Sunday afternoon saw Decision Day action take place across the MLS Next Pro and Union II headed out on the road to face Chicago Fire 2, looking to secure the club’s first ever top place and #1 seed finish to the regular season.
Union II miss out on #1 seed in the East
The team knew that with a win on the road or matching the result of 2nd place FC Cincinnati II, who were playing Orlando City B, they’d be the #1 seed in the East and have home advantage throughout the postseason. Chicago also needed the win with them trying to secure back-to-back playoff berths in back-to-back seasons.
Marlon LeBlanc made a couple changes to his starting XI from the side that came back and beat Atlanta last weekend, with David Vazquez returning to the squad and taking Giovanny Sequera’s spot in the lineup. The other change seeing Markus Anderson return to the squad and replacing Sal Olivas up front, leading the line with top goalscorer Eddy Davis.
The game started off with Union II forcing Chicago back into their own half and having a couple chances miss the mark, one from a CJ Olney cross into the box and the other when Eddy Davis couldn’t finish past Patrick Los in a 1-on-1 opportunity. News elsewhere wasn’t helping the vibe with the Union camp as FC Cincinnati had run out into a 2-0 lead within the opening 10 minutes in their game against Orlando, sending Cincy top of the league by 2 points.
5 minutes later and things went from bad to worse for the young side as the first attack from Chicago in the opening stages of the first half ended with the hosts going 1-0 up. After some good buildup play on the right side, Justin Reynolds put a ball into the box and found Peter Soudan, who headed home the opening goal of the game.
Union II are used to coming from behind and winning games, with their last 2 games being comeback wins, and they almost got back into the game minutes after Chicago’s opener but CJ Olney’s cross was cleared off the line after Los initially missed his claim attempt.
Cavan Sullivan came close to setting up CJ Olney for the equaliser, but Olney couldn’t get a clean shot away with a crowded penalty box after receiving it from Cavan. David Vazquez slipped Markus Anderson in behind the defensive line for the final chance before halftime but Anderson couldn’t get a shot off after some brilliant defensive recovery work from Chicago.
The Halftime break came along and Union II found themselves trailing 1-0, even worse, FC Cincinnati was flying at home against Orlando, being 2-0 up, nothing short of a small miracle was needed for Philly to achieve their first ever #1 seed.
There was a small period of time where it seemed that miracle might just happen. It started with Orlando grabbing a goal back against Cincinnati to make it 2-1 and then Philly found their long-awaited equaliser. Eddy Davis led a 3-on-2 counter attack and he slipped through Markus Anderson, who cut inside on his left and fired one into the far corner.
Unfortunately for Philly, the good feeling didn’t last long at all as Chicago virtually went straight from the kickoff and restored their lead, after a shot from Omari Glasgow somehow went under Andrew Rick and Union II needed to fight back once again.
FC Cincinnati took a 3-1 lead, to make things worse for Philly, and LeBlanc made his first change of the game as Cavan Sullivan left the pitch for Giovanny Sequera. Anderson went close again, just after a duo of changes for Union II that saw Jose Riasco and Gavin Wetzel enter the field of play for Eddy Davis and Jamir Berdecio.
Patrick Los was in great form for Chicago in this game and he made every Union II hope and dream die when he produced a phenomenal save from a Markus Anderson shot as he managed to tip the ball onto the far post and a goal line clearance made sure no follow up could happen.
Chicago held on for the 2-1 home win and Union II would fall in the final game of their phenomenal regular season campaign. They finished in 2nd place in the East, just behind FC Cincinnati, by 2 points and with a W/L record of 15 wins, 9 losses, and 4 draws. They also finished with the best goal difference in the Eastern Conference at +18, while scoring the most out of anyone in the league other than Tacoma Defiance, and the 2nd best defensive record in the Eastern Conference.
Philly now wait until Tuesday when the league goes through the newly created Pick-Your-Opponent system, where the top 4 seeds pick the opponent, they want to face in the first round of the playoffs. With Union II finishing in 2nd place, it means they’ll have the 2nd pick in this system and have a choice between 5th place Orlando, 6th place rivals NYCFC II, 7th place Columbus Crew 2, and 8th place Crown Legacy FC. Whoever Marlon LeBlanc and his staff pick will be the team they play at Subaru Park on October 20th.
Image Credit: Philadelphia Union II
