Photo Kevin Barrett<\/p>\n
Union II hosted New York City FC II on MLS NEXT Pro\u2019s decision day 2026. Given the way the other matches turned out, the Boys in Blue needed a win in regulation and help from elsewhere to qualify for the playoffs. They did not succeed.<\/p>\n
The visitors opened the scoring in the first half, and Kellan LeBlanc drew level for Philadelphia on a free kick early in the second. Then in the 81st minute a second yellow card to first-team reserve center back Geiner Martinez who was playing right back for the second team ejected him from the match for denial of a goal-scoring opportunity on a breakaway. Although goalkeeper Andrew Rick saved the consequences penalty kick, and Martinez\u2019s banishment left Union II having to push for a winner a man down in the last ten minutes.<\/p>\n
The match finished level, and New York came away with the extra point from the post-regulation shootout despite a stellar effort from Rick. \u00a0For the first time in the league\u2019s short history, Philadelphia Union II has failed to qualify for the playoffs.<\/p>\n
Player Availability<\/p>\n
The first team played the day before Saturday, September 19th, away in Kansas City. No double duty by first team reserves was possible. Finn Sundstrom started at center back, Andrew Rick started in goal, Geiner Martinez started at right back, and Sal Olivas rode the bench. Rick stayed home from the first team\u2019s trip to Kansas City so he could be available for the second team and have game minutes before Andre Blake is called away for international duty. Martinez was also made available to Union II at right back, probably for the same reason since the five first-team international duty call-ups will force the first team to re-arrange its defense drastically next weekend against Orlando City.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Academy U-18s also played the day before, Saturday, September 19th, away to NYC FC U-18s. They won 7-0.<\/p>\n
Decision Day<\/p>\n
Technically and arithmetically, Philadelphia\u2019s playoff chances were still on life support. But they were unlikely.<\/p>\n
NYC FC II lay 6th in the table on 45 points, not yet having clinched a playoff berth.\u00a0 Union II lay 10th in the table on 42 points, one place and one point below qualifying for the recently added wild card play-in game.<\/p>\n
Other matches relevant to Philadelphia\u2019s qualification chances were eighth-place Orlando City B who lost to fifth-place Atlanta United 2 and ninth-place CT United who advanced top the table by clobbering \u00a0last place Inter Miami II. Huntsville City delivered the coup de grace to Philadelphia\u2019s hopes by winning out over Red Bull New York II 2-1.<\/p>\n
First half<\/p>\n
Both sides had their share of chances in the opening fifteen minutes.<\/p>\n
Finn Sundstrom had a very well-timed tackle to deny New York City roving striker Maximo Carrizo on a break.<\/p>\n
Carrizo got open again in the 19th minute and had his shot denied by Andrew Rick. The break was the third time Jordan Griffin got caught too far up the field, leaving a player in space behind him. From the open ing whistle Philly had to take risks to try to score.<\/p>\n
New York\u2019s Adonis Campos was booked for a foul on Matheus De Paula in the 27th minute.\u00a0Tensions rose throughout the half as both teams failed to get into attacking positions.<\/p>\n
The visitors pulled ahead in the 43rd minute when Griffin was once again caught upfield in transition, leaving Carrizo open in space to play the ball to Drew Kerr in the center.<\/p>\n
Union II went to the locker room with a hill to climb after the break.<\/p>\n
Second half<\/p>\n
New York\u2019s Peter Molinari was cautioned in the 49th minute for a late tackle on Giovanny Sequera. Geiner Martinez was then fouled on the edge of the box a minute later, giving Union II a free kick in a very dangerous area. Kellan LeBlanc stood over the ball and put it into the top bin to level the score.<\/p>\n
Andrew Rick made another impressive save through traffic to keep things level in the 58th minute.<\/p>\n
Geiner Martinez was cautioned in the 62nd minute for a hit into the chest of New York captain Jonathan Lopez. Three minutes later Jordan Griffin was cautioned for a foul off the ball.<\/p>\n
Willyam Ferreira entered for Finn Sundstrom in the 66th minute. The change slid Giovanny Sequera to right back, and Geiner Martinez to center back. The move signaled a raised level of intense defensive pressure up the field by the hoists, ending the first half\u2019s low block approach.<\/p>\n
Tyler Gladstone entered for John Ruf in the 78th minute, pushing Kellan LeBlanc forward to play striker.<\/p>\n
Geiner Martinez was given a second yellow card and called for a penalty after stopping the aforementioned New York breakaway. The New York player appeared offside to start the play, but the assistant referee\u2019s flag did not rise. Also as discussed, Rick saved the penalty kick.<\/p>\n
Rafael Uzcategui entered for Matheus De Paula in the 84th to replace Martinez at center back and hold down the back line. As other games stood across the league, Union II needed a win in regulation to make the playoffs.<\/p>\n
Rick had another save in the 85th minute.<\/p>\n
Kellan LeBlanc was cautioned in the 89th minute for attempting to slide tackle a New York player from behind.<\/p>\n
Rafael Uzcategui and Andrew Rick combined to stop a huge New York breakaway in stoppage time.<\/p>\n
Tyler Gladstone was brought down near the box in the 4th minute of stoppage time. But LeBlanc could not do anything with the free kick.<\/p>\n
The match ended level in regulation before a lackluster shootout \u2014 only three of ten penalties were scored \u2014 gave the extra point to New York City.<\/p>\n
Three points<\/p>\n
Andrew Rick\u00a0had a stellar performance in his tune-up appearance.
