Sunday evening brings another MLS Next Pro gameday for Marlon LeBlanc and his Union II side as they travel on the road to Ohio for an end of July clash with Columbus Crew 2.
Union II take on Columbus II
Marlon LeBlanc’s men are looking to bounce back from suffering late heartbreak against NYCFC II in their previous game last week. Eddy Davis scored his 10th of the season to put Union II up 1-0 but two goals in the final 8 minutes from the home side caused Union II to lose their first match in 4.
The loss put Marlon LeBlanc’s side’s 1st place spot in danger, with the likes of Chicago and Cincinnati hot on their heels but Cincinnati lost the next day, so Union II still hold a 3-point lead over Cincy and Chicago. They’ll be looking for a win in this one to keep that lead intact.
There shouldn’t be any real roster issues or team changes needed from their last game apart from David Vazquez as they young forward is away with the US U20’s. Andrew Rick managed to still feature in the game with NYCFC II, despite sticking around the senior team.
A moment ago, I mentioned that Cincinnati, who are just three points away from Union II for top spot, lost last weekend when they could have been level on points. Well Union II has their opponents in this game to thank for that as Columbus Crew II are coming off the back of a 6-1 battering of Cincy 2, the win extended Columbus’ unbeaten streak to 7 games, and they’ve been scoring a lot of goals in those games. Chase Adams will be a name that Union II defense will be on the lookout for during this one, after he got 2 goals off the bench against Cincy and is currently the team’s leading goal scorer with 7 on the season.
Columbus currently sits in 5th position, 8 points back from Marlon LeBlanc’s side and a win against Union II in this one would be a massive boost for their chances at getting into the top spot of the Eastern Conference standings. These two teams have met once this season already, a 3-1 win for the boys in blue with CJ Olney and Sal Olivas involved in all 3 games, funnily enough, that was the last game Columbus lost.
The game is scheduled to start at 6pm ET, with the game being streamed on Apple TV via an active MLS Season Pass subscription.
Image Credit: Philadelphia Union II
