Semifinal Friday delivered high drama at Snow Bowl 2026 Presented by The SWAG and YSC Academy, with late winners, hat tricks, and hard-fought battles deciding who advances to Championship Saturday.
U-15 Semifinals
No. 3 CF Monterrey (2) vs. No. 2 Philadelphia Union (1)
Philadelphia Union’s U-15s mounted a late push but ultimately fell 2-1 to CF Monterrey in semifinal action on Friday.
Monterrey came out aggressively, with Jaime García forcing a diving save from Thomas White just 25 seconds into the match. The Union nearly answered moments later when Almamy Barry cut into the box and fired toward the near post, only to see his effort strike the outside of the net.
The intensity of a semifinal showdown showed just before halftime, as Monterrey applied heavy pressure on a contested play in the box, resulting in yellow cards issued to both sides and setting the tone for a physical second half.
Philly faced its first deficit of the tournament early after the break when García drew a penalty. Patricio Ernesto Delgado converted from the spot, placing his shot to the right to give Monterrey a 1-0 lead.
Monterrey doubled its advantage in the 44th minute when Romualdo Aguirre tracked down a bouncing ball at the top of the box and fired a one-time finish into the net.
Trailing by two, the Union continued to press. A long throw nearly sparked a comeback when Kai Simmonds unleashed a blast from distance that narrowly missed. The deficit was finally trimmed in the closing stages as Troy Raneses found space on the right flank and delivered a cross that Jude Larbi finished to make it 2-1 with 10 minutes remaining.
Despite the late surge, Monterrey held on to secure a place in the U-15 Final.
No. 1 Borussia Dortmund (2) vs. No. 4 Manchester United (3)
Manchester United produced one of the tournament’s biggest upsets, knocking off group-stage leaders Borussia Dortmund 3-2 to punch their ticket to the U-15 Final.
Jaice Dore wasted no time asserting himself, scoring twice in the opening 12 minutes. After absorbing early pressure, Angus Murdock led a counterattack and slipped a perfectly weighted pass to Dore, who finished past the advancing goalkeeper.
Moments later, Dore forced a turnover at midfield to spark another attack. Mohammed Ibragimov’s shot was blocked, but he recovered possession and found Dore again for a quick finish to double United’s lead.
Dortmund responded in the 20th minute as Edon Qetinaj cut inside and squared for Luca Elias Zwahr to finish low. Just before halftime, Qetinaj headed home the equalizer to level the match at 2-2.
The second half tightened defensively, but with the final spot in the championship match on the line, Dore delivered once more. In the 58th minute, he received a pass from Ben Lyne, beat his defender with a stutter step, and finished clinically to complete his hat trick and send United to the final.
U-15 Semifinals
No. 3 CF Monterrey (2) vs. No. 2 Philadelphia Union (1)
Philadelphia Union’s U-15s mounted a late push but ultimately fell 2-1 to CF Monterrey in semifinal action on Friday.
Monterrey came out aggressively, with Jaime García forcing a diving save from Thomas White just 25 seconds into the match. The Union nearly answered moments later when Almamy Barry cut into the box and fired toward the near post, only to see his effort strike the outside of the net.
The intensity of a semifinal showdown showed just before halftime, as Monterrey applied heavy pressure on a contested play in the box, resulting in yellow cards issued to both sides and setting the tone for a physical second half.
Philly faced its first deficit of the tournament early after the break when García drew a penalty. Patricio Ernesto Delgado converted from the spot, placing his shot to the right to give Monterrey a 1-0 lead.
Monterrey doubled its advantage in the 44th minute when Romualdo Aguirre tracked down a bouncing ball at the top of the box and fired a one-time finish into the net.
Trailing by two, the Union continued to press. A long throw nearly sparked a comeback when Kai Simmonds unleashed a blast from distance that narrowly missed. The deficit was finally trimmed in the closing stages as Troy Raneses found space on the right flank and delivered a cross that Jude Larbi finished to make it 2-1 with 10 minutes remaining.
Despite the late surge, Monterrey held on to secure a place in the U-15 Final.
No. 1 Borussia Dortmund (2) vs. No. 4 Manchester United (3)
Manchester United produced one of the tournament’s biggest upsets, knocking off group-stage leaders Borussia Dortmund 3-2 to punch their ticket to the U-15 Final.
Jaice Dore wasted no time asserting himself, scoring twice in the opening 12 minutes. After absorbing early pressure, Angus Murdock led a counterattack and slipped a perfectly weighted pass to Dore, who finished past the advancing goalkeeper.
Moments later, Dore forced a turnover at midfield to spark another attack. Mohammed Ibragimov’s shot was blocked, but he recovered possession and found Dore again for a quick finish to double United’s lead.
Dortmund responded in the 20th minute as Edon Qetinaj cut inside and squared for Luca Elias Zwahr to finish low. Just before halftime, Qetinaj headed home the equalizer to level the match at 2-2.
The second half tightened defensively, but with the final spot in the championship match on the line, Dore delivered once more. In the 58th minute, he received a pass from Ben Lyne, beat his defender with a stutter step, and finished clinically to complete his hat trick and send United to the final.