\nGeiner Martinez has had a match-altering error in each of his two MLS NEXT Pro appearances in 2026. He also won the free kick that allowed LeBlanc to tie the match.
\nKaiden Moore\u00a0has taken a step forward in his development as a center back.<\/p>\n
B O X S C O R E
\nLineups<\/p>\n
Union II (4-2-2-2, L-R). Interim head coach Chris Harmon. Roster sources: 1st \u2014 3+1; U II \u2014 5+4; AA \u2014 3+3. Starters average age = 19.6<\/p>\n
Starters: Andrew Rick; Jordan Griffin, Kaiden Moore, Finn Sundstrom (Willyam Ferreira\u2014 66\u2032), Geiner Martinez; Oscar Benitez, Matheus De Paula (Rafael Uzcategui\u2014 84\u2032); Giovanny Sequera, Kellan LeBlanc; Theo Reed, John Ruf (Tyler Gladstone\u2014 78\u2032).<\/p>\n
Rick
\nGriffin
\nMoore
\nSundstrom
\nMartinez
\nBenitez<\/p>\n
1st
\nU II
\nU II
\n1st
\n1st
\nUII<\/p>\n
20.6
\n17.9
\n19.4
\n19.8
\n23.7
\n22.3<\/p>\n
De Paula
\nSequera
\nLeBlanc
\nReed
\nRuf<\/p>\n
AA
\nU II
\nU II
\nAA
\nAA<\/p>\n
17.9
\n20.6
\n18.5
\n17.9
\n17.4<\/p>\n
Substitutes: Pierce Holbrook; Oliver Pratt, Abdoulaye Diop, Samuel Gallego, Sal Olivas.<\/p>\n
Holbrook
\nPratt
\nUzcategui
\nDiop
\nGallego
\nFerreira<\/p>\n
UII
\nU II
\nU II
\nAA
\nAA
\nUII<\/p>\n
23.4
\n22.9
\n22.0
\n16.6
\n16.5
\n17.6<\/p>\n
Gladstone
\nOlivas<\/p>\n
AA
\n1st<\/p>\n
17.2
\n20.2<\/p>\n
NYC FC II\u00a0 (4-3-3). Head coach Matt Pilkington. Per Transfermarkt, full squad average age = 21.2.<\/p>\n
Starters: Mac Learned; Max Murray, Joao Loiola, Kevin Pierre, Cooper Flax, Peter Molinari, Maximo Carrizo (Joseph Suchecki\u2014 90+\u2019), Luka Sunjic (Jacob Arroyave\u2014 81\u2032), Drew Kerr, Jonathan Lopez, Adonis Campos<\/p>\n
Substitutes: Dylan McDermott, Gabriel Mendoza, Caleb Danquah, Camilo Ponce, Elhadji Samb, David Duque.<\/p>\n
Goals<\/p>\n
NYC: Kerr\u2014 43\u2032<\/p>\n
UII: LeBlanc\u2014 52\u2032<\/p>\n
Yellow Cards<\/p>\n
NYC: Campos\u2014 27\u2032<\/p>\n
NYC: Molinari\u2014 49\u2032<\/p>\n
UII: Martinez\u2014 62\u2032<\/p>\n
UII: Griffin\u2014 65\u2032<\/p>\n
NYC: Sunjic\u2014 67\u2032<\/p>\n
UII: Martinez\u2014 82\u2032 (second caution, ejected)<\/p>\n
UII: LeBlanc\u2014 89\u2032<\/p>\n
Whistle & Flags<\/p>\n
REF: Kevin Broadley; AR1: Audra Fullen; AR2: Alexandru Focea; 4TH: Kenan Kapetanovic.<\/p>\n
Stats<\/p>\n
U II
\nStatistic
\nNYC
\nU II
\nStatistic
\nNYC<\/p>\n
12
\nShots
\n20
\n1
\nOffsides
\n2<\/p>\n
6
\nShots on goal
\n11
\n10
\nGoalkeeper Saves
\n5<\/p>\n
6
\nBlocked shots
\n4
\n3
\nClearances
\n4<\/p>\n
270
\nTotal Passes
\n525<\/p>\n
70.7
\nPass Accuracy %
\n86.3
\n16
\nFouls
\n14<\/p>\n
6
\nCorners
\n5
\n4
\nYellow Cards
\n4<\/p>\n
5
\nTotal Crosses
\n6
\n1
\nRed Cards
\n0<\/p>\n
Shootout<\/p>\n
NYCFC II<\/p>\n
Union II<\/p>\n
Versus Rick
\nRND
\nVersus Learned<\/p>\n
Flax
\nGoal
\n1
\nLeBlanc
\nSaved<\/p>\n
Molinari
\nSaved
\n2
\nGladstone
\nMiss<\/p>\n
Suchecki
\nGoal
\n3
\nSequera
\nSaved<\/p>\n
Pierre
\nMiss
\n4
\nUzcategui
\nGoal<\/p>\n
Lopez
\nMiss
\n5
\nMoore
\nMiss<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Photo Kevin Barrett Union II hosted New York City FC II on MLS NEXT Pro\u2019s decision day 2026.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":352003,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[9,24,55,54,56],"class_list":["post-352002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-city-headlines","tag-new-york-city-news","tag-ny"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=352002"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352002\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/352003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=352002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=352002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=352002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}