Success in the win column has become so common for Reading United - nine playoff berths in the last decade - a team that didn’t win a bunch of games would be a surprise.
But even this season as the wins have piled up - a dozen in 14 league games, another pair of Ws in the U.S. Open Cup - the true mission of the Philadelphia Union’s Premier Development League team has played itself out on the training pitch.
That’s where some 40 players have done battle to prove themselves not only to make the game day 18 but to gain exposure in front of coaches and technical staff within the Philadelphia Union organization.