The two best teams in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Southeast division clashed this weekend and Orlando City’s U-17/18s came out on top.
The Lions defeated top-ranked Atlanta United FC 2-0 in Marietta, Ga., Saturday by a final score of 2-0. Landen Haig bagged his team-leading 13th goal of the season in the seventh minute and Raul Aguilera put it on ice in the 90th minute with his eighth goal of the season.
“Saw some really good stuff from the boys,” Pro Academy Director and U-17/18s head coach David Longwell said. “They were strong on the ball and played for each other. Had some chances we should’ve capitalized on but I’m proud of their performance against a quality side.”
City continued its run through the Peach State with a 5-1 win against Concorde Fire the next day. Defender David Norris got the Lions on the board in the 11th minute and Mikael Martins made it 2-0 four minutes later. Mario Licor, playing up from the U-15/16 side, scored in the 19th minute.
The Lions kept applying the pressure in the second half and Martins scored again in the 49th minute. Allen Seals made it 5-0 in the 60th minute.
“Really strong effort from the boys today,” Longwell said. “They were sharper than they were yesterday and really took it to Concorde.”
Six points gathered from the weekend lifted City into second place in the Southeast (Atlanta is in first with 2.4 points per game, though they have four fewer points than Orlando City). The Lions have eight games remaining in the regular season.
