PHILADELPHIA— It was a Philly showdown at John Bartram High School Stadium as the scrappy, young Union III squad made up of academy players showed what it meant to be resilient on Saturday. Taking on Philadelphia Lone Star in the UPSL Premier: American South Keystone Conference Final, Union III battled back from a 1-0 deficit to tie it at the death and win the penalty shootout, winning the conference and moving on to the UPSL National Playoffs Round of 32.
The teams had faced off twice during the season, with Union III overpowering Lone Star 9-1 in their first meeting, but falling 2-1 in the second match.
Captained by Jett Harrison, Union III’s starting lineup featured Abram Judy in goal, along with Isaac Sparling, Keegan Quenneville, Sean Corbett, Elijah Tulleners, Christopher Thompson, Jayden Kouadio, and Daniel Sullivan, Chuka Ebo, and Liam Holtzman.
While Lone Star had the bulk of the early possession and chances, Union III had their first big threat in the 13th minute and seemingly woke up after that. Lone Star, however, were bringing considerable pressure midway through the first half. That came to a head in the 22nd minute as Lone Star sent a ball forward, and Cristhian Herrera made a well-timed run to receive it and catch Judy way out of goal, chipping the keeper to take the 1-0 lead.
If not for some fantastic defending by Corbett and Sparling in some instances, Lone Star could have easily added to that lead. The first half ended with the Union still trailing and looking for an answer.
The second half saw a stoppage of several minutes around the 58th minute as Ebo was down with an injury, and ultimately left the game. It was a blow to lose Union III’s leading scorer with 11 goals, who along with Harrison was named to the Best 11 of the conference. Shortly after Ebo exited, Timo Mendoza, who has been a dependable starter for the U18s and Union II, subbed on in the 63rd minute.
Sullivan departed in the 69th minute, with Ruf, another standout for the U18/Union II squads, coming in. Though the Union found some new energy, the momentum shifted to Lone Star quickly when one of their players was taken down in the box as he was running on goal, and a penalty was awarded. Judy, however, was not fooled on Lone Star’s shot, diving to his left and making the save on the low shot. It was a huge turning point that kept Union II hopes alive as they fought to find the equalizer.
Tulleners exited in the 77th minute in favor of Landon Mulvenna. The teams continued to battle, but at the end of the 90 minutes, Union II still trailed. With the stoppages, especially Ebo’s injury, a decent amount of stoppage time commenced. As Harrison put a shot toward goal in the 92nd minute, a Lone Star defender committed a handball in the box, setting up a huge late penalty kick for Union II. Before the kick was taken, the Lone Star manager was shown a red card for dissent.
Harrison, no stranger to taking penalty kicks, including in big moments like the Dallas Cup, stepped up to the spot. The UNC commit blasted it past the keeper to bring the match level in the 94th minute, and it was game on. Union II nearly found another goal seven minutes into stoppage time via Ruf, but he was kept at bay.
Thompson was down for some time with an injury, but was able to continue. After 13 minutes of stoppage time, the referee finally blew his whistle, sending the match to a penalty shootout to decide the victor.
It can be challenging to convert a second penalty in a match, and Jett Harrison had done it just a few minutes before he stepped up to take the opening attempt in the shootout. His shot, nearly identical in location to his equalizing PK, still screamed past the keeper, capping off an impressive day. Lone Star’s first shooter, however, got a panenka past Judy to keep it even.
Mendoza, who made the winning PK at the Dallas Cup last spring in the semifinal, went next for Union III, and scored skillfully right down the middle. Lone Star, however, scored as well.
Mulvenna stepped up next and shot a screamer that ricocheted down and in off the crossbar, but it was in. Lone Star made their next shot to keep it even.
Collin Fullam was the fourth shooter for Union III and made his low-right shot, but Lone Star countered with their own that Judy went to the correct side for, but it was out of reach.
In the fifth round with possibly the match on the line, Ruf stepped up and buried his shot in the lower left corner, sending the Lone Star keeper the wrong way and putting all the pressure on Lone Star to make their next shot.
Judy, however, dove to his left and blocked Lone Star’s shot, sealing the conference title for Union III and sending the squad through to the National Round of 32. They will face New York Cosmos B, who also won in a shootout, on a date yet to be determined (either November 14 or 15).
Photo: Jett Harrison’s Instagram
It was a great show of resilience and a show of mental fortitude for Union III for a bunch of teenagers against grown men, proving once again, “if you’re good enough, you’re old enough.” Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available for the next match.
Union Academy squads take on Toronto FC Academy
Earlier in the day, the Union Academy’s U18, U16, and U15 squads hosted their counterparts from Toronto FC at the WSFS Bank Sportsplex, with several of the U18s pulling double duty as they also played for Union III later.
The U18s and U15s played simultaneously on adjacent fields, with both picking up the wins.
The 18s’ starting lineup consisted of strikers John Ruf and Theo Reed, midfielders Tyler Gladstone, Sammy Gallego, Abdoulaye Diop, and Timo Mendoza, defenders Matheus De Paula, Sean Corbett, Landon Mulvenna, and Mateo Gallegos, and goalkeeper Matthew White.
The Union conceded a goal late in the first half, but Gladstone found the equalizer a few minutes later on a great strike.
The Union came out of halftime with considerable energy, and took the lead when Mendoza sent an excellent ball forward to Ruf, who finished it to make it 2-1.
The Boys in Blue tacked on a third goal when Jayden Kouadio blasted a shot from outside the box that was saved, but Gallegos picked up the rebound and crossed it in front of goal to a waiting Kouadio, who tapped it in for the 3-1 lead, which would hold as the final score.
The 16s, however, were caught in a deadlock for much of the game, with the Union providing quality defense but were unable to finish their chances. That stalemate held until Toronto found the back of the net in the second half for the 1-0 lead, and the Union were unable to answer.
The starting lineup consisted of Jude Larbi, Troy Raneses, Jayden Staines, Salvatore Palazzari, Sidiki Toure, Jacob Mays, Ryan Tamm, Kai Simmonds, Jaxson Fulmer, Grant Simmonds, and goalkeeper Thomas White.
Meanwhile, the 15s won 3-0, including a brace by Gino Cecere, who has been arguably the biggest standout of that group.
The 13s and 14s played at home also on Saturday, but hosted Achilles FC. The Union routed them 13-0 and 12-0, respectively.
The 18s, 16s, and 15s will face their counterparts at Red Bull Academy in what promises to be more fierce battles as they travel to Red Bull Performance Center on Saturday, November 14. Those matches will be at 10:00, 12:15, and 2:30, respectively.
Main article photo from Jett Harrison’s Instagram.
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