Union Academy top Houston Dynamo on penalties in GA Cup consolation

Carlos dos Santos saved a penalty and four of his teammates buried their chances to give the Philadelphia Union Academy a 4-2 win in a penalty shootout against Houston Dynamo in a Generation adidas Cup consolation Thursday.

Dos Santos also came off his line to stop a break away in the second half to preserve the clean sheet, which was put to the test when Josue Monge was shown a red card with 10 minutes left in the 70-minute match.

Forwards Kalil ElMedkhar, Justin McMaster and Darius Lewis; midfielders Anthony Fontana, Seth Kuhn and Kurtis Orrson and defenders Brandon Golden, Evan Godfrey, Ben Ofeimu and Isaiah Holquist got the start in front of dos Santos in goal. Monge, Issa Rayyan and Justin Bloyou came off the bench.

Defender Mark McKenzie, who wore the captain's armband in the first three group matches of the tournament, left to join up with Bethlehem Steel FC for their season opener on Friday night at FC Montreal.

Kuhn, Godfrey, ElMedkhar and Fontana converted penalties in the shootout. The penalty shootout – a bonus point in the competition – gives the Union a 1-1-2 record and six points in the tournament with one more consolation match remaining. The opponent

The semifinals for the Premier Division of the competition featured four international teams – Chivas Guadalajara and Monterrey were scheduled to play in one semifinal; CA Paranaense and Pumas in the other.

Matthew Ralph

Matthew Ralph is the managing editor of Philadelphia Soccer Now. He's covered soccer at all levels for a decade in the Philadelphia region and has also written for TheCup.us, NPSL, PrepSoccer and other publications. He lives with his wife and two young children in Broomall, Pa., but grew up in South Jersey and is originally from Kansas.

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