Philadelphia Union U16s fall in final Generation adidas Cup qualifier

A late goal from D.C. United ended the Philadelphia Union U16 team’s chances of advancing to the Championship division of the Generation adidas Cup on Monday.

D.C. United took a 2-0 lead inside the first half hour with goals from Johnny Godette off a counter from a corner kick and a turnover deep in the Union end. But the boys in blue responded to the early hole with a goal from Chad Letts in the 26th minute and an equalizer from Michael Pellegrino just before halftime.

Pellegrino’s goal was set up by a short corner and cross from Seth Kuhn, which you can see in the video below.

The score remained tied – Brenden Aronson nearly found the back of the net on a curling ball that hit the post – and appeared to be heading to a penalty shootout when D.C. grabbed a winner with a ball slipped into the near post by Tonny Villatoro in the final minute of regulation.

With the loss, the Union finished the East regional with a 2-2-2 record and in either fourth or fifth place depending on the result from the final game between Orlando City and New England Revolution.

Atlanta United and New York Red Bulls received automatic bids to the Championship division finishing first and second place in the region while New York City FC finished with 10 points in third place. New this year, the top two third place finishers in the three regions will also advance to the Championship division.

The Union and all other teams that failed to qualify will be seeded into a consolation bracket at the GA Cup finals in Frisco, Texas in April.