FC Dallas 2-1 Baltimore Bays Chelsea

Needing a win to stay in contention for the U18 Development Academy championship match, FC Dallas received a dramatic stoppage-time game-winner off the foot of Jonathan Top for a 2-1 victory against Baltimore Bays Chelsea on Wednesday at the Houston Amateur Sports Park.

FC Dallas forward Danny Garcia, who netted the equalizer in the 64th minute, beat his defender to the end line and cut a pass back toward the top of the box. The ball found Top – who has made two appearances for the FC Dallas first team this season – and the forward was able to take a touch and fire low past Baltimore goalkeeper Andrew Harris in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time, sparking a massive celebration from the FC Dallas bench.

“It was very emotional, the way we won at the end,” FC Dallas head coach Chris Hayden said. “For me, it represents how this team has played all year long – battling adversity, hardship within the club, guys coming off of injuries, players away with the first team and national team duty. Knowing that we had to win the game really to have any chance to advance makes it very rewarding the way we won the game against a team that gave us a lot of problems and pressure on the ball.”

The result prevented Solar Chelsea SC, 2-0 winners against Chivas USA in the other Group 2 match, from clinching the group win outright. FC Dallas and Solar Chelsea SC head to a critical, championship-berth deciding match on Friday. Solar Chelsea SC needs a win or draw to advance, while FC Dallas must win to earn a spot in the U18 championship.

After falling behind 1-0 in the 11th minute following a strong, right-footed strike from Baltimore Bays Chelsea midfielder Romilio Hernandez, Garcia knotted the score at 1-1 in the 64th minute when Top and David Robledo combined to feed the ball to him near the top of the box. The forward only had enough time and space to quickly turn and shoot without looking, but it was enough to sneak past Harris in goal.

“We didn’t want to change the way we played (after the opening goal),” Hayden said. “We felt like we always play better when we have the ball at our feet. I thought we possessed the ball a lot and we also moved the ball forward. The game was quick and there was a lot of energy from both teams. I was proud of the way we responded in the second half with people tired and they still gave 100 percent effort. “

The physical match, which featured 32 combined fouls and seven yellow cards, threatened to boil over several times as emotions ran high. Each team came close to grabbing an advantage in the second half following Garcia’s 64th-minute equalizer.

Each goalkeeper was called upon several times late throughout the match. Harris finished with four saves and FC Dallas goalkeeper Eduardo Cortes stopped three of the four shots on goal he faced.

“It was one of the best games we ever played as a team,” Garcia said.

On Friday, FC Dallas squares off against a Solar Chelsea SC team that it beat three times during the regular season with a combined score of 10-0.

“We know that they’re a very good team,” Hayden said. “I’m proud that two teams from Dallas are going to be in that game.”

Scoring Summary:
BBC – Romilio Hernandez                             11th minute
FCD – Danny Garcia (David Robledo)             64
FCD – Jonanthan Top (Danny Garcia)             90+5

Lineups:
BBC: 1-Andrew Harris; 21-Malcolm Harris, 27-Tanner Vosvick, 6-Michael DeGraffenreidt, 14-Matthew Shinsky; 19-Christian Porras (11-Christian Morales, 37; 12-Jeremy DeGraffenreidt, 72), 8-Richard Greensfelder, 10-Romilio Hernandez (9-Yaw Amankwa, 67), 4-Jacori Hayes, 3-Logan McHugh (17-Ryan Kennedy, 90); 13-Michael Gamble

FCD: 22-Eduardo Cortes; 6-Nicholas Rochowski (17-David Robledo, 52), 2-Mark Ashby, 5-Aaron Guillen, 3-Michael Ambrose; 21-Marco Carrizales (28-Marco Ortiz, 72), 8-Flavio Guzman,  14-Kellyn Acosta (39-Bobby Edet, 82); 11-Danny Garcia, 9-Jonathan Top; 27-Jose de la Tejera (13-Alonso Gallegos, 84)

Solar Chelsea 2-0 Chivas USA

Two unanswered second-half goals lifted Solar Chelsea SC to its second straight shutout victory and the top spot in Group 2 in the U18 age group on Wednesday night at the Houston Amateur Sports Park.

Colton Missimo finished a fine sequence in the 74th minute, then second-half substitute Alan Winn added the insurance goal in a highly entertaining match against a very talented Chivas USA side.

With the 2-0 win, Solar Chelsea SC sits on six points and two ahead of local rival FC Dallas, setting the stage for a “Dallas Derby” on the final matchday. Having secured a victory, Solar Chelsea SC was moments away from advancing to the final when FC Dallas struck in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time to earn a 2-1 win against Baltimore Bays Chelsea to keep its hopes of advancing alive.

