Korzeniowski brace leads Philadelphia Union II to playoff win over Cincinnati

Forward Stas Korzeniowski scored a goal in each half to lead Philadelphia Union II to a 2-1 victory of FC Cincinnati 2 to open the MLS Next Pro playoffs on Sunday afternoon at Subaru Park.

With the win, Union II advanced to the conference semifinal for the second straight season.

Korzeniowski, a rookie who starred at the University of Pennsylvania and was drafted by the Philadelphia Union, opened the scoring in the 10th minute heading in a curling left-footed free kick from Kellan LeBlanc. Andrés Dávila Mosquera evened the score before halftime but it was Korzeniowski again in the 64th minute with a finish in the box off an assist from CJ Olney that was the decisive goal.

Allentown, Pa. natives Stefan Chirila and Andrei Chirila – both former Philadelphia Union Academy players – started for FCC2.

The No. 2 seeded Union II will face either No. 5 seed Huntsville City or No. 6 seed Chicago Fire II in the next round depending on who the top-seeded New York Red Bulls II select. The game will be played either Oct. 24, 25 or 26 at Subaru Park, which is hosting the first game of the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs on Sunday night.

LINEUPS
Philadelphia Union II: George Marks; Giovanny Sequera, Rafael Uzcátegui, Neil Pierre, Jordan Griffin (Noah Probst 89’), CJ Olney, Nick Pariano, Markus Anderson (Malik Jakupovic 81’), Kellan LeBlanc (Willyam Ferreira 81’), Stas Korzeniowski, Sal Olivas (Óscar Benítez 61’).

Substitutes not used: Mike Sheridan; Kaiden Moore, Jamir Johnson, Leandro Soria

FC Cincinnati 2: Paul Walters; William Kuisel (Yorkaeff Caicedo 76’), Peter Mangione (Carson Locker 89’), Andrei Chirila, Noah Adnan, Stiven Jimenez, Kenji Mboma Dem, Adema Chavez (Yair Ramos 60’), Yamir Uculmana (Tega Ikoba 89’) , Stefan Chirila, Andrés Dávila Mosquera.

Substitutes not used: Nathan Crockford; Ben Augee, Juan Machado, Brandon Kristel