Philadelphia Union
Union U-18s defeat Monterrey in penalties, advance to Dallas Cup final
The Philadelphia Union U-18s defeated Monterrey’s U-19 squad in the Dallas Cup semifinal on Friday night to advance to Sunday’s final.
A goal from Nehan Hasan gave the young Union squad the lead, but an equalizer forced penalties where Alex Smith made a save to propel the team into the U-19 Gordon Jago Super Group final.
It was a busy week for Union academy teams, with the U-15 and U-17 sides participating in the Generation Adidas Cup. After a victory in the Snow Bowl in February, the U-18 side looked to add to their silverware in the Dallas Cup. The traveling roster consisted of players on the Union’s Snow Bowl roster as well as players with Union II in MLS Next Pro. The seasoned Union U-18 squad played up a year in the Dallas Cup U-19 division, where they showed their experience with a dominant set of performances in the group stage. Led by captain Andrew Craig, the young Union back line delivered three consecutive clean sheets against CD Toluca, São Paulo FC, and St. Louis City SC. Nick Greer and Lennon Harrington were also solid throughout, and the Union advanced to the semifinal after three consecutive wins.
In the tournament semifinal, the Union faced off against Monterrey’s U-19 squad. The first half was tense, with neither squad wanting to take many risks in possession in their own half.
Willyam Ferreira was very active for the Union, attempting to take on his man on various occasions, but was unable to find the end product. The match became more open in the second half. The Union pushed forward a bit more aggressively in pursuit of a goal, which also left them a bit more open in defense for Rayados to counter. Just before the 60th minute, a golden chance fell to Rayados in the box, but a brilliant recovery by Lennon Harrington kept the match knotted at 0-0.
Minutes later, the Union found their breakthrough. Right back Mateo Gallegos launched a long ball looking for striker John Ruf. The Monterrey goalkeeper Santiago Lomelin came out to head the ball away from Ruf, but he couldn’t get much power on the header. The ball fell for substitute Nehan Hasan, who caressed a beautiful lob over Lomelin and into the empty net to put the Union
ahead.
With the Union looking to defend and hold on to their one goal lead, Monterrey began to push more aggressively for a goal. The score was levelled in the 74th minute when Jorge Sánchez found Diego Chavira open at the top of the box. Chavira fired a low shot into the net to the right of Smith, and the Union conceded for the first time in the tournament. The Union had a few chances to reclaim the lead, including a shot from past the halfway line by Andrew Craig.
Looking to catch the goalkeeper off his line again, Craig fired a shot from the opposite end of the center circle that landed on top of the net, just above the crossbar. After two ten-minute periods of extra time, the score remained tied and penalty kicks followed.
The young Union side took the first penalty in the shootout. Harrington, who scored a penalty kick earlier in the tournament, took the first penalty and scored. Monterrey scored their first penalty as well. In the second round, Willyam Ferreira dispatched his penalty, and Smith saved the attempt from Rayados, giving the Union the lead. Monterrey’s third penalty taker missed the net, which set the Union up to win the shootout in the fourth round. Timo Mendoza was the taker, and he scored his penalty confidently to send the Union to the Dallas Cup Final.
The U-18 squad will play in the 2026 Gordon Jago Super Group Final on Sunday, April 5 at 2:30 p.m. EST against Botafogo. Botafogo are unbeaten thus far in the tournament, with wins over Aston Villa, Real Salt Lake, and St. Louis City and a group stage draw to Houston Dynamo. The U-18s are looking for their second tournament victory in three months after their Snow Bowl title in February.
The Union are also looking to become the first MLS side to win the Super Group championship since FC Dallas won it in 2017. Botafogo is looking for their second Super Group championship and the 14th for a team from Brazil.
Union Lineup
Alex Smith; Mateo Gallegos, Lennon Harrington, Andrew Craig, Nick Greer; Tyler Gladstone (63’), Matheus De Paula (105’), Timo Mendoza, Willyam Ferreira; Erik Guzman (59’), John Ruf (81’)
Bench: Nehan Hasan (59’), Max Owusu-Antwi (105’), Theo Reed (63’), Gunnar Graham, Brett Seemuller, Charli Lorenz, Kevin Sullivan, Peter Doran, Jett Harrison (81’), Chuka Ebo, Jack Illig
Goals: Hasan 61’
Shootout Goals: Harrington, Ferreira, Harrison, Mendoza
Yellow Cards: De Paula 34’, Ferreira 53’, Ruf 54’, Craig 77’, Gallegos 90+3’
