ORLANDO - It was a pivotal set of games in the Generation adidas Cup on Saturday at the Seminole Soccer Complex as teams vied for position in the closing rounds of the group stage.
Toronto FC and the Philadelphia Union featured in the first game of the day with both teams needing a win to solidify their place in the group. Philadelphia saw much of the early chances, but it was Toronto’s Kevin Timachy that found the back of the net first after beating the Union goalkeeper one-on-one. Philadelphia would get their chance to level the score at the beginning of the second half after Raheem Taylor Parkes was taken down in the box. Toronto’s goalkeeper proved to be the hero however and stepped up to save Jack Skahan’s penalty kick. Toronto controlled much of the rest of the contest and would seal their victory through goals from Richie Ennin and Cyrus Rollocks.
The second match of the afternoon pitted the New England Revolution against the New York Red Bulls, who were looking to continue their unbeaten run. However, it was the Revolution that struck first following a well-placed throw in to Izaiah Jennings that ended with the forward skilfully placing the ball past the goalkeeper. The Revolution desperately clung to their lead until the last minute of regulation when Ryan Mingachos broke New England hearts with a header into the corner of the net. For the second consecutive day the Red Bulls would face penalties, but on this occasion however they were unable to stop any of the Revolution’s penalty shots and fell for the first time this tournament, 4-1.
The day finished off with Orlando City taking on DC United. The beginning of the first half was a cagey affair with not many chances on goal until City’s Nathaniel Adamalekun was taken down in the penalty area. David Loera stepped up and slotted home the resulting penalty kick to give Orlando the early lead. DC levelled the score in the second half after a miscommunication with the goalkeeper led to an easy tap-in for SahrFelix Sandy. A penalty shootout would decide the outcome of a game for the second time in the day. This time 10 rounds of penalties would be needed for Orlando City to prevail 6-5 and take the match.
The final round of games in the East Region group stage will take place on Monday, February 16th, with the New York Red Bulls taking on the Philadelphia Union (9am ET), DC United playing the New England Revolution (10:30am ET) and Orlando City facing Toronto FC (12pm ET).
