Philadelphia Union U19s cruise to victory over Bethesda SC in home opener

The U19s picked up their second straight win to start the year

Two games into the season, the Philadelphia Union U19s have outscored opponents 10-0 after another convincing victory last Saturday under the lights at YSC Sports.

Jeremy Rafanello set up Darius Lewis for a goal just seven minutes into the game and scored a goal of his own five minutes later before Issa Rayyan added a brace in the second half after subbing in off the bench.

Goalkeeper Tomas Romero made a diving save on a long range shot in the first half to keep Bethesda SC off the scoresheet on the way to a clean sheet in his first start of the season.

Brendan Hanrahan, a University of Pennsylvania commit who joined the Union ahead of the season from Penn Fusion Academy, made his Union debut in the second half when he subbed in for starting left back Kevin Escobar.

The win for the U19s was one of only two on the day for the Union in a full slate of games against Bethesda.

Matt Ralph

The U17s scraped out a 1-1 draw with a late goal from Michael McKeown with under three minutes remaining, but were denied an earlier bid for an equalizer when Cole Turner’s penalty kick was saved by Tyler Perrie.

The U17s are now 1-0-2 on the season.

The U15s dropped their first match of the season, falling on the wrong side of a 5-3 score line.

But Selmir Misic continued his torrid goal-scoring pace to start the season. His brace gives him a team-leading eight on the season already through four games. Jarman Reilly opened the scoring for the Union in the first half with his first of the season.

The U14s blew a two goal lead, conceding a pair of goals in the 65th and 68th minutes to finish with a 3-3 draw.

Nelson Pierre scored his fourth of the season in the team’s second game while Ian Abbey converted a goal from the spot and Anthony Derk chipped in his second goal of the season.

Connor Budniak’s goal early in the second half held up as the winner in a 3-1 win for the U13s. Luke Martelli opened the scoring with his first of the year in the ninth minute and Jack Travis added his second of the season in the 64th minute.

The academy teams continue their schedules Saturday with the U15 through U19s on the road at Empire United while the U14s and U13s host Arlington Soccer Association at YSC Sports and the U12s host Philadelphia Ukrainian Nationals.