Philly Leader

Philadelphia Union II enters the final stretch of the regular season with much to play for as they host a potential playoff matchup on Monday afternoon against rivals New York City FC II. The match at Subaru Park will be covered on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV starting at 4 PM.

Monday's match holds significant implications for Union II, primarily concerning a berth into the MLS NEXT Pro Playoffs. Marlon LeBlanc's side narrowly missed clinching a third-straight postseason berth last weekend with a 3-2 road loss to Inter Miami CF II. Despite being down away from home, the youngest squad in the Eastern Conference rallied back with an equalizing goal from Frankie Westfield in the 68th minute. Although Miami scored twice, Union II continued battling, with Eddy Davis scoring in stoppage time and Kyle Tucker's last-second free kick connecting with Westfield for a header that just missed the back post.

Union II aims to become only the second team to make the postseason in all three years of MLS NEXT Pro history, following St. Louis CITY SC 2, which has already secured its Western Conference spot. In addition to securing a playoff spot, Union II is pushing for the No. 1 seed in the East, trailing FC Cincinnati 2 by just two points. The position in the table is crucial in MLS NEXT Pro since the top four seeds in each conference get to pick their opponent. Eight teams from each conference make it to the postseason, with seeds No. 1-4 guaranteed a home match and selecting their opponent regardless of where they finished in the table. In the second round, the highest remaining seed in each conference will select an opponent from any of the remaining three teams.

Monday's opponent New York City FC II sits just four points behind Union II but faces a different playoff scenario due to how congested the East has been all season. NYCFC II is currently tied for fourth place with three other teams at 42 points and is only one point ahead of the No. 8 seed as well. With high stakes, both sides are expected to engage intensely as they aim to secure their spots in the table.

The last encounter between these two sides was equally tense when NYCFC II snapped Union II's unbeaten run with a late comeback in July. Academy graduate Eddy Davis III scored for Philadelphia early on, but NYCFC II equalized through Ruiz and Calheira before Jonathan Shore sealed victory with a late goal.