Philadelphia Union II clinches playoff berth in wild comeback win over NYCFC II

Subaru Park hosted an absolute thriller on Monday afternoon as Philadelphia Union II finally clinched their third consecutive MLS Next Pro postseason berth.

The path for Marlon LeBlanc’s side to get to this result was anything but ordinary.

Markus Anderson continued his fine form with a much-needed goal in just the 11th minute, coming off a perfect counterattack orchestrated by CJ Olney and Cavan Sullivan. Philadelphia failed to convert a duo of chances to extend their lead and were quickly punished by an onslaught of chances from the visitors.

Poor defending left Andrew Rick helpless as Taylor Calheira, Jonathan Jiminez, and Jonathan Shore all found the net in an 11-minute span to fire New York into a 3-1 lead out of nowhere.

Eddy Davis did well to earn a penalty on the stroke of halftime, which Nick Pariano converted for his second career goal and his second successful spot kick in three matches. Union II took this momentum into the break and came out firing in the second half. Markus Anderson’s pressure forced a catastrophic pass from New York that Eddy Davis smashed home to equalize in the 52nd minute.

Just 12 minutes after equalizing, the comeback was completed, as Frankie Westfield scored his sixth of the season by way of a gorgeous free-kick delivery from Cavan Sullivan. LeBlanc’s side held on for dear life for the final half hour, needing just a single point to clinch a playoff berth.

The hard-fought thriller came to a close with that very 4-3 scoreline, and Philadelphia Union II secured their postseason spot.

With just two matches remaining in the regular season, Union II sits second in the eastern conference, trailing FC Cincinnati 2 by two points. Philadelphia Union II returns to Subaru Park on Sunday, September 29, at 3 p.m. to face Atlanta United 2 on Apple TV.