Friday evening brought along another installment of Union II's 2026 MLS Next Pro campaign, and this one was a road trip to face Eastern Conference leaders Crown Legacy FC.
Coming off the back of a 2-1 loss to Toronto FC II in their last game out, interim Head Coach Chris Harmon was looking to bounce back in this game and get his side back to winning ways and moving up the Eastern Conference Standings.
Unfortunately for Coach Harmon, he had a few selection decisions to make, as both Kellan LeBlanc and Jordan Griffin are currently away with the US U18 team in Spain for a training camp, while goalkeeper Andrew Rick is away with the USMNT, serving as a training goalkeeper for their 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign.
Coach Harmon made four changes to the starting XI that began the road trip against Toronto FC II, with Kaiden Moore, Giovanny Sequera, Nehan Hasan, and Theo Reed coming into the side. Pierce Holbrook kept his spot as the team's goalkeeper after several good performances for Union II this season.
Union forward Stas Korzeniowski scored a brace in another game with the second team.
Image Provided / Philadelphia Union II
The game started in the worst way possible for Chris Harmon and Union II, as after just five minutes on the clock, the hosts took the lead through Nathan Richmond, who smartly finished with his left foot. Union II fought back brilliantly after conceding, though, with both Eddy Davis and Theo Reed going close just minutes after Crown Legacy's opener.
Matheus De Paula was the next Union II player to go close after 25 minutes had gone. The young midfielder was looking for his 3rd goal in as many games, but his effort was well saved by Crown Legacy’s Lazar Kalicanin. Club captain Rafael Uzcategui went close with a header from a corner but had to watch it sail over the bar after 33 minutes had gone in the game.
Pierce Holbrook, who's been fantastic and on top form for Union II this season, was again putting in another fantastic performance for his side as he made a couple of brilliant saves denying Adrian Mendoza from doubling the hosts' lead before making several other stops during the first half.
Holbrook tried his best to keep his side within just the one goal during the second half, with several more saves to add to his first half tally, and Eddy Davis went close 50 minutes in when he sailed his shot over the bar. Chris Harmon attempted to turn his side's luck with a couple of substitutions in the second half, one of which saw Sal Olivas replace Theo Reed.
Unfortunately for Chris Harmon and Union II, their luck went from bad to worse as with 15 minutes left on the clock, center-back Finn Sundstrom received a second yellow card and was sent off, leaving the visitors down to 10 men.
Eddy Davis went close again minutes later with a shot from distance that caused some trouble for Lazar Kalicanin. Rafael Uzcategui had a phenomenal chance to level things up in stoppage time for his team, but his late header just didn't stay on target, and so Union II fell to their 2nd defeat in a row, their 4th defeat in their last 6 games, and one that leaves them further from the top of the Eastern Conference standings.
Chris Harmon and his Union II side will look to bounce back in their next game, their final home game in their little stint at the WSFS Bank Sportsplex, when they play hosts to rivals NYCFC II on Sunday, June 14, at 3 pm ET.
