Union II move into playoff position with thrilling win over Huntsville

A small, but lively Philadelphia Union II crowd was treated to a thrilling 2-1 win over Huntsville City FC in the final home regular season game of the MLS Next Pro season on Sunday afternoon.

Neil Pierre scored off a Jeremy Rafanello corner and Stefan Stojanovic picked up his team-leading 10th goal of the season to put the hosts up 2-0 but it was far from being an easy finish for the hosts, which went down to 10 men in the 61st minute on a tackle by CJ Olney near the end line.

A second yellow to Joshua Drack in the 68th minute helped relieve the pressure of Huntsville’s search for a way back in it but it was still a fight to the end.

Drack’s first yellow after a foul in the box in the 32nd minute nearly gave Union II an earlier lead but Rafanello’s penalty hit the crossbar and the rebound went out for a goal kick.

With the crucial win under their belt, Union II’s playoff hopes could very well hinge on a result on Sunday afternoon against New York Red Bulls II. A win would guarantee them a postseason berth for the second straight year while a tie or loss with some help could still be enough.

GOALS/ASSISTS
PHI – Neil Pierre (Rafanello) 45’
PHI – Stefan Stojanovic (Sullivan) 73’
PHI – Azaad Liadi (PK) 90+4’

DISCIPLINARY SUMMARY
PHI – Carlos Rojas (caution) 23’
HNT – Joshua Drack (caution) 32’
PHI – Neil Pierre (caution) 36’
PHI – Anton Sorenson (caution) 56’
PHI – Christopher Olney (ejection) 61’
HNT – Joshua Drack (second caution, ejection) 68’
PHI – David Vazquez (caution) 76’
PHI – Andrew Rick (caution) 88’

LINEUP
Philadelphia Union II: Andrew Rick, Anton Sorenson (J. Castillo 85’), Olwethu Makhanya, Neil Pierre, Francis Westfield, Carlos Rojas, Christopher Olney, Quinn Sullivan, Jeremy Rafanello (S. Olivas 76’), Chris Donovan (D. Vazquez 46’), Stefan Stojanovic (K. Tucker 78’).

Substitutes not used: J. Evans; B. Diallo, N. Pierre, A. Perez, D. Krueger.

Huntsville City FC: Ben Martino, Joey Skinner, Cyrus Rad (A. Sipic 84’), Sean Suber, Chrisnovic N’Sa, Jonathan Bolanos (O. Wright 74’), Christopher Pearson (N. Perry 54’), Joey DeZart II, Joshua Drack, Kemy Amiche (S. Joash 74’), Azaad Liadi.

Substitutes not used: P. Barnes, I. Jones, J. Berner, A. Longmire, F. Cicéron.