Solar Chelsea SC needs only a draw to advance to the championship match, which will be streamed live on ussoccer.com on Sunday, July 22, at 8 p.m. CT, from BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston.

Both teams began the match at a high tempo and the early moments were fairly open as the sides looked to take the game by the scruff. Solar nearly went ahead after six minutes when a corner kick pinballed in the six-yard box and seemed destined for goal before deflecting off a Solar attacker and out of danger. From there, Solar began imposing themselves employing size and speed.

On the quarter hour, Chivas USA put together a nifty passing sequence mixing up short and long passes, swinging the ball for a cross into the area that ended with an errant header from Jose Dheming. The Goats unleashed their trademark passing rhythm that caused problems for the Solar defense.

Dheming did much better on a header in the 18th minute off a corner kick, but the angled strike was deflected out for a corner. Throughout the first half, Chivas USA looked to take advantage of Dheming’s size with early balls into the area.

A deceptive free kick from the foot of Eric Gonzalez 40 yards from goal nearly caught goalkeeper Oshick Shams off guard, but the in-swinger clanged off the crossbar. Solar regained the momentum in the last 10 minutes of the half, and the teams finished virtually equal in every statistical category, including the scoreline.

The beginning of the second half mirrored the first, once again Solar seizing the initiative. In the 61st minute, Zach Mathers took a crack at a free kick 23 yards out just off the left corner of the area. His curling effort to the far post forced goalkeeper Jack McGuire into a sprawling save, the first of several for the Chivas USA netminder. He was called into action a minute later, once again snuffing out a dangerous opportunity.

Missimo’s skill, speed and craftiness were on display throughout the evening, and his mazy run in the 68th minute set the table for things to come. Having penetrated the area, he dished off for Mathers at the top of the six, the midfielder choosing power over placement as he pummeled the ball of the crossbar.

With the game absolutely buzzing from end to end, Solar found another gear and finally broke through in the 74th minute. A composed passing sequence down the right side eventually turned toward center, and Missimo picked up the ball at the top of the area and diced through the Chivas USA defense, slamming home a shot from 10 yards.

Five minutes later the lead doubled when Winn sprung down the left side and raced toward goal. With McGuire coming out to close the angle, Winn calmly tucked a shot off the inside of the near post.

With the game firmly in hand, Solar saw out the match and then stood in the center circle awaiting the result of the FC Dallas-Baltimore Bays encounter.

Scoring Summary:
SOL - Colton Missimo 74th minute
SOL – Alan Winn 79

Lineups:
CHV: 1-Jake McGuire; 44-Brian Kennedy, 49-Stephen Copley, 35-Alex Heilmann, 83-Adonis Amaya (79-Romario Lomeli, 46); 70-Adam Arana (37-Eduardo Quezada,46), 39-Marco Delgado, 54-Eric Gonzalez, 95-Daniel Moreno (50-Rene Santos, 87); 3-Jose Dheming, 31-Mark Verso (41-Julio Chavez, 61)

SOL: 0-Oshick Shams; 10-Murphy Short, 4-Reagan Dunk, 7-Trevor Haberkorn, 12-William Webb; 8-Mason Miller, 16-Ryan Condotta; 2-Chandler Crosswait (23-Jesse Toledo, 73); 21-Zach Mathers, 15-Colton Missimo (11-Alan Winn, 75); 3-Sam Hayward (19-Hayden Partain, 76)

Vancouver Whitecaps 4-2 De Anza Force

Vancouver Whitecaps FC tightened its grip on the Group 1 lead in the U18 age group of Academy Finals Week after a 4-2 victory against De Anza Force on Wednesday night at the Houston Amateur Sports Park.

Vancouver forward Ben Fisk scored another hat trick to take his goal tally to six in two games as the British Columbia side rushed out to a 3-0 lead in 36 minutes to put the game out of reach. De Anza Force, however, did not go quietly, mustering two goals in quick succession after going down 4-0 in the second half to put pressure on the Whitecaps.

In the end, the Californians lacked the firepower to pull level and Vancouver now sits atop Group 1 with six points, in prime position to qualify for the championship match on Sunday at BBVA Compass Stadium.

“Our attacking play – eight goals in two games – you can’t really fault it,” said Vancouver Whitecaps FC head coach Craig Dalrymple on his team’s progression through group play. “Defensively, we’ve given up some goals that we shouldn’t have, but if we play a complete game, a full 90 minutes, we’ll have success.”

