Philadelphia Union
Tight Officiating Runs the Show: Union II lose on the road to Carolina Core FC
Union II traveled to High Point, North Carolina on Wednesday night, losing 3-2 in a tight battle against Carolina Core FC. Markus Anderson’s brilliant early goal and Sal Olivas’ penalty kick was not enough to prevent Union II from losing their first match in over two months. The officiating was the center of attention in High Point, as three penalty kicks were given: two to
Carolina Core FC and one to Union II.
The scoring began in the 11 th minute of Union II’s second ever visit to High Point. Kellan Leblanc picked up the ball in the midfield and threaded a beautiful long pass to Markus Anderson, who dribbled through the Carolina Core defense and chipped a deft finish over the goalkeeper. The first of three penalty kicks of the match was called ten minutes later when Rafael Uzcátegui collided with Carolina #10 Jacob Evans in the box. While there was contact, Union II defenders argued this contact was shoulder-to-shoulder, but the referee Promise Adebayo-Ige did not agree. The penalty kick was finished by Glory Nzingo, a midfielder on loan from Swansea City.
Carolina Core used the momentum to their advantage, as a beautiful team buildup led to Joshua Rodriguez tapping in the home team’s second goal in the 25th minute. The Carolina Core midfield worked the ball around before chipping a pass over the towering Neil Pierre, which was squared around goalkeeper Andrew Rick and tapped in by Rodriguez.
Union II looked to respond quickly and continued to have more scoring chances in the match, despite the three-minute lapse that led to a one goal deficit. Markus Anderson was causing problems again on the wing, finding Leblanc with a pass to the edge of the box that Leblanc sent far over the net. However, the referee Adebayo-Ige blew the whistle for a penalty, catching even the Union II players off guard. Adebayo-Ige determined there was a foul on Anderson as he was passing the ball. Sal Olivas picked up the ball, scoring the penalty kick for his much-needed fourth goal of the season. The match went into halftime knotted at 2-2.
The second half got off to a strange start, picking up where the first half left off. A cross whipped in by Carolina Core seemed to be well defended by Nick Pariano, but the Carolina attacker pursuing it went down after being blocked off by the Union II captain. The ball rolled toward the corner as Pariano chased it, but the center referee blew the whistle late, calling another questionable penalty. This left the Union II players incensed, protesting angrily to the referee
Adebayo-Ige. Nzingo scored his second penalty past Rick, extending the lead to 3-2.
A flurry of late chances for Union II went begging, including a header from the 6’5” Neil Pierre on a corner kick that was miraculously saved by Carolina Core goalkeeper Alexander Sutton.
The match ended 3-2, handing Union II their first loss since May 25 against Inter Miami II. Union II remain in second place in the Eastern Conference of MLS Next Pro, with the ability to pass NY Red Bulls II with a game in hand. Union II are in action next vs. FC Cincinnati II on Sunday, August 3 at 6 p.m.