U-16 Semifinals
No. 2 S.L. Benfica (2) vs. No. 3 Lyngby Boldklub (0)
S.L. Benfica secured a spot in the U-16 Final, knocking off Lyngby Boldklub by a 2-0 margin.
While Friday’s semifinal marked the first meeting between the U-16 squads, the contest unfolded in dramatic fashion. After a tightly contested first half, a late breakthrough shifted the momentum in Benfica’s favor.
João Silva found space on the left flank and delivered a precise back-post cross that Rúben Marques finished to give the Portuguese side the lead late in the opening half.
Benfica doubled its advantage early in the second half through a unique sequence. Goalkeeper Manuel Pires was credited with the assist, launching a goal kick that sent Afonso Baldé into a 1-v-1 battle on the right side. Baldé shook off his defender and finished clinically to secure Benfica’s place in the U-16 Final.
No. 1 Philadelphia Union (5) vs. Borussia Mönchengladbach (2)
Philadelphia Union’s U-16s delivered a dominant performance, securing a trip to the U-16 Final with a 5-2 victory over Borussia Mönchengladbach.
The Baby Snakes wasted no time setting the tone in their semifinal rematch. After Sean Corbett fired an early warning shot just 26 seconds in, Philadelphia struck in the third minute as Abdoulaye Diop turned sharply at the top of the box and buried his finish for a 1-0 lead.
The Union doubled their advantage in the 24th minute through a quick give-and-go between Timoni Gbalajobi and Samuel Gallego, with Gbalajobi finishing the one-timer. Mönchengladbach responded three minutes later as Johann Ngongang converted from close range to trim the deficit to 2-1 heading into halftime.
The second half belonged to Philadelphia. Jayden Kouadio restored the two-goal cushion after converting the rebound from his saved penalty, igniting a dominant stretch for the Boys in Blue. Kouadio and Gbalajobi combined to put the match out of reach as the Union powered into the U-16 Final.
Kenny Vestjens added a late goal for the German side, but Philadelphia’s attacking firepower proved decisive in the 5-2 win.
Showcase Matches
U-15 | Chicago Fire FC (1), Newcastle United (0)
Chicago Fire FC opened Day 5 of Snow Bowl 2026 with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Newcastle United, earning their second win against the English side in the tournament.
The breakthrough didn’t come easily for the Windy City side. Just before halftime, Newcastle nearly grabbed the opener when Ben Pearce fired from the top of the 18-yard box, but Chicago goalkeeper Alex Bayraktarov produced a clutch save to preserve the clean sheet heading into the break.
The Fire wasted no time after halftime. Only 18 seconds into the second half, Knox Napoe found the back of the net, finishing a well-worked move set up by Alonso Gutierrez to give Chicago the lead.
Newcastle pressed for an equalizer and nearly capitalized in the 36th minute on a dangerous corner kick, but Chicago’s defense delivered a last-ditch clearance to maintain the advantage. Two minutes later, the Fire nearly doubled their lead when a set piece dropped to the top of the box, only for Newcastle goalkeeper Leo Harper to paw away a powerful strike through traffic.
The drama continued in the 45th minute when a long-range blast forced another strong save from Harper. Napoe reacted quickly to the rebound and buried the finish, but the goal was ruled offside.
Chicago’s early second-half strike ultimately proved decisive, as the Fire closed out the contest with composure to open Friday’s action on a winning note.
U-16 | Chicago Fire FC (3), PSV Eindhoven (3)
Chicago and PSV met for the second time at Snow Bowl 2026 and delivered one of the most entertaining matches of the tournament, finishing level at 3-3.
Nolan Weiss starred for the Fire, scoring all three of Chicago’s goals on set pieces.
PSV started brightly, creating three scoring chances in the opening 10 minutes, but Chicago’s back line held firm and repeatedly caught the Dutch side offside.
After absorbing early pressure, the Fire struck first. Weiss capitalized on a failed PSV clearance following a corner kick, regaining possession and sending a shot into the box that pinballed into the net.
Weiss jump-started the second half as well, scoring just 64 seconds after the restart to double Chicago’s lead.
PSV responded in the 36th minute when Aidin Camo blocked a clearance attempt into the back of the net, igniting the comeback. Chicago restored its two-goal cushion in the 41st minute as Lukas Garasic headed a free kick across goal, where Weiss finished at the far post to complete his hat trick.
PSV refused to back down. David Zirarusha Shyaka pulled one back in the 46th minute after combining with Kor Slegers for a tight-angle finish. Less than two minutes later, Shyaka struck again, curling a perfectly weighted shot from 20 yards just inside the far post to level the match at 3-3.
With the semifinal dust settled and showcase matches delivering their own share of drama, the stage is now set for Championship Saturday. Titles in the U-15, U-16, and U-18 divisions will be decided at the WSFS Bank Sportsplex as Snow Bowl 2026 presented by The SWAG and YSC Academy reaches its final chapter.
