Philadelphia Union U18s cap academy sweep in Snow Bowl

Michael Capretto, a frequent thorn in the side of the Philadelphia Union Academy, was the hero for their U18 team on Tuesday night with a second half brace that was part of a three-goal barrage that lifted them past Benfica in a 3-1 come-from-behind win to cap the second day of competition in the Snow Bowl.

Benfica scored first off a play in transition with a great finish from Isaac Ferreira but it was the introduction of the FC Delco and guest player Capretto that made the difference for the hosts as the Notre Dame commit scored a pair of goals bookending a goal from fellow newcomer Matthew Addai in a thrilling second half. Capretto’s first came off a rebound of a shot from Tyler Gladstone that hit woodwork and his second with a deflected left-footed strike off a feed on a run into the box from Addai.

Addai, a standout at Pennington School, added to the thrills inside WSFS Bank Sportsplex with a back flip to celebrate his goal near a waiting throng of academy players by the corner flag.

“I don’t think anyone expected him to do a back flip,” defender Nick Greer said after the match. “It was amazing. U-16s came out, U-15s came out, SWAG came out and I think that momentum and the noise helped us get the game.”

Greer and center back partner Kevin Sullivan were instrumental in limiting Benfica’s attack after they took the 1-0 lead and it was the intensity in the final third that created the three goals for a team that brought in a number of guest players with eight field players currently in Florida with Philadelphia Union II for preseason.

“We have eight field players down in Florida with the second team,” head coach Chris Harmon said. “But we always say the player movement is a strength and it means there’s more opportunities here for the next guy up. And you can see with these guys they didn’t skip a beat.”

The U18s win followed wins for the U15 and U16 teams earlier in the day. The U15s picked up a 3-1 win over Newcastle after a scoreless draw in their first match against Manchester United and the U16s overwhelmed Lyngby Boldklub with a 4-1 win. All three teams are in second place in their age divisions heading into Day 3.