Arcadia Wins Philadelphia Union College Challenge
By Purnell Cropper
Arcadia students won a meet-and-greet with Philadelphia Union soccer players after Saturday’s game at PPL Park, outdoing much larger local universities in a college night competition to turn out the most supporters.
“What began as a few friends going out for a cheap day at the park turned into a group of more than 65 Arcadia students, alumni, parents and staff celebrating the close of another successful year at Arcadia,” says Robert Migliaccio ’13, who organized the rush to buy $20 tickets with Ryan Bross ’11. “I loved that this turned out the way it did, because this was all student-run.”
The atmosphere at the stadium was electric, and fans were treated to an exciting game as the Union moved to the top of the Eastern Conference with a shut-out victory over the San Jose Earthquakes.
“I talked to the group after the match and thanked them, because all Ryan and I did was provide the promo code and details. They did the rest. That is true school spirit right there.”
Michael Farfan, a member of Coach Rick Brownell’s AdiZero team at the MLS Pre-Draft Combine, entered the game for the Union at the start of the second half. Playing left fullback, he helped shut down 2010 MLS Gold Boot Winner Chris Wondolowski, and pushed up field to pressure San Jose’s right side, which eventually collapsed.
Fans from Arcadia were ushered into a locker room for an autograph signing following the game. They were greeted by Gabriel Farfan—who followed his twin brother Michael to Philadelphia, signing with the Union after wearing the blue and yellow of Mexico’s Club América for a year—and Chris Agorsor, who joined the Union after training with Manchester United and Portugal’s Nacional.
“This shows that we can compete with other schools in the area, even the big ones,” adds Bross. “I think that comes from the close connections between students at Arcadia that you might not get at some of the larger schools.”
