Philadelphia Union II looks to continue its winning ways as it hosts Group F’s most veteran teams in Hartford Athletic on Sunday afternoon at Subaru Park. Kick off is set for 5 p.m. and the match will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Union II enters Sunday’s contest flying high off of a 4-0 victory over Loudoun United FC on Wednesday night. The Boys in Blue turned in a complete performance with Brandan Craig, Anton Sorenson, Steve Kingue and Caden Stafford all scoring their first USL Championship goals. The offense was efficient as well as the club placed 11 of its 15 shots on frame. On the other side of the pitch, Union II’s defense was locked in by holding Loudoun to only four shots on target.
Sunday’s match will be the second meeting of 2020 and the start of a home-and-home series that will take place over the next four days. The two sides met in Hartford in late July with Union II coming out aggressive to take a 2-0 lead 16 minutes into the match with strikes from Yomi Scintu and Axel Picazo. The lead would be erased by the hosts before halftime and they took the lead for good in the 53rd minute on a goal from Ever Guzman to claim a 3-2 win.
While Hartford sits in the drivers seat for advancing to the USL Cup Playoffs, they can take one step close with a result on Sunday that would eliminate Union II officially from playoff consideration. Three points would also put the side one win away from the top spot in Group F with two games in hand and six points behind Eastern Conference powerhouse Pittsburgh Riverhounds.
Hartford enters the match with a 2-2-1 record in their last fives contests, bouncing back from a 5-0 loss to the Riverhounds with an important 3-1 win over third-placed New York Red Bulls II. The team is balanced in the attack with Guzman and Hugh Alexander Dixon leading the way offense with four goals in 11 USL Championship matches.
