Three goals over the final 21 minutes of the match saw Inter Miami II come back from a 2-0 deficit to earn a 3-3 draw, only to fall 4-3 to Union II in a shootout on Tuesday evening at DRV PNK Stadium.
The match, which was initially supposed to be played Sunday afternoon, was postponed due to weather conditions that prohibited Union II from traveling. However, both teams ensured that the wait was worth it with a back-and-forth thriller.
In a chaotic turn of events, the home side staged a miraculous comeback with less than 17 minutes to go, but the effort fell just short with Union II coming out on top in the penalty shootout 4-3.
A brace from Shanyder Borgelin, a strike from Benjamin Cremaschi and three assists from Romeo Beckham helped stage the comeback. Beckham is the son of club owner and English legend, David Beckham.
Union II striker Boubacar Diallo thought he had won it with the go-ahead goal in the 87th minute, putting his side up 3-2, but Borgelin netted a stoppage-time equalizer to force the shootout.
Philadelphia Union homegrowns Paxten Aaronson and Jack McGlynn lit up the pitch all evening, with Aaronson finding the back of the net right before the halftime break and McGlynn doubling their lead to 2-0 in the 67th minute after Aaronson was brought down in the box.
In a match featuring footballing pedigree, both Beckham and Aaronson showed up to play.
Aaronson - the younger brother of U.S. National Team and Red Bull Salzburg midfielder Brenden Aaronson - completed 73.3% of his passes on the night while recording an XG of .35 on two shots. He also forced the PK that McGlynn converted midway through the second half after he was brought down in the box.
Meanwhile, Beckham ran rampant all evening. He hit the woodwork midway through the first half and ended up sending the final ball forward on all three Inter Miami II goals. He completed 66.7% of all his passes and boasted an XG+XA of .38; the 19-year-old midfielder hit his passes on a string all evening.
The chaotic evening saw a quiet first half turn into a memorable second with five goals finding the back of the net in an early front-runner for MLS NEXT Pro match of the year.
