After winning the Concacaf Under-13 Champions League in Costa Rica last month, many of the players from the Philadelphia Union Academy team have settled into the U14 team, which opened the Development Academy season with a 4-1 win over Richmond United on Saturday.
Gael Medrano, who joined the Union from Michigan this summer and won the Golden Boot in Costa Rica, had a goal on each side of halftime, Sam Graham added a penalty kick and Dominic Wilson tacked on a goal late.
The golden ball winner from the tournament, Aaron Heard, is playing with the U15 team. The newcomer from Bethesda SC had a goal in his first game in the DA with the Union in a 3-1 win at New England Revolution last weekend. Andrew Rick Jr., who was the golden glove winner in Costa Rica, also started in that game with the U15 team.
The U15, U17 and U19 teams all had the weekend off but will play their first home game of the 2019-2020 campaign at YSC Sports this weekend against D.C. United. The U15 game kicks off at 1 p.m. followed by the U17s at 3 p.m. and the U19s at 5 p.m. The U14s play D.C. United at 11 a.m.
The U13 team also opened their season on Saturday at YSC Sports, winning earlier in the day on Saturday by a 5-0 final over Richmond behind a brace from Stefan Chirila and goals from Jordan Griffin, Jax Pinkston and Joshua Rick.