COLUMBUS—It was a drawn-out affair on the road for Union II in a match marked by a lengthy weather delay, and they put up a fight for the 90 minutes, however they were unable to finish the many chances and were shut out against first-place Columbus Crew 2, falling 2-0.

Coach Chris Harmon’s starting lineup saw two changes from the previous match. Tyler Gladstone got the start in the midfield, with Giovanny Sequera on the bench. Andrew Rick, back from being with the USMNT during their World Cup run as a training keeper got the nod in goal after George Marks held it down last Sunday. The last time Rick was between the sticks for Union II was in May when these two teams met previously.

The rest of the lineup included the striker pair of Malik Jakupovic and Eddy Davis, Kellan LeBlanc, Timo Mendoza, and Óscar Benítez in the midfield. Jordan Griffin and Matheus De Paula were at left and right back, respectively, with Rafael Uzcátegui and Finn Sundstrom at center back.

After a brief weather/technical difficulties delay, the match got underway about a half hour late, with Union II being put to the test early with Rick gathering up the ball on a Crew 2 chance in the opening moments. Union II registered their first shot in the 6th minute when Benítez made a fine cross to Davis, whose shot went on target, but easily to the hands of Crew 2 keeper Luke Pruter.

The match was delayed once again early in the match in due to the weather, but finally resumed after about two hours. Union II saw some chances off corners, including headers by Jakupovic and Sundstrom that missed. Jakupovic then had a great chance that hit the near post. Crew 2 found their first shot shortly after, but Rick scooped it up without issue.

Despite Union II looking like the more dangerous side, it would be Crew 2, however, who got on the board first when Jamil Danjaji knocked in a cross from Prince Forfor in the 41st minute. Union II followed up with a fantastic free kick taken by LeBlanc that was blasted on target and saved by Pruter. Another chance came when Davis took a shot that was saved, much to the frustration of Jakupovic who was at the far post and could have possibly knocked it in.

As the teams went to the break, Union II were outshooting their opponent 10-2, but all it had taken was one mistake that Crew 2 pounced on to be punished.

Union II came roaring out of halftime, looking for the equalizer, with Davis scorching a shot that was saved by Pruter.

The first booking of the match was given in the 53rd minute to Griffin for a foul. Crew 2 brought pressure on the goal, with Rick putting a stop to it, however Sundstrom was banged up in the melee, leading to him receiving off-field treatment, but was able to continue and made a nice defensive play as soon as he reentered.

Giovanny Sequera replaced Gladstone in the 58th minute as Union II’s first substitution. Shortly after, Crew 2 looked poised to double their lead after a defensive miscue left Kevin Gbamblé rushing into a 1v1 with Rick, but De Paula swooped in and blocked the shot.

Jakupovic was booked in the 66th minute for a foul as Union II were battling. Crew 2 saw a few chances, but the defense held strong.

Union II made a triple substitution in the 73rd minute, with Theo Reed and Sammy Gallego replacing Jakupovic and LeBlanc, and making his pro debut, Mateo Gallegos came on for Griffin. Gallegos has been a strong player for the U-18s and had one bench appearance in 2025 for Union II, though he did not play. Kaiden Moore then subbed on for Benítez in the 77th minute, who was banged up and left the field with the trainers.

Still searching for a goal, another great chance came in the 78th minute on a free kick by De Paula that led to a missed header by Reed. They had a few more chances on corners, but they were fruitless.

As regulation was running short, Crew 2’s Zach Lloyd committed a foul for a yellow card on Sequera around the edge of the box that looked like it could possibly be a penalty, but with no VAR in Next Pro, the referee’s call of a free kick just outside the box was the verdict. Unfortunately, the resulting free kick did not lead to a Union II goal, but instead, shortly after, Crew 2 doubled their lead on a goal by Johann Chirinos in the 90th minute, ensuring they would remain undefeated at home.

A disappointing result for Union II who showed a lot of fight, but needed to be more clinical in the box. They outshot Crew 2 17-10 and had five shots on target to Crew 2’s four, but as always, they only matter if they hit the back of the net.

Sitting in tenth place, on the outside looking in at a playoff spot, they still can make that push. They have been on the wrong side of a lot of close matches, but need to get their scoring going if they want to get results as it is now two matches in a row without a goal, and are third-worst in goals scored. Thanks to one of the conference’s best defenses, they remain in the hunt and will need to regroup to take on fourth-place Chattanooga next Saturday on the road.

Main article photo courtesy of Philadelphia Union II.