CHESTER, Pa.—Philadelphia Union II return home to the friendly confines of Subaru Park after three road matches that resulted in two losses and one draw with a shootout loss. They will host 15th place FC Cincinnati 2 (4-14-2) for the second time this season; back in March, they prevailed 1-0 after a Finn Sundstrom goal. Sitting in 12th place at 7-10-4, Union II have a chance to pick up some points at home against a foe that have typically done well against.
Photo courtesy of Philadelphia Union II.
FC Cincinnati 2 are coming off a 7-2 thumping at the hands of Chicago Fire, and have not won a match since June. Union II, meanwhile, have been looking for three points since they faced Orlando and Eddy Davis had a hat trick on July 5.
Speaking of Davis, that is one player Union II will be without moving forward. It was announced today that the 20-year-old striker from Los Angeles, who is on a first team homegrown contract, has been loaned to USL Championship side Loudoun United FC through the remainder of the 2026 season. The top goal scorer for Union II in 2024 and tied for the lead in 2026 with five goals in 13 appearances, he made one appearance for the first team in 2025 but did not feature in MLS play this year.
The loan appears to be a much-needed move for the young forward who could use more challenge, and will hopefully be as beneficial for him as the loans to Brooklyn FC for Markus Anderson and CJ Olney, as well as Neil Pierre’s loan to Lyngby.
Davis brings some versatility in the attack, and interim head coach Chris Harmon had used Davis as a 10 in their previous match with Stas Korzeniowski and Malik Jakupovic as the striker duo.
“Yeah, playing Eddy as as a 10 kind of gave us more verticality. Another guy who can run in behind,” Harmon said. “That’s been a big push for us this week, is playing forward and getting him behind opponents, and an extra burst, an extra bit of pace that can really stress the back line of the opponent.”
While Davis will no longer be an option, Korzeniowski, who just made his return from injury, could feature more with Jakupovic and Sal Olivas, as well as John Ruf and Theo Reed getting opportunities. Willyam Ferreira, Kellan LeBlanc, and Tyler Gladstone also remain as great options on chance creation. Harmon said Korzeniowski will be building himself back up with the second team, but with all the first team matches happening as well, it remains to be seen where he gets his opportunities. He liked what he saw from Korzeniowski, however.
“Yeah, happy for Stas to be back on the field,” Harmon said. “Like his presence, I think everybody felt his presence, and you know it’s his first game in a long time. I think he had some bright moments. Obviously, you know he forces the keeper into a couple couple saves. He puts himself in some good spots. For him, it’s all about training, getting a run of games, getting his getting back in form. So really happy for him to take that first step.”
Looking back at the match against NYCFC II last Saturday, Harmon saw positives and things to build on, calling the match an “emotional rollercoaster” with all that transpired and going to penalty kicks in the end.
“You’re on the road, you equalize late on a great goal, a great team goal. Mateus [De Paula], yeah, so happy for him to get the goal, and then you lose in pens. You know, it’s like this trying to keep these guys even keeled. Obviously, for us, it was important to to get a result on the road. Would have loved to get the extra point, but that’s that’s how these things go.”
It had been a tough match with NYCFC II getting on the board as a result of an unfortunate deflection off Timo Mendoza that went into Union II’s net for an own goal. Harmon was pleased with how his team responded, however.
“But really happy with the resiliency of the group and how they they fought back and yeah, we conceded an own goal, one that I thought was tough, you know, and a difficult goal to concede. But to stay in it and to get these guys who come off the bench and make an impact, really happy with how we ended the game.”
That match certainly had its challenges, as regulation ended with Union II down to nine men after Giovanny Sequera and Óscar Benítez picked up second yellow cards and were sent off late.
Sequera leads MLS Next Pro in yellow cards at nine—not something to be proud of, but unsurprising given his aggressive playing style that is a blessing and a curse, and makes Gio, Gio. A touch reminiscent of a fellow Venezuelan, former Union midfielder José Martínez. The skill and passion are there, just sometimes the restraint is not.
Benítez, to his credit, whose speed and aggression have also been a plus but gotten him booked many times, has been more controlled this season, but fouls happen, especially in his position.
“He’s trying to make a play on the ball, and just with his tenacity, his mentality, it’s hard to put a handbrake on him,” Harmon said of Benítez. “And to be honest, I think for him it was a little bit unlucky to get that second yellow late. So that’s part of the game.”
For Sequera, who had subbed on in the second half to pick up two yellows, it was more problematic. “Gio picking up a second yellow after coming off the bench… that definitely hurts,” Harmon said. “Obviously, we’re gonna miss him in the next couple games. But you know, I think Gio holds himself to a high standard. He knows that we need Gio. We need him on the field. So that’s a loss. Just like Óscar’s a loss going into the next game, but just like anything, it’s next man up in this in this space.”
Harmon has many who can step up and contribute in the midfield and defense who have not gotten as many minutes as of late, as well as Academy players who are on the climb. Mamoutou Berthé, Oliver Pratt, and Kaiden Moore could possibly see some more minutes.
With seven games left in the season, the pressure is mounting. The playoffs are not unreachable for Union II, however every point matters at this stage—something not lost Harmon.
“We come into the the final stretch; they’re all games that we need to get points, and for us, it’s about continuing to push, continuing to build the collective behavior together,” Harmon said. “We’re going to have a team event tomorrow where we’re going to go off-site, have a little bit of fun together. So, trying to continue to push these guys, and yeah, it’s the final push of the season. And for me, it’s one game at a time.”
You can catch the action at Subaru Park on Saturday, August 8 at 12:00 PM, or watch the livestream at mlsnextpro.com via their YouTube feed, or on OneFootball.
Main article photo courtesy of Philadelphia Union II.
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