Philadelphia Union
Sundstrom header powers Union II to win over Cincinnati
Finn Sundstrom scored his first goal in the Union organization on Sunday, leading Union II to a 1-0 victory over FC Cincinnati 2.
Union II hoped to continue their dominance over Cincinnati 2, with the Philadelphia side winning all three matchups vs. Cincinnati last season. Union II began their season with a 1-0 victory over Toronto II last week, with hopes to continue their perfect start to the season on Sunday afternoon.
Union II started the match on the front foot, keeping Cincinnati 2 under pressure early. Poor discipline saw Cincinnati’s Nathan Gray and Matt Miazga booked early. After Gray’s hard foul, Ferreira’s set piece delivery found Rafael Uzcategui, whose looping header bounced off the crossbar and back into play. Former Chelsea and USMNT player Miazga went into the book in the 7th minute for dissent. Another Cincinnati foul came in a dangerous location in the 25th minute when Deiver Mosquera committed a rash foul at the edge of the box. Mosquera is the younger brother of Yerson Mosquera, who scored the winner for FC Cincinnati against the Union in the 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs. Ferreira’s shot from the dead ball went just over the crossbar.
The breakthrough for Union II came from another Ferreira set piece. The Montgomery, PA native pinged a lofted cross into the box from a corner kick. Union first teamer Finn Sundstrom leaped high, towering over the Cincinnati defenders and powering a header into the top left corner. The great service was Ferreira’s first assist of the season, and Sundstrom’s first goal as a member of the Union organization.
Union II nearly extended the lead minutes later from a break led by Sal Olivas. Olivas drove through the midfield before finding Ferreira wide left. Ferreira returned a pass to Olivas, who dragged his effort just wide of the left post. Malik Jakupovic tested Cincinnati 2 goalkeeper Bryan Dowd just after with a powerful shot from an angle, but Dowd palmed the shot away with ease, and Union II went into halftime with a 1-0 lead.
Cincinnati 2 opened the second half with a dangerous set piece of their own when a free kick from the left side was met at the back post by a Cincinnati player who just couldn’t bundle the cross on frame. Miazga was substituted at halftime by Cincinnati head coach and Philadelphia native Sammy Castellanos. Miazga is returning from injury and was likely planned to only play the first half. There was an injury scare for Union II in the second half. Jordan Griffin came off with a non-contact injury in the 55th minute due to an awkward landing after sending in a cross. Griffin was able to walk off on his own power and he was replaced by Kaiden Moore.
Union II’s best chance of the second half came when a bouncing ball was played in to Kellan LeBlanc. In on goal, he squared to Jakupovic. With the ball still bouncing, Jakupovic couldn’t control his shot and sent it over the bar. In the 82nd minute, Nehan Hasan made a long run from midfield to the edge of the area. He slipped in a through ball for Jakupovic, who fired a powerful shot on target that Dowd was able to parry away. Union II closed out the match without much fuss, securing a second straight win to start their season.
Union II head coach Ryan Richter spoke with media after the match. “I think we deserved to win the game… now, we need to kill that game, score the second, score the third. In moments when it got really sloppy, it didn’t have to be,” Richter emphasized, not fully content with the result. “We could play simple, and we could have created more and more chances.”
Still, Richter was pleased with the Union II’s midfield decisions. “I thought Timo Mendoza had a great game. He was always an option to build up, and we were able to play through him. It opened up so much in the field, which I didn’t really see last week. I was proud of him,” Richter said, praising the 16-year-old midfielder’s performance in his second MLS NEXT Pro match.
Many of the Union’s best chances of the match were created via set pieces taken by Willyam Ferreira. Ferreira appeared in 15 MLS NEXT Pro matches last season, but started only two. This season, the young attacking midfielder has started both of Union II’s matches. Ferreira spoke to media about his expanded role postgame. “It’s something I’ve been waiting for since last season. For this season, to actually start and help my team as much as I can.”
Union II started their season with back-to-back clean sheet wins, led by center back and captain Rafael Uzcátegui. “He’s the captain of the team. The armband is one thing, but the way he leads the group, every day, training, his focus, the way he prepares himself, the way he’s chasing his personal goals as well; he does it all in the right way,” Richter remarked about his captain. “So we’re proud of him for the young leader he’s becoming. You see his performances on the field, at this level, he’s a really impactful player.”
Union II sit level on points with Crown Legacy FC on top of the MLS NEXT Pro Eastern Conference. The young Philadelphia squad will look to build on their hot start next Sunday at 3:00 PM when Union II will face new MLS NEXT Pro side CT United FC at Subaru Park.
Union II Lineup:
George Marks; Oliver Pratt, Rafael Uzcátegui, Finn Sundstrom, Jordan Griffin (55’); Oscar Benitez Cobo, Timo Mendoza (67’), Kellan LeBlanc (80’), Willyam Ferreira (67’); Malik Jakupovic, Sal Olivas
Subs: Matheus de Paula (67’), Theo Reed, Kaiden Moore (55’), John Ruf (80’), Nehan Hasan (67’), Andrew Craig, Lennon Harrington, Alex Smith
Coach: Ryan Richter
FC Cincinnati 2 Lineup:
Bryan Dowd; Andrei Chirila, Michael Sullivan, Matt Miazga (45’); Deiver Mosquera (45’), Ayoub Lajhar, Noah Gassan, Nathan Gray (45’), Jack Mize (61’); Stefan Chirila, Ademar Chavez (61’)
Subs: Dilan Hurtado Hinestroza (45’), Mathias Vazquez, Charles Holmes, (61’) Yair Ramos Perez, Leo Orejarena (61’), William Kuisel (45’), Santiago Sanchez (45’), Luke Broz
Coach: Sammy Castellanos
