While most had a quiet Thanksgiving break away from work and stress, City’s U-14s took the pitch against some of the world’s best talent at the Puma Pro Invitational at Disney. The young Lions entered the tournament winners of their last three matches, and the team continued in great form through the tournament to keep their undefeated run alive.
The boys kicked off the tournament on Wednesday facing the Borussia Dortmund U-14 academy team. The match was hard fought with both sides creating chances in an entertaining match. Neither team could end the deadlock, splitting the points in a 1-1 draw.
The Lions continued the invitational on Thanksgiving Day by squaring off against Arsenal’s academy squad in another hotly contested match. Like the first, City had chances to pull ahead but were unable to break away and settled for a 1-1 draw against their famed English counterparts.
City wrapped up the Puma Pro Invitational Saturday the best way they knew how with an impressive win over the defending USYSA national champion, Baltimore Celtic Darby. The boys in purple held their skilled opponents at bay and kept a clean sheet while the attack bagged a goal to ensure the impressive win and 2nd place in the invitational.
"We had solid performances this weekend against three good opponents,” Head Coach Greg Brick said. “We went into the event with goals of being disciplined defensively, exhibiting patience in our build up to get forward and transitioning quickly on offense and defense. We accomplished all three goals and earned three results while finishing 2nd in the invitational. I’m very happy for the boys."
The excellent performance capped off a special Fall season for City’s U-14s who will now head into their winter break. The young Lions currently sit at 5-1-1 in their league season and will return to action February 13th. Congratulations to the boys for their excellent performances during their Thanksgiving weekend.
