Marlon LeBlanc’s Union II side face some Monday night football in the closing stages of the MLS Next Pro regular season, as they host rivals NYCFC II in a crucial contest.
Union II will be looking to secure a playoff spot in this game, after failing to secure one in mid-week when they lost narrowly to Inter Miami II, 3-2 on the road. Frankie Westfield got the equalising goal in that one and Eddy Davis scored in stoppage time to make it a nervy finish for Inter Miami, but they managed to hold on and cause Marlon LeBlanc’s men to have to wait until this game to secure their 3rd playoff spot in 3 years.
If the Union manage to beat NYCFC II in this one, they become only the second team to make the playoffs in all 3 years since the MLS Next Pro was first created. Alongside the big push for securing a spot in the postseason, Union II are still looking to clinch the 1st seed in the Eastern Conference, a position they held for a long time during the current season.
The number 1 seed is a massive advantage as it means the team will be able to secure home games throughout the playoffs and also be able to pick their opponents as they progress through, theoretically make it easier for themselves.
Union II should have a full roster to select from, even with Cavan Sullivan playing a part off the bench for the senior team on Sunday night against DC United, and Andrew Rick also taking a spot on the bench for that game too. Marlon LeBlanc would love to have no roster management headaches as the team enters the most important time of the season, with minimal regular season games to play and everything to play for.
NYCFC II will be massively up for the game on Monday too, with them currently sitting in tied 4th place and just 4 points back from Union II. They will also be looking to make their playoff spot a much easier one to secure as they currently sit just 1 point above 8th place, and are currently in a 4-way tie for 4th, so it’s a chaotic end to the season for a lot of teams in the Eastern Conference.
The visitors enter the game on the back of a road loss to Toronto FC II, with the scoreline finishing 3-0. The team hasn’t actually won a game since the end of August, drawing 3 of their games since then and losing all 3 extra point penalty shootouts.
They’ve hit a bad patch of form at the worst possible time and will be looking to re-create their win against Union II last time out these two sides met when they pulled off a miraculous comeback with just 2 minutes to play, after Eddy Davis opened the scoring early on.
The game is scheduled to take place at Subaru Park, with kickoff scheduled at 4pm ET. If you can’t get down to the ground, the game will be shown live on Apple TV via an active MLS Season Pass subscription.
Image Credit: Philadelphia Union II
