Union II draw at home to Toronto FC II

Union II faced off against Toronto FC II on Wednesday night, drawing the match 2-2 and falling in the penalty shootout for an extra point. A brilliant finish from Kellan LeBlanc and Jordan Griffin’s first MLS Next Pro goal helped Union II take the lead in the first half, but a Toronto equalizer forced a draw and penalties. 

Toronto struck early, scoring only three minutes into the match. Wingback Hassan Ayari beat Isaiah LeFlore to a long pass. LeFlore, out of his typical position at right back, dove in but couldn’t win the ball. Ayari found striker Josh Nugent in the box, who held the ball up for Antone Bossenberry, finishing calmly past Union II goalkeeper Pierce Holbrook. Bossenberry’s second career MLS Next Pro goal put Toronto up 1-0. 

Union II levelled the score in the 14th minute via Kellan LeBlanc’s third goal of the season. Starting at the back, Rafael Uzcátegui drilled a line breaking pass into the feet of Sal Olivas. Olivas deftly flicked the ball around his defender into the path of Eddy Davis. Davis latched on to the ball before finding LeBlanc wide to the right. LeBlanc moved the ball onto his preferred left foot before finishing spectacularly at the goalkeeper’s near post, knotting the score at 1-1. 

Philadelphia came close to extending the lead soon after, as Nick Pariano hit the crossbar with a rocket from outside the box in the 25th minute and Olivas had a deflected shot go off the post and behind six minutes later. Union II finally cashed in on their momentum in the 42nd minute when Cavan Sullivan whipped in a beautiful ball onto the head of left back Jordan Griffin who found himself alone in the box. Griffin’s header was composed, finding the side netting for his first goal in MLS NEXT Pro and giving Union II a 2-1 lead going into the half.

Toronto did not stay down for long, as the visitors found an equalizer in the 51st minute. The goalscorer Bossenberry found himself in space wide to the right. His cross found the head of Toronto II captain Michael Sullivan who finished with a strong header – strikingly similar to the goal Toronto’s first team scored on the same end two weeks ago. The Pitt alum’s third goal of the season knotted the score at 2-2. Toronto nearly took the lead minutes later when Ayari took on an isolated LeFlore before shooting towards Holbrook’s near post. Holbrook got just enough on the low shot, turning it on to the post and back into play. The second half was otherwise fairly quiet, and the match ended 2-2, leading to a penalty kick shootout for an extra point. The shootout went nine rounds, but ended after Toronto star man Antone Bossenberry finished his penalty confidently and Nick Pariano pushed his penalty wide. 

While two goals is often enough to win at home, Union II created plenty of chances throughout the match that went begging. Outshooting Toronto 22 to 5, it is easy to view the match as a missed opportunity. After the game, Union II manager Ryan Richter described the two goals conceded by Union II as “uncharacteristic” but maintained the team did well to create chances. While crediting Davis for a lively performance in linking play and setting up goals, he did note that “[in the] overall picture of the season, for both Eddy and Sal, not enough production from them”. Union II have scored 47 goals this season, good for third-most in the Eastern Conference. However, these goals have come from a wide variety of different players, and the formerly most reliable goalscorers have not been producing at the same rate. Davis had 13 goals in 27 matches last season in MLS Next Pro, yet only has 4 goals in 21 matches thus far in 2025. Sal Olivas is equal with Davis on 4 goals in 19 matches. Both players sit tied for third on the team in goals this season behind Jakupovic and Cavan Sullivan, both of whom have played significantly less matches. 

The strong 2025 Union II team find themselves in their first true rough stretch of the season. The young squad has gone winless in three matches, with only one win in the last five. Union II are back in action on Sunday, August 24 at Subaru Park vs. New England Revolution II. 

Union II Lineup:
Pierce Holbrook; Isaiah LeFlore, Neil Pierre, Rafael Uzcátegui, Jordan Griffin; Nick Pariano ©, Kellan LeBlanc (Stas Korzeniowski 71’), Cavan Sullivan (Willyam Ferreira 81’), Noah Probst (Leandro Soria 71’); Eddy Davis (Malik Jakupovic 81’), Sal Olivas (Markus Anderson 60’)

Unused Subs: Alex Smith; Kaiden Moore; Óscar Benitez

Goals, LeBlanc 14’, Griffin 45’

Toronto FC II Lineup:
Adisa De Rosario; Richard Chukwu (Patrick McDonald 74’), Stefan Kapor (Mark Fisher 74’), Reid Fisher, Marko Stojadinovic; Nate Edwards (Constantinos Iliadis 81’), Hassan Ayari, Timothy Fortier (Lucas Olguin 81’), Michael Sullivan ©; Antone Bossenberry, Josh Nugent (Dékwon Barrow 64’)

Unused Subs: Shafique Wilson; Ythallo, Elijah Roche; Jahmarie Nolan

Goals: Bossenberry 3’, Sullivan 51’
Yellow Cards: Barrow 90+1’

Penalty Kicks (misses in bold)

Union II:
Korzeniowski, Pierre, Anderson, Jakupovic, Ferreira, Griffin, Uzcátegui, Soria, Pariano

Toronto FC II:
McDonald, Sullivan, Fisher, Iliadis, Ayari, Fisher, Stojadinovic, Barrow, Bossenberry