Union II are back in MLS Next Pro action on Wednesday evening, after over a week off since their last game in the competition. This time, New England Revolution II visits, but not at the usual home of Subaru Park; instead, Union II will host the New England team at the WSFS Bank Sportsplex.
While Union II always plays its home games at Subaru Park, the team will be shaking things up for its next four home games, welcoming opponents to the WSFS Bank Sportsplex instead. The Sportsplex, which opened in June of last year, is the main campus for all Philadelphia Union football operations and features seven outdoor multi-sport fields and a grass field with spectator seating, called the Kinetic Field, where Union II will play their home games.
The change of venue is due to the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup, and with the tournament arriving in Philadelphia, Subaru Park will serve as the Côte d’Ivoire Men’s National Team's training base.
Philadelphia Union II scored four in a 4-1 win over Carolina Core FC.
Image Provided / Philadelphia Union II
Last time out, Union II played host to their bitter rivals RBNY II at Subaru Park, and while a win would have been a huge boost to Union II’s push to be in the top spot of the Eastern Conference standings, they fell to a 2-1 loss, which saw their rivals open up a bigger points gap between them. Stas Korzeniowski opened the scoring for Union II just after the halftime break after a great assist from Kellan LeBlanc.
However, RBNY II proved why they’re such a top side at this level by scoring twice in a matter of minutes to not only equalize but also take the lead with around 15 minutes to go. Stas Korzeniowski went close in stoppage time, but his shot was saved by the RBNY goalkeeper, and Ryan Richter’s men suffered defeat in the rivalry game.
Union II goalkeeper George Marks made big saves and scored the winning PK over Red Bulls II
Image Provided / Philadelphia Union II
Their opponents, New England Revolution II, are heading into this game with a mixed season so far, as they find themselves on the same points as Ryan Richter’s side, 14, having won three, drawn three, and lost twice in their eight games so far. Their last game was this past weekend in a five-goal thriller against NYCFC II, in which The Revs came out winners, 3-2.
Wednesday evening’s game will be the first time these two sides have met this season, but they played each other three times last season, and Ryan Richter’s side went winless against them. Their first game last season was the season opener, and it ended in a 0-0 draw, with the Revs taking the extra point in the shootout.
Their second game of last season also ended in a draw, this time 2-2, and Union II came out the winners of the extra-point shootout. Their final meeting of last season ended in a 3-1 defeat at home for Ryan Richter’s men, so they head into this with a pretty poor record against their opponents, something I’m sure Coach Richter will want to fix this time around.
The game is scheduled for a 7 pm ET kick-off at WSFS Bank Sportsplex, with tickets still available online. If you can’t make it down to the ground, then the game will be streamed worldwide, for free, on both the MLS Next Pro website and the OneFootball platform.
Union II center back Rafael Uzcátegui (40) scored an exclimation point goal in a 4-1 win!
Image Provided / Philadelphia Union II
