GA Cup: Union U17s bounce back with two points, U15s shut down New England

After a disappointing opening day of the Generation adidas Cup qualifiers on Friday, the Philadelphia Union U17s bounced back with a better display but still had to come back three times to tie the game and fight back from behind in a penalty shootout to pick up two points on Saturday morning in Chester.

Selmir Miscic tied the game late on free kick from just outside the 18 after twice setting up goals to tie the game. His corner kick in the first half was flicked by Adam Lenges to Patrick Bohui at the far post for the finish and he combined with captain Danny Flores to tie game on a low lined volley from distance in the second half.

“It feels good just having that confidence back from losing one game,” Flores said. “Having two points is helpful.”

New England Revolution made the most of their chances, taking an early lead against the run of play and then took a lead just before halftime on a long free kick.

The Revs twice led in the PK shootout on saves from Eliot Jones, but a pair of saves from Union goalkeeper Lukas Burns and a missed Revolution attempt in the sixth round set off a celebration for the Union. Teams that win penalty shootouts in the competition earn an extra point in the standings.

“Three times we go down and the good thing is we show resolve and show some kind of attitude and professionalism at a young age to not be too disappointed,” head coach Gary Lewis said. “I just said to them at the end, ‘as a fan it would have been great to watch that, but I’m not a fan I’m your coach. I’m disappointed today defensively, disappointed organization-wise from the top to the midfield to the back, including the goalkeeper.’ Right through the team I think we can get a lot better and we have been good this year.”

Matt Ralph

While the returns for the U17s have been mixed through the first two matches, the U15s continued their sparkling start to the competition with a second straight win Saturday afternoon over New England Revolution.

Nelson Pierre had a first half brace and Owen Moore kept his second clean sheet of the competition.

Captain Quinn Sullivan also had another strong game leading the group that’s now outscored opponents 7-0 to start qualifying. Pierre, who is playing up an age group after debuting in the competition as a 12-year-old last year now has four of those goals.

The first leg of qualifying concludes Monday with games against Orlando City. The U15s will kick off at 10 a.m. followed by the U17s at 12:30 p.m. at the Power Training Complex.