Union win third straight, advance to knockouts of Concacaf U13 Champions League

Angel Gael Medrano’s introduction to his new team has gone really well so far in Costa Rica.

The newcomer to the Philadelphia Union Academy from Michigan had a brace to lead the Union to a 3-1 win over Mexican club Chapulineros de Oaxaca to wrap up Group B play in the Concacaf Under-13 Champions League.

Antonios Horozoglou opened the scoring for the Union in the second minute and Medrano made it 2-0 with his third goal of the tournament 10 minutes later.

The Union conceded for the first time in Costa Rica when Gael Olea Ulloa found the back of the net in 16th minute but Medrano added another in the 41st minute to restore the two-goal lead and send the Union through to the knockout stage of the competition.

In three games, the Union outscored opponents 13-1. Medrano leads the team with four goals, followed by Matthew Routzahn, who had a hat trick in the first game, Henry Bernstein with two, Dominic Wilson with two and Aaron Heard and Horozoglou each with one.

The Union will get today off before resuming play against another opponent from Mexico in Guerreros Coahuila. Wednesday’s game is slated to kick off at 1 p.m. and will be streamed live on Facebook.

Fellow MLS academy teams Vancouver Whitecaps and Montreal Impact failed to advance out of their groups and will be seeded into a separate bracket to determine final placing.