CHESTER, Pa.— It was not just the first teams doing battle in Chester on Saturday, but the Philadelphia Union and New England Revolution academy squads faced off earlier in the day over at the WSFS Bank Sportsplex.
U18: Revolution 2, Union 1
The exceptionally deep and talented U18s kicked off the triple-header on a sun-drenched morning. Going into the match, the Union were undefeated, but that run unfortunately came to an end despite a hard-fought battle.
The starting lineup consisted of Theo Reed, John Ruf, Tyler Gladstone, Sammy Gallego, Abdoulaye Diop, Sean Corbett, Mateo Gallegos, Landon Mulvenna, Tommie Wysong, Matheus De Paula, and goalkeeper Abram Judy.
The first half saw some decent chances for the Union, but they were just unable to finish them. Gladstone and Gallego made some nice runs on the attack, and Mulvenna thwarted several attempts by the Revs to break through, with Judy not being too busy. The first half ended in a 0-0 stalemate.
Early in the second half, Ruf had a good look at net, but his shot went over. The Revs finally broke through after a free kick deep in Union’s defensive end. They doubled their lead after a quick transition caught the Union.
The Union pulled one back when Gladstone went top bins on a free kick just outside the box to make it 2-1.
The Revs keeper was down for a chunk of time after collision, which contributed to quite a bit of stoppage time. The Union fought hard to find the equalizer, with several quality chances, but were ultimately unsuccessful. They will look to regroup against The Football Academy next Saturday, October 31 at 10:00 AM.
U16: Union 2, Revolution 0
The Union U16s had a strong performance as they shut out the visitors, earning goalkeeper Thomas White, who made several skillful saves, a clean sheet.
The starting lineup included Troy Raneses, Filipe Cruz, Salvatore Palazzari, Jayden Staines, Mateo Rosko, Sidiki Toure, Ryan Tamm, Grant Simmonds, Kai Simmonds, Jaxson Fulmer, and Thomas White (GK).
About midway through the first half, Mateo Rosko put the Union up 1-0 after a low shot from near the top of the box found the back of the net.
In the second half, the Union continued to dominate, and Jaxson Fulmer added a second goal when he knocked in the feed from a corner.
That 2-0 scoreline held as the defense thwarted any attempts the Revs could muster, sealing the victory for the Union. They will play The Football Academy next Saturday at 12:15 PM at home.
U15: Union 3, Revolution 1
The Union’s U15s finished up the day for the Academy with a strong showing from the young squad.
The starting lineup featured goalkeeper Jake Miczek, Austin Gayle, Lassina Coulibaly, Ahmed Abdelgadir, Javier Seymour, Fousseyni Coulibaly, David Auguste, Mikey Blaszczyk, River Franek, Gino Cecere, and Troy Bley.
Late in the first half, Cecere found the back of the net after a fantastic feed from Bley to open the scoring. The towering striker continues to impress. The match went into halftime with the Union holding a 1-0 lead.
The Union continued to be the dominant side as the second half progressed, and they found two goals in quick succession to make it 3-0. First, Union player #84 (name unavailable and not listed on the roster) finished a short cross in front of the goal past the keeper to make it 2-0.
Barely a minute later, after the Revs kicked off and passed back to their keeper, who sent it back to a defender, who in turn attempted a pass across to the left near the top of the box. Almamy Barry swooped in and intercepted the ball, and confidently shot it past the keeper to make 3-0.
The Revs got one back late to make it 3-1, but were held at bay otherwise, with the home side finishing victorious. The Union U15s will face The Football Academy next Saturday at 2:30 PM at home.
Main article photo by Jillian Almoney.
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