Orlando City’s USSDA teams were back in action this past weekend as they headed south to face Kendall SC. The trip to Miami saw both the U-14 and U-18 teams continue their undefeated start to the regular season with 2-0 wins over Kendall on Saturday. City’s U-16 team unfortunately fell to their counterparts in a hard fought 2-0 match Saturday afternoon, despite creating numerous chances.
The U-14s came out ready to play from the opening whistle and never looked back as they secured an early lead. The Lions produced two early goals from Jordan Bender (4’ and 20’) to give them control early in the match, before eventually sealing the victory. The win saw the U-14s overall record improve to 2-0-1.
"Our 14s were solid defensively by not conceding a goal to a technical Kendall team and finding the net twice with creative play in the attack,” said U-14 Head Coach Greg Brick. “I was pleased the team kept a clean sheet and the game really showed a total team effort."
The U-16 Lions unfortunately fell to the Kendall SC U-16s 2-0, but it was a hard fought game in which the Lions had multiple chances. The city youngsters will look to rebound following the loss with two games next weekend. The young Lions currently have a 3-3-1 record in the USSDA regular season.
“We had some good sequences in the run of play throughout the game but weren’t able to finish the opportunities we created,” explained U-16 Head Coach Jeff Negalha. “Ultimately we need to do better with our decision making in both penalty areas.”
City’s U-18s finished Saturday by continuing their USSDA regular season undefeated record (4-0-3) with a 2-0 win over the Kendall SC U-18s. The Lions were able to get a firm grip on the game with goals on either side of halftime provided from Nathaniel Adamolekun (32’) and David Loera (75’), ensuring the win.
“It was a good team performance. The players worked hard and created some good opportunities to score,” stated U-18 Head Coach Darren Powell. “The game was frantic at times with both teams always looking to attack. We were pleased to get our goals when we did and then push onto win the game. The team showed good commitment & character throughout the game.”
The weekend’s matches versus Kendall SC provided great results and learning experiences going forward for the City USSDA teams. This upcoming weekend, City’s U-16 and U-18 USSDA teams will head to North Carolina to face North Carolina Fusion and Capital Area Railhawks on Saturday and Sunday. Meanwhile, the U-14 Lions will play at home against Jacksonville FC.
