Tampa Bay United Wins USL Academy Finals

by Travis Clark

November 21, 2022

Storied youth club side Tampa Bay United captured the 2022 USL Academy Finals over the weekend, defeating Queensboro FC 2-0 in the final.

Golden Ball-winner Nick Skubis was the star in the finale, scoring the first goal in the 14th minute, before setting up a second-half insurance tally from Oliver Blake. Teammate Nicolas Mejia was awarded the Golden Gloves, securing shutouts in three out of four games in Tampa.

“It’s buried! Nicholas Skubis!”

It’s @TampaBayUnited on the board first!#USLAcademy pic.twitter.com/6LqkiRmeXx
— USL Academy (@USL_Academy) November 20, 2022

Tampa Bay advanced to the final by going unbeaten in Group A. After drawing 0-0 with Indy Eleven on Thursday to open the competition, United secured a 4-3 win against New Mexico United, with Daniel Lugo scoring the winner. Lugo, Blake and Isaiah Wilson provided the goals in the final group game, a 3-0 defeat of AC Connecticut.

On the other side of the bracket, Queensboro FC returned to the final on the strength of two wins to open the group games. Queensboro defeated North Carolina FC by a 2-1 margin, following that up with a 3-0 win over Chattanooga Red Wolves. San Antonio FC fell 4-3 in the group finale despite a brace from Northwestern signee Tyler Glassberg.

New Mexico United standout and Michigan commit Alex Waggoner scored six goals to earn the Golden Boot. North Carolina FC won the third place game by a 4-2 win over Indy Eleven, New Mexico defeated San Antonio FC in the fifth place game and Chattanooga triumphed over AC Connecticut in the seventh place match.

Golden Ball: Nick Skubis, Tampa Bay United

Golden Boot: Alex Waggoner, New Mexico United

Golden Gloves: Nicolas Mejia, Tampa Bay United

Related Topics: Big Ten