Philadelphia Union II earned a 2-1 victory over Toronto FC II on Friday night at York Lions Stadium in Toronto. The match began with Toronto taking the lead in the 28th minute after midfielder Mark Fisher scored from the penalty spot. Philadelphia Union II responded in first-half stoppage time when forward Stas Korzeniowski equalized, assisted by CJ Olney.
In the 84th minute, midfielder Óscar BenÃtez scored for Union II, again with an assist from Olney, giving his team the lead and ultimately securing all three points.
Following this result, Philadelphia Union II will conclude their regular season at Subaru Park against New York City FC II on Sunday, October 5th at 1:00 p.m. ET. The match will be available to watch on Apple TV.
The officiating crew for Friday’s game included referee Niko Jecanski, assistant referees Vasyl Dzikh and Nolasco Encina, and fourth official Melvin Christopher. The weather was reported as sunny with a temperature of 69 degrees.
Disciplinary actions during the match saw Toronto’s Nathaniel Edwards cautioned in the 71st minute and Micah Chisholm receiving a caution in the 80th minute.
The starting lineup for Philadelphia Union II featured George Marks; Giovanny Sequera, Oscar Benitez, Rafael Uzcátegui, Jordan Griffin, CJ Olney, Nick Pariano, Markus Anderson (replaced by Willyam Ferreira in the 67th minute), Kellan LeBlanc (substituted by Jamir Johnson in the 77th), Sal Olivas (Malik Jakupovic came on in the 67th), and Stas Korzeniowski (Leandro Soria entered in the 88th). Unused substitutes were Lou Liedtka, Kaiden Moore, and Noah Probst.
Toronto FC II’s lineup included Adisa De Rosario; Mark Fisher; Ythallo Ryckelm Rodrigues de Olivera; Stefan Kapor (Micah Chisholm substituted in at the 64th); Hassan Ayari; Marko Stojadinovic (Patrick McDonald replaced him in the 85th); Tim Fortier (Lucas Olguin came on at the 64th); Nathaniel Edwards (Reid Fisher substituted at the 76th); Michael Sullivan; Antone Bossenberry (Constantinos Iliadis entered at the 76th); and Dékwon Barrow. Substitutes not used were Shafique Wilson, Lazar Stefanovic, Richard Chukwu, and Josh Nugent.
With this win, Philadelphia Union II secured a home playoff match for the first round of the MLS NEXT Pro Playoffs. The team also set a new club record for points in a single season with 55 points—surpassing last year’s total—and recorded their fourth consecutive win. Forward Stas Korzeniowski now has seven goals this season while Óscar BenÃtez registered his first goal of this campaign. Midfielder CJ Olney contributed two assists during this match. Union II currently holds both the highest goal differential (+28) and most shots on target (189) for this MLS NEXT Pro season.
