MONTCLAIR, N.J.— Union II traveled to MSU Soccer Park at Montclair State University to face Red Bull II for the third and final time in the regular season. A foe they knew all too well, it promised to be a fierce battle for 90 minutes. Unfortunately for Union II, they were only able to muster one shot on target and were shut out in a 5-0 defeat.
The starting lineup saw a few changes, with the striker pair being Sal Olivas and last match’s game-winning goal scorer, Theo Reed. Willyam Ferreira, Kellan LeBlanc, Timo Mendoza, and Óscar Benítez were in midfield. The back line consisted of Jordan Griffin, Andrew Craig, Rafael Uzcátegui, and Giovanny Sequera. Pierce Holbrook, coming off a 10-save performance, was in goal.
The match started out with some early pressure by Union II, however in the 3rd minute, Holbrook was put to the test, making a big save on Dennis Gjengaar’s shot. Red Bull II nearly got a goal shortly after if not for some timely defending, and had several other chances, but Uzcátegui and Craig had some big blocks and were able to clear several threats.
Uzcátegui was the first booking of the match, receiving a yellow card for a hard tackle on Connor Faello in the 18th minute, who would exit the game in the 24th minute. The match was very back-and-forth, with Benítez flashing a lot of skill with key blocks and passes, and bringing physicality that toed the line. Craig sent in a shot in the 30th minute, but it was easily thwarted by Aidan Stokes.
The stalemate was finally broken in the 35th minute when Red Bull II’s Sean Baitinger crossed the ball from the right side of the box in front of the goal, where an unmarked Dennis Nelich on the far post finished it into the upper part of the net. Reed nearly answered right back for Union II, but his shot went just wide right.
In the 39th minute, Red Bull II’s Deven Cadigan was shown a yellow card for a foul, leading to a free kick deep in Red Bull territory, taken by LeBlanc. Sequera took a shot in the sequence, but it was once again taken care of by Stokes.
The match was getting very chippy late in the first half, and Benítez was shown a yellow card in stoppage time for a foul. Red Bull II had some close calls as the first half was ending, but the score remained 1-0 in favor of the home team at halftime.
The second half picked up right where the first half left off—very physical. Union II were fighting to make something happen offensively, but they were having a difficult time, and kept having to defend against a relentless Red Bull attack. Craig was booked for a foul in the 49th minute, putting both center backs on a yellow at that point.
Chris Harmon went to his bench and made a quadruple substitution in the 62nd minute, replacing nearly his whole back line. Mamoutou Berthé and Kaiden Moore replaced Griffin and Uzcátegui, the latter having played every minute of every match up until that point. Making their professional debuts, Samuel Gallego and Jett Harrison replaced LeBlanc and Sequera.
The four players who subbed off all had played the previous day for the first team in the friendly against Houston, so it was expected their minutes would be limited. Unfortunately for Union II, things went awry in a short span of time. Nelich netted his second goal of the match in the 69th minute, followed by a goal in the 72nd minute by Baitinger.
Union II’s final substitution came in the 74th minute as John Ruf replaced Reed. Nelich then scored to complete his hat trick in the 75th minute on a header blasted in off a free kick, making it 4-0.
Two minutes of stoppage time were announced, and Red Bull II did not let up on the attack. They found the back of the net once more from the substitute Paul Sokoloff in the 90+1, resulting in a 5-0 scoreline that would hold for the final tally.
While it was not their worst loss in team history, it was their roughest outing in quite some time, especially in a season marked by mostly one-goal margin games. With a young squad that has a large number of less experienced players at the pro level than in the last couple years, these growing pains are bound to happen. What will be worth watching is how they learn, grow, and respond. They will need to regroup quickly as they will travel to Beirne Stadium in Smithfield, Rhode Island to face New England Revolution II on Sunday, July 5.
Main article photo courtesy of Philadelphia Union II.
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