Philadelphia Union homegrown Paxten Aaronson bagged his first goal but it wasn’t enough as the club concluded its stay in Florida with a 3-1 setback to Orlando City SC.
Playing under the hot Florida sun, the Union were limited to just 15 available field players against a fresh Orlando City SC side but the match provided valuable experience for the Union’s crop of homegrowns. Aaronson made the most of the opportunity netting the club’s first goal of the preseason in strong fashion in the 79th minute of play. The 17-year-old collected the ball at midfield and then dribbled through three Orlando defenders before rifling a shot that nutmegged the keeper.
With such a unique Union lineup, Orlando came out on the front foot with long stretches of possession but the Union battled back with the game’s first scoring chance coming in the 13th minute via shot from Anthony Fontana.
Orlando City opened the scoring on a headed goal in the 28th minute and doubled its lead seven minutes later to take a 2-0 lead into halftime. The hosts nearly made it 3-0 early in the second half but saw a penalty kick go wide of Andre Blake.
Head Coach Jim Curtin turned to his reserves over the final 30 minutes and battled hard until the final whistle even as Orlando City made it a three-goal deficit off a quick strike in the 63rd minute of play.
Boys in Blue are headed back to the City of Brotherly Love this afternoon with one final preseason match left on their schedule. The Union will host rival D.C. United on Wednesday, March 31st. The closed-door scrimmage will be streamed live on
PhiladelphiaUnion.com beginning at 3 p.m. ET with Dave Leno and new Union color analyst Danny Higginbotham calling the action from Subaru Park.
