Saturday afternoon brings another MLS Next Pro Gameday for Ryan Richter and his high-flying Union II side, as they make the short trip over state borders to face NYCFC II in New York.
Union II are currently on an incredible run of form that sees them coming off the back of a convincing 4-0 win over Crown Legacy, which also ended up gaining Union II their 4th MLS Next Pro Team of the Matchweek award in 2025.
Eddy Davis opened the scoring in the 2nd minute to set the pace of the game and then a Crown Legacy own goal before halftime set up the second half to be comfortable for Ryan Richter’s side.
Things went from bad to worse for Crown Legacy as they had a man sent off in the early stages of the 2nd half. Nick Pariano was the first Philly player to benefit from Union II having a one man advantage by slotting in his 3rd goal of the season and then Malik Jakupovic sealed the deal near the end of the game, with his goal scoring record still perfect for Union II, scoring atleast once in every one of his 4 appearances so far.
In more good news for Ryan Richter’s men, they added a new signing to the roster this past week with midfielder Noah Probst joining from Swiss side FC St. Gallen. The move is initially a loan spell for the season, but Union II also have the option to buy Noah at any point during the loan spell. He has already played 26 times for St. Gallen this past season. His total career stats currently stand at 119 appearances, 10 goals, and two assists.
NYCFC II enter this game currently sat in 8th place in the Eastern Conference Standings, with most of their points this season coming from their impressive home form, something that makes this game a lot harder for Union II than it looks on paper. NYCFC II are looking to bounce back after a tough New York derby loss to NYRB II last week, where they lost 4-2. The hosts for this one will be looking to get a major win and stop the run of hot form Union II are on, as they need the points if NYCFC II want to be competitors in the playoffs.
These two sides have already faced eachother this season and will face eachother again later in the season. The previous meeting will put a bit more confidence into Richter’s side as they cruised to a 4-1 win back in April against NYCFC. Sal Olivas, Nick Pariano, Stas Korzeniowski, and Giovanny Sequera all found themselves on the scoresheet.
The game is scheduled to kick off at 4pm ET and will be available to stream online on Apple TV via an active MLS Season Pass subscription.
Image Credit: Philadelphia Union II
