Philadelphia Union U17s make it two in a row to start GA Cup run

Day two of the first leg of the east regional for the Generation adidas Cup produced another result for the Philadelphia Union U17s as they made it two wins out of two with a 2-0 win over New England Revolution on Saturday.

Rebounding from a 5-0 defeat at the hands of New York Red Bulls on Friday, New England Revolution showed a different look that frustrated the Union for much of the game Saturday.

“It was extremely difficult,” Union U17 head coach Gary Lewis said. “They played with a diamond in the midfield and overloaded us.”

When they were able to break the pressure, the Union were able to create a number of clear-cut chances they just weren’t able to put past Revolution goalkeeper Kevin Coffey.

“We must have had five one on ones but hit the keeper every time,” Lewis said.

In the end, Julian Anderson’s 40th minute penalty, a possible penalty that wasn’t called on the other end that benefited the Union and an 89th minute strike from Obafemi Awodesu off a fine individual effort accounted for the 2-0 score line.

Goalkeeper Kristopher Shakes recorded his second straight clean sheet of the tournament and center backs JD Wagner and Ian Graham put in another fine effort anchoring the defense.

“Shakes gives us confidence,” Lewis said. “He’s a real presence, good communicator. He commands the box.”

Lineup:
Philadelphia Union: Kris Shakes, A.J. Cousins, Ian Graham, JD Wagner, Donovan Wu, Adam Lenges, Marco Bla, Axel Picazo, Julian Anderson, Jason Aoyama, Michael McKeown
Subs: Aboubacar Camara (40’), Tony Antek Sankiel (65’), Nick Blacklock (65’), Shayner Borgelin (65’), Obafemi Awodesu (66’)

The Union have a day off today and return to action on Monday for their final match of the first leg of qualifiers against Orlando City at 11 a.m.

In other U17 action on Saturday, Atlanta United beat D.C. United 5-2 behind a hat trick from Deedson Vixamar and New York City FC edged Orlando City 2-1 in NYCFC’s first match of the weekend (New York Red Bulls had Saturday off).