Orlando City’s U.S. Soccer Development Academy (USSDA) teams had a successful outing against fellow Major League Soccer (MLS) USSDA teams in the Academy Showcase this past weekend.
U-16:
The U-16s opened their weekend fixtures with a match-up against the Chicago Fire U-16 side. City had a strong start early on in the match when Jonathan Rosales found the back of the net in the 12th minute of play. Shortly before the end of the first half, Nathaniel Adamolekun doubled the Lions’ lead, scoring in the 38th minute. Chicago Fire managed to pull a goal back in the 76th minute, however, City’s strong play in the first half would result in a 2-1 win for Orlando.
Commenting on the 2-1 win, U-16 Head Coach Jeff Negalha said, “I’m not happy that we conceded a late goal. We just needed better composure in that moment. But, overall our competitiveness was high. We scored two good goals, our ball possession was productive, and our team defending was strong.”
On the following day, Orlando City continued their strong play – defeating FC Dallas’ U-16 side 1-0 in a very tight match. The Lions and FC Dallas battled to a 0-0 draw for the majority of the match, however, David Loera’s finish in the 82nd minute of play sealed the victory for Orlando.
“We handled the early pressure and then settled into the match very well,” added Negalha. “I was very pleased with our aggressive mentality on and off the ball. We scored a goal from another very good sequence. In the end, our performance was positive. The teamwork by each player in both matches has been very influential to our progress. We must continue to get better and move forward.”
U-18:
Despite conceding an early goal in their opening match against the Colorado Rapids, the U-18s battled back to score three second-half goals en route to a 3-2 win. Carlos Cuevas, Jaiden Fortune and Aidan Wixted each scored a goal apiece in City’s victory.
The U-18s second match featured a convincing 4-1 win over Chivas USA – a technical and dangerous side. City began the game at a quick pace, scoring three goals in the first 45 minutes before adding the final finish in the 57th minute.
In their final fixture, Orlando City faced Sockers FC who also won both of their showcase games heading into the final contest. Sockers took an early lead but City produced a strong second half performance to win 2-1 and finish the showcase undefeated.
Commenting on his team’s performance, U-18s Head Coach Paul Shaw said, “Overall, the team performed very well in what was a very demanding schedule against some good teams.”
