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Twice the Philadelphia Union Academy U-16 team fought back from deficits to beat Richmond United on Saturday.
United opened the scoring with a goal from Sam Bacon 19 minutes in, but Issa Rayyan responded four minutes later with the first of two equalizers on the day for the Union. Tied 1-1 at halftime, Luke Mega broke the deadlock with a goal in the 64th minute.
Darius Lewis got the equalizer eight minutes later and Byron Josue Monge delivered the winner with his first goal of the season. Justin McMaster added an insurance goal to lead the U-16s to their fourth win of the season and extend their unbeaten streak to start the season to five.
The starting XI included Andrew Aprahamian, Omar Ayala, Brandon Golden, Darius Lewis, Rayshaun McGann, Justin McMaster, Byron Josue Monge, Kurtis Orrson, Issa Rayyan, Nykolas Sessock and Carlos dos Santos. Anthony Fontana, Isaiah Holquist, Michael Kalpokas, Seth Kuhn, Patrick Murphy and Chrisian Schifano saw time off the bench.
U-18s draw
The U-18 team had their three-game win streak snapped but improved to 3-1-1 on the year with a 1-1 draw. Juan Astruc opened the scoring for the home side in the 13th minute, but Tiger Graham responded with his third goal of the season in the 39th minute.
The starting XI included Robert Campbell, Joseph DeZart, Freeman Dwamena, Tiger Graham, Mark McKenzie, Emmanuel Perez, Matthew Real, Yosef Samuel, Alexander Soto, Andrew Verdi and Abu Winter. Derrick Jones Amaniampong, Dawson McCartney, Michael Swift and Raheem Taylor-Parkes saw time off the bench.
U-14s draw
The U-14 match ended in a scoreless draw. Lineups from the game weren't available.
Up Next
The U-18 and U-16 teams travel to Tinton Falls, N.J. for matches with NJCSA on Sunday. The U-18s play at 1 p.m. and the U-16s at 3:30 p.m. The U-14s travel to Orangeburg, N.Y. for a match with World Class FC on Saturday at 6 p.m.