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Former UCF Knights star Warren Creavalle and his Philadelphia Union knocked off fellow former Knight and NYCFC GK Sean Johnson 1-0 in the second match of the MLS is Back Tournament at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports at Walt Disney World on Thursday morning.
Johnson made three saves on the day, but needed four, as Alejandro Bedoya’s goal was the difference. Creavalle played 17 minutes.
But perhaps the most important news was before the match, as the Union wore jerseys with the names of people killed by police on the back:
Our players stand together. One name too many. pic.twitter.com/tPoR8DWveN
— PhilaUnion (@PhilaUnion) July 9, 2020
The night before, prior to the Orlando City/Inter Miami match, players took a knee in solidarity with Black Players for Change to protest police violence and racism for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, the same amout of time a Minneapolis police officer held his knee on George Floyd’s neck, resulting in his death:
Standing in solidarity with @BPCMLS. ✊ ✊ ✊ #BlackLivesMatter | #MLSisBlack pic.twitter.com/MCooMu9aER
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) July 9, 2020
According to Iliana Limon of the Orlando Sentinel, the warm-up shirts that players wore were designed by none other than Creavalle:
The Black Players for Change special warm-up shirts worn during tonight's pregame demonstration were designed by Philadelphia Union midfielder Warren Creavalle, a @UCF_MSoccer alum.
— Iliana Limón Romero (@osiliana) July 9, 2020
Creavalle spoke with Eric Lopez earlier this week on the Black & Gold Banneret Podcast: