Huntsville, Ala. (March 28, 2025) – Huntsville City Football Club earned a 2-2 draw against Philadelphia Union II in its 2025 home opener at Wicks Family Field. The Boys in Blue earned the extra point after a 4-3 shootout win.
Huntsville took a quick lead in the seventh minute when Christian Koffi found Damien Barker John, who crossed the ball into the box before Koffi finished the chance for his third goal of the season. Watch Koffi’s goal here.
The visitors equalized in first half stoppage time through Stas Olivas and grabbed the lead in the 59th minute through Cavan Sullivan. Huntsville equalized in the 67th minute when Alan Carleton’s cross was headed into the near corner by Damien Barker John for his first goal of the season. Watch Barker John’s goal here.
The match finished level, and following a penalty shootout, Huntsville earned an extra point with a 4-3 shootout win, with goalkeeper Erik Lauta making two saves and defender Blake Bowen scoring the winning penalty.
The Boys in Blue will observe its second bye week next week before returning to action on Sunday, April 13 at 6 p.m. CT at Crown Legacy FC. The match can be streamed on MLS Season Pass on AppleTV.
NOTES:
Huntsville City FC
- is 9W-12L-8D, 2SOW all-time at Wicks Family Field
- is 2W-2L-1D, 1SOW at Wicks Family Field under head coach Chris O’Neal
- is 1W-2L-1D, 1SOW all-time against Philadelphia Union II
- is 1W-0L-1D, 1SOW all-time against Philadelphia Union II at Wicks Family Field
- earned a draw for the first time since Aug. 4, 2024
- earned its first penalty shootout win since Aug. 27, 2023
Chris Applewhite became the 20th Boy in Blue to make 20 starts for the club
Damien Barker John
- scored his first goal of the season
- recorded his first assist of the season
Blake Bowen
- served as team captain for the third time this season
- scored the winning penalty in the shootout
Alan Carleton
- made his Huntsville City FC debut
- recorded his first assist of the season
Erik Lauta
- recorded a season-high eight saves
- made two saves in the penalty shootout
Christian Koffi scored his third goal of the season
Adem Sipić became the first Boy in Blue to make a start in all three seasons
Box Score:
Huntsville City FC (1W-1L-1D, 1SOW, 5 pts.) vs. Philadelphia Union II (0W-0L-3D, 1SOW, 4 pts.)
Wicks Family Field | Huntsville, Ala.
Final Score:
HCFC: 2
PHI II: 2
Huntsville wins shootout 4-3
Scoring Summary:
HCFC: Christian Koffi (A: Damien Barker John) 7’
PHI II: Sal Olivas (A: Isaiah LeFlore) 45+2’
PHI II: Cavan Sullivan (A: Christopher Olney Jr.) 59’
HCFC: Damien Barker John (A: Alan Carleton) 67’
Discipline:
PHI II: Rafael Uzcategui (caution) 29’
PHI II: Sal Olivas (caution) 52’
HCFC: Gunnar Studenhofft (caution) 64’
HCFC: Christian Koffi (caution) 84’
PHI II: Markus Anderson (caution) 90+2’
Lineups:
HCFC Starters: Erik Lauta, Tyshawn Rose (Kevin Carmichael 62’), Wyatt Meyer, Chris Applewhite, Blake Bowen (C), Pep Casas, Moisés Véliz (Isaiah Jones 79’), Christian Koffi, Gio Miglietti (Alan Carleton 62’), Damien Barker John (Malik Henry-Scott 86’), Adem Sipić (Gunnar Studenhofft 62’)
Substitutes: Ammar Delic, Zach Barrett, Gabi Alonso, Real Gill
CFC Starters: Oliver Semmle, Isaiah LeFlore, Rafael Uzcategui, Neil Pierre, Nick Pariano (Oscar Benitez Cobo 54’), Christopher Olney Jr. (Kelian Leblanc 88’), David Vazquez, Zachary Mastrodimos, Cavan Sullivan (Leandro Soria Zarate 65’), Stas Korzeniowski (Markus Anderson 65’), Sal Olivas
Substitutes: Michael Sheridan, Ramzi Qawasmy, Giovanny Sequera Sequera, Jamir Johnson
Attendance: 3,512
Media Resources for all MLS content and footage such as training b-roll, interviews, photos, etc. can now be found on Imagen. In order to access footage you must create an account by clickinghttps://mls.imagencloud.com/site/index.
