Generation adidas Cup: Day Three Recap

Generation adidas Cup: Day Three Recap
by David McNabb
April 1, 2015

FRISCO, Texas -  The semifinals have been set for the MLS Generation Adidas Cup with the top under-17 groups from FC Dallas, Eintracht Frankfurt, River Plate and Palmeiras advancing through pool play games completed Wednesday at the Toyota Soccer Center.  FCD will meet the German club at 5 p.m. Thursday in Toyota Stadium. South American traditional rivals Brazil and Argentina meet in the other semifinal at 7 p.m. After a day of rest, the championship will be 7:15 p.m. Saturday.

In the Premier Division, two of the MLS top academies will meet in one semifinal. The New York Red Bulls play the Los Angeles Galaxy at 1 p.m. Thursday. The winner advances to the final at 11 a.m. Saturday against the Sagan Tosu-Indepndiente Medellin winner.

The rest of the field will have consolation games Thursday and Saturday. A look at some of the top games from the third match of pool play:

FC Dallas 3, Pumas 1

Needing only a tie to advance to the semifinals, FC Dallas came away with a convincing, third-consecutive pool-play win in front of multiple members of the FCD ownership watching from the sidelines.

FC Dallas countered Pumas’ offensive aggression with Toshiki Yasuda netted a strong shot from the right side off a nice assist from Devin Vega. The striker duo has been strong for FCD throughout.  A 2016 SMU commit, Yasuda came off the bench for the winning second-half goal against Real Salt Lake.

FCD took a 3-1 lead as Benjamin Granillo scored on a 30-yarder from the left side. Granillo also had the assist in FCD’s Game 2 win.

Dallas goalie Ben Hale actually didn’t have to make incredible saves but he did a terrific job on organizing and directing five free kicks Pumas generated with one-on-one runs in the second half. The Dallas back line of Edwin Munjoma, Austin Ashley, Brandon Terwege and Reggie Cannon were solid in getting deep possessions out of scoring territory. 

Real Salt Lake 5, Atletic Club Bilbao 4

A dramatic second-half rally included a goal off a full length keeper kick as RSL picked up a final pool play victory after trailing 3-0. RSL’s Miles Stray got the tying and game-winning goals in the second half as RSL rebounded after a slow first half, and, in fact, opening losses to Pumas and FC Dallas.

Bilbao dominated the first half, but RSL started its comeback in the second half with a good wind at its back and amid some sporadic rain. Alejandro Lopez, who has played well at forward in pool play,  made it 3-1 with a goal in the 42nd minute. Juan Mora made it 3-2 in the 59th minute and last year’s semifinalist kept pushing against Bilbao.

RLS keeper Conor Orton booted a punt which hit about 35 yards out from goal, but took a couple high bounces and into the net at the 67th minute but it still looked like Bilbao would hold onto a 4-3 lead in the 70-minute games. But Stray netted a goal in the 69th minute to tie the score and put in the game-winner in stoppage time.

Los Angeles Galaxy 2, Orlando City 1

In the Premier Division, the Galaxy won Group B with three wins and will meet the New York Red Bulls in the semifinal at 1 p.m. Thursday in Toyota Stadium. A strong finisher throughout the tournament, Kyle Holcomb put in the game-winner in stoppage time. Holcomb (2000 birth year) is establishing himself as a top Class of 2018 recruit by creating buzz among the dozens of college coaches watching play.

Galaxy took a 1-0 lead in the fourth minute by Patrick Murphy. Orlando City tied the score in the 30th minute on a a goal by Pierre Da Sliva, who played in the USMNT earlier this month in the 2015 CONCACAF U-17 Championship in Honduras.

Related Topics: Development Academy
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