It's a battle of the top two teams in the East as Philadelphia Union II face off agianst rivals New York Red Bulls II in the Eastern Conference Final on Saturday. Don't miss the Boys in Blue as they look for another conference championship starting at 7PM ET on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
Saturday night's match will be the second-straight conference final appearance for Union II, as they lifted the trophy last season via a 4-0 home win over Columbus Crew 2. This weekend they'll look to become just the second team in league history to earn back-to-back conference titles but standing in their way will be the club's biggest rival.
Under the direction of first-year Head Coach Ryan Richter, Union II have taken even more steps forward as they tied for the most points in the East with 58 but were the No. 2 seed via a tiebreaker. Union II are one of only two clubs to qualify for the postseason in all four years of MLS NEXT Pro history, following a record-setting regular season. The team tied its club record for wins (15), ranking second-most in the league, while setting new marks for goals scored (64), goals allowed (34), and goal differential (+30)—the highest in MLS NEXT Pro this season. Eighteen different players scored for Union II in 2025, led by forwards Malik Jakupovic and Stas Korzeniowski with eight goals each.
Korzeniowski's form has continued into the postseason where he scored in both halves against FC Cincinnati 2 in the club's Eastern Conference Quarterfinal. Last weekend with the Boys in Blue missing Kellan LeBlanc, Jordan Griffin and Jamir Johnson as they prepared with the United States appearance at the 2025 FIFA Under-17 World Cup, they broke through in a defensive stalemate as Korzeniowski converted from the penalty spot for the game's only goal.
The sides previously met twice this season: Union II fell 2-0 on August 11 and drew 1-1 in their home opener on March 17, earning the extra point in the post- regulation shootout.
"I don't think we played our best game in either game that we played against him this season," Union II Head Coach Ryan Richter said ahead of the match. "The first one was early in the year, but certainly in the second one, we just a lot of things that didn't go great and was not the best version of us. I'm excited to see with the group that we have the best version of us, and see how we compete when we stack up against them."
Like Union II, New York Red Bulls II are led by a first-year Head Coach Michael Bradley. The former USMNT captain has guided the side to an impressive season with 68 goals scored in the regular season and the formed has carried over to the postseason. Red Bulls II kicked off their run in the postseason hosting No. 8 seed Carolina Core FC and routed them via a 5-1 scoreline. They put up five goals again in their next match but had to go 120 minutes in a feisty contest against Chicago Fire FC II.
"They have a very dangerous attack and a good midfield that they build through," Richter said when how they'll prepare for the Red Bulls II attack. "For us, the way that we defended as a group against Huntsville, I think this has to be the approach, and this has to be the mindset and mentality from our guys,. To commit to that, and you see what's possible when when you do as a team, that's going to be even more important in this game with the real quality attacking players they have."
Saturday's match will have even larger implications beyond lifting a trophy as the winner of the Eastern Conference Final will host MLS NEXT Pro Cup the following weekend.
