With second half goals from Cody Adams and Moises Hernandez, FC Dallas Juniors U18s canceled out a first half Andromeda goal, winning 2-1 to gain a vital three points in the ultra-competitive Texas Division of the US Soccer Development Academy.

FC Dallas and Andromeda entered Tuesday night’s match with six games left until the Development Academy playoffs with much different outlooks. With a win, Dallas would be tied for first in the 9-team Texas Division where the top five teams are separated by just three points. Andromeda, on the other hand, sits 11 points off the top and was looking to create some momentum to make a late push toward one of the twelve wild card playoff spots.

Andromeda started the brighter of the two sides, nearly taking the lead in the first minute of the game.

Forward Jonathan Munoz expertly controlled a long ball from the back and laid off a pass to Edgar Castro whose shot from the top of the box sailed just over the bar. Using a devastating counterattack led by Munoz, Castro and Zachary Balthazar, Andromeda’s strategy of soaking up Dallas’ possession and hitting them on the break was working perfectly and they were rewarded with the opening goal of the game in the 20th minute.

Castro stripped FC Dallas midfielder Victor Ulloa of the ball and played through Munoz who attracted multiple defenders. With two guys draped on him, Munoz found an open Balthazar at the top of the box who shifted the ball onto his left foot and powered it by a diving Zachary Downes to give Andromeda an unlikely first half lead.

The Andromeda goal seemed to wake up an FC Dallas Juniors team that looked disinterested in the first half hour. Looking to energize the team offensively, head coach Oscar Pareja subbed in attack-minded winger Cody Adams at the 30 minute mark and it nearly paid immediate dividends. The University of Denver commit Adams linked up with NC State commit Chris Figueroa who traded passes with FCD forward Ruben Luna freeing Figueroa to curl a shot saved magnificently by Andromeda goalie Kyle Baylis to ensure his side a 1-0 lead going into halftime.

The FC Dallas offense that held most of the possession in the first half but struggled to create many meaningful scoring chances awoke in the second half. Dallas seemed to have tied the game in the 50th minute as a free kick from Adams caused a scramble in the box that found the ball in the net only for the referee to rule the goal out due to a handball.

FCD did finally tie the game just two minutes later as Adams, at the heart of nearly every FC Dallas attack, earned a free kick from 40 yards out towards the corner of the box. His kick found Ulloa at the back post who headed it across goal to FCD left back Moises Hernandez with all day to take the ball down and slot it past Baylis to level the match. Hernandez, who was a part of the US U-20 National Team at the Copa Chivas earlier this year, scored his second goal in 17 Development Academy matches.

Less than ten minutes later in the 61st minute, FC Dallas Juniors would complete the comeback as Ulloa headed a goal kick to Figueroa who brilliantly released Adams flying down the left side. Adams coolly controlled the pass and left-footed a shot past Baylis to give FC Dallas a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

The final thirty minutes was spent with FCD controlling most of the possession and effectively killing off the game to take all three points and put them tied at the top of the Texas Division standings with Lonestar Aztex Academy of Austin.

With key games coming up this weekend at arch-rival Houston Dynamo and Texas Rush, Dallas will need to be at the top of its game to stay at the top of the division. Andromeda will face the same two teams this weekend with an opportunity to rebound from this hard fought loss before facing FC Dallas Juniors again on Sunday, May 9th as the Texas Division gets to the business end of the schedule.