook in goal.
Additionally, the squad had a full bench and saw the first regular match appearance of Samuel Gallego in the lineup. He played in the friendly against the Ocean City Nor’easters and scored a goal, however he would be an unused substitute.
Union II started off on the front foot. Olivas had an early chance in the box, but he was unable to get a shot off, which was followed by Davis bringing some pressure with a shot that deflected off a defender en route to hitting the side netting. The resulting corner led to Davis taking a shot from distance that sailed over the crossbar.
Orlando, however, soon started to really make Philadelphia work. In the 11th minute, Holbrook was forced into a save on the match’s first shot on target, diving to his right to block the low shot. The corner that followed led to another Orlando shot, this time blocked by Harrington. Orlando had a few more shots, with one blocked by Sequera and one saved by Holbrook, and in the 17th minute, Justin Hylton’s dangerous looking shot went wide right.
In the 20th minute, Orlando’s Landon Okonski received the first booking after a dangerous tackle on Olivas just outside the box . The free kick could not be finished into the goal, but Union II kept the pressure up and earned two corners just after.
Uzcátegui was shown the first yellow card for Union II in the 28th minute for a foul—surprisingly his first of the season (and this writer apologizes for jinxing him in the preview article). Harrington also earned one in the 34th minute on what seemed like a bit of a questionable call. The referee, Benjamin Meyer, however, seemed to call a decent match overall, and did not fall for the pleas for a penalty kick from OCB in a couple instances.
After a turnover by Griffin, Pedro Leão managed a shot that forced a nice save by Holbrook in the 39th minute, who had an easier save moments later on Hylton’s shot. Orlando continued to bring the pressure as the first half was winding down with several more blocked attempts, bringing a barrage of attempts. Union II almost had a successful counter after a corner that led to a shot by Olivas that rolled wide.
Orlando nearly scored if not for another great save by Holbrook in the 44th minute. Union II finally got a chance in stoppage time after a free kick just outside the box found its way to Griffin, whose shot went just wide. The first half ended with a missed shot by Orlando, with the game scoreless. Holbrook had a remarkable six saves in the first half as Orlando had a whopping 17 shots/6 on target. Union II only had five shots, none on goal.
Harmon made two changes at the half for Union II, replacing Griffin with Andrew Craig at left back, and Timo Mendoza replaced Harrington at defensive mid, who was sitting on a yellow card.
Union II found some energy early in the second half as LeBlanc hit the crossbar in the 52nd minute, but the tenacity finally paid off in the 55th minute. Mendoza threaded a ball forward to Ferreira, who in turn flicked it forward to Davis running on, who hustled to keep the ball from going out of bounds. After dodging a defender, Davis sent a left-footed shot to the bottom left of the goal for his second goal of the season, giving Union II the 1-0 lead.
As the teams were about to restart, Leão was shown a yellow card for something he said to the referee. Orlando brought some pressure as the match resumed, however, with two successive blocks by Uzcátegui and Craig.
Harmon went to his bench once again as Tyler Gladstone replaced Ferreira in the 61st minute. Then, in the 63rd minute, Sequera sent a fantastic cross to Olivas, whose header bounced down and up into the crossbar, somehow not going in—but Union II seemed to be riding a wave of confidence and the pressure did not abate. Two minutes later, Gladstone seemed poised to net his first pro goal, but sent the shot wide right after a great buildup.
In another missed opportunity, this time in the 70th minute, LeBlanc went on a run down the field and passed to Davis, whose one-timer shot high over the crossbar.
In the next minute, Mendoza was shown a yellow card for a foul, and Theo Reed replaced Davis, who seemed to be in some discomfort, as Union II’s next substitution in the 72nd minute in what would be a pivotal move. Shortly after, Olivas had two shots, but was denied.
The final substitution came as Union II were holding onto a 1-0 lead in the 81st minute. A defensive reinforcement was in order as Kaiden Moore replaced Sequera.
Moments later, LeBlanc sent the ball toward the left corner, where it was received by Gladstone, who in turn crossed the ball with precision in front of goal. Reed then headed the ball home to make it 2-0 and give Union II a much-needed cushion in the latter stages of the game.
OCB were not about to go down quietly, forcing nice saves by Holbrook in the 84th and 86th minutes. Bernardo Rhein then went on a run toward goal, but Sundstrom made a sliding tackle to slow him down, with the latter appearing to get hurt in the effort as he was seen hobbling afterward. With no substitutions left and the match nearly over, he tried to tough it out.
Union II did not just park the bus, but kept pushing as a prime chance came for Olivas in the 89th minute, but sailed it high over the crossbar. This was followed by another nice save by Holbrook as regulation was running out.
With four minutes of stoppage time underway, Union II were working to see out the result, and restructured the formation with Sundstrom playing through pain. Reed moved back into more of a defensive role while Sundstrom shifted up. The defense kept battling to clear the ball out, and Craig sent it out where Sundstrom played the ball but lost possession. Orlando then found the back of the net in the 90+3 when Rhein sent the ball into the bottom right corner to make it 2-1.
Not about to let another match slip away late, Union II had to defend right away after the restart, and as the four minutes of stoppage had passed, Holbrook made another save and then took his time before launching the ball far down the field. The final whistle blew, and Union II had finally secured three points.
Enough cannot be said of the job done by Holbrook, whose 10 saves were critical in the win. Additonally, Uzcátegui’s leadership and defensive skills continued to be essential to the success. Benítez, the fastest man in the squad, also was working hard to thwart OCB’s attack and has become more disciplined. Union II were outshot 28-16, with OCB putting 11 shots on target to Union II’s three, but despite that, Union held strong. The goal by Theo Reed was his second game-winner, and as he only has 210 minutes so far, he has been making the most of his minutes.
With the win, Union II jumped from 13th to 11th, however 7th and 11th are only separated by two points. They will face the now-third place Red Bull New York II in their third meeting of the season and second time on the road at MSU Soccer Park, Sunday June 28 at 7:00 PM. For Union II, it will be a big test to see if they continue to trend in the right direction.
Main article photo: Eddy Davis. Courtesy of Philadelphia Union II.
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