Philadelphia Union II wins second straight behind Nelson Pierre brace

Goalkeeper Brooks Thompson made seven saves in the match

Philadelphia Union II returned home from Miami with all three points and no penalty kick drama thanks to a brace from Nelson Pierre and solid goalkeeping from Brooks Thompson on Saturday night in Fort Lauderdale.

Inter Miami II took an early lead with a goal from Kobi Thomas in the 10th minute but just before halftime Nelson Pierre was able to even the score with a curling shot in the box to beat Andre Zuluaga-Silva after collecting a pass from Stefan Stojanovic.

After scoring his first MLS Next Pro goal, Pierre didn’t wait long to add a second, giving the visitors the lead on an unassisted goal in the 50th minute. Thompson finished the night with seven saves in his second start.

With the first team playing in Los Angeles, head coach Marlon LeBlanc started three first team players with Brandan Craig and Anton Sorenson on the back line and Cole Turner in the base of the diamond. Academy players Francis Westfield, Jack Jasinski and Bajung Darboe all started, the first Next Pro start for Darboe.

Union II moved into second place in the Eastern Conference with the win, three points behind leaders Columbus Crew 2. They’ll return home for a Monday night game against Orlando City B at 7 p.m. on May 16.

GOALS/ASSISTS
MIA – Kobi Thomas (unassisted) 10’
PHI – Nelson Pierre (Stojanovic) 45+1’
PHI – Nelson Pierre (unassisted) 50’

DISCIPLINARY SUMMARY
PHI – Francis Westfield (caution) 44’
MIA – Harvey Neville (caution) 59’
PHI – Ian Abbey (caution) 74’
PHI – Carlos Paternina (caution) 89’

Lineups

Philadelphia Union II: Brooks Thompson; Anthony Sorenson, Brandan Craig, Nathan Nkanji, Francis Westfield (Jackson Gilman 57’); Cole Turner, Bajung Darboe (Carlos Paternina 81’), Boubacar Diallo (Juan Perdomo 62’); Jack Jasinski (Chris Donovan 62’); Nelson Pierre ( Ian Abbey 62’), Stefan Stojanovic.

Substitutes not used: Damian Alguera; Jose Riasco, Maike Villero.

Inter Miami CF II: Andre Zuluaga-Silva; Romeo Beckham, Harvey Neville, Ethan Hardin (Dairon Reyes 78’), Abel Caputo; Benjamin Cremaschi (Braxton Taghvai-Najib 77’), Lawson Sunderland, Shanyder Borgelin; Tyler Bagley (Logan Batiste 70’), Miles Perkovich (Shaan Hundal 64’), Kobi Thomas.

Substitutes not used: Drew Hardin, David Ruiz, Mikhail Keise, Brett Kaminski, Bryan Destin.