The contest got off to a fast, physical start with De Anza enjoying more of the ball, although Vancouver was able to create the first two shots of the match.

De Anza’s possession would let them down in the 14th minute as a miscue from the central defense gifted the ball to Fisk. His first touch took him beyond the defense and he was able to round the goalkeeper and finish easily with his left foot.

Four minutes later, a De Anza short corner created mayhem in the area as the ball pinged between Callum Irving in goal for Vancouver and De Anza’s attackers. The ball was eventually cleared, but showed De Anza’s potential to threaten Vancouver on set pieces.

The California side was sustaining pressure on Vancouver and forcing the team into its own end until the 30th minute when Whitecaps FC struck for their second and third goals within a six-minute span, killing any momentum that De Anza had gathered. Bryce Alderson’s goal came after Alex Rowley recovered the ball in the midfield and sprung his midfield partner through on goal with a quick pass. Alderson calmly finished past the approaching Paul Blanchette to double the lead.

Vancouver surged forward, buoyed by the extended lead, and struck again in the 36th minute after a sweeping move from right to left. Alderson turned provider, finding Fisk in space on the left. The forward avoided his man to get off a shot that took a slight deflection, making its way past the unfortunate Blanchette.

Fisk would get his third goal on the other side of halftime to seemingly put the game out of reach. Ben McKendry burst through the midfield in the 58th minute, laying off a diagonal ball to Fisk in the left channel. Fisk cut inside with his first touch and shot back across his body inside the near post with his right foot to complete his hat trick.

De Anza was not done, though. Two goals in three minutes proved to make the final quarter hour less than comfortable for Vancouver, the first goal coming in the 71st minute through Max Ornstil. Jason Romero did well to beat his man and put a low ball across the box from near the end line. Midfielder Travis Pillon missed the initial chance, but recovered to lay the ball back to Ornstil, who stuffed it in from six yards.

Moments later, De Anza’s set piece prowess proved valuable as a long throw from the right was nodded down at the back post by Ornstil. Pillon used his body to shield a Vancouver challenge and hit the ball on the turn from 10 yards past Irving, cutting the deficit to two.

The final 15 minutes saw De Anza pump the ball forward in an attempt to draw within one, but Vancouver would withstand the siege and nearly score through forward Caleb Clarke on the break.

The result stood at 4-2, however, and Vancouver emerged as the clear frontrunners in Group 1 as the only team with six points. North Carolina Fusion earned a 4-2 win against the Colorado Rapids giving the team three points after its second match. Colorado and De Anza remain on one point after their draw in their opening match.

Scoring Summary:  
VAN – Ben Fisk                                        14th minute
VAN – Bryce Alderson (Alex Rowley)        30
VAN – Ben Fisk (Bryce Alderson)              36
VAN – Ben Fisk (Ben McKendry)               58
DAF – Max Ornstil (Travis Pillon)                71
DAF – Travis Pillon (Max Ornstil)                74

Lineups:
VAN:  1-Callum Irving; 9-Adam Polakiewicz (17-Sam Adekugbe, 82), 14-Daniel Stanese, 5-Tim Hickson, 12-Declan Rodriguez (15-Jason van Blerk, 59); 8-Ben McKendry, 13-Alex Rowley, 2-Bryce Alderson (6-Carlos Marquez, 63); 10-Ben Fisk (11-Spencer DeBoice, 62), 4-Caleb Clarke (16-Carlos Patino, 86), 7-Yassin Essa (3-Wesley Cain, 60)

DAF:  1-Paul Blanchette; 2-Alfie Edmonds, 7-Matt Escobar, 25-Mike Amick, 15-Thomas Janjigian (36-Luc Brubaker, 60); 11-Max Ornstil, 10-Kody Wasaka (17-Edson Cordona, 81), 23-Colby Trah (77-Jason Romero, 38); 6-Travis Pillon, 66-Skyler Felt (20-Greg Senger, 34), 21-Ryan Masch

North Carolina Fusion 4-2 Colorado Rapids

North Carolina Fusion’s bench made a significant impact on Wednesday. Taylor Adler scored a game-winning goal and Marco Sunol added an insurance tally to lift the Fusion U18 team to a 4-2 victory against the Colorado Rapids in Group 1 play of Academy Finals Week at the Houston Amateur Sports Park.

“The impact of the subs, the fresh legs and the preparation to come in and play made a difference for us,” said Fusion head coach Marc Nicholls, who was celebrating his 40th birthday. “I was delighted for them. Four games in seven days is a lot on the body, and the impact of the bench is very important.”

Adler’s winning score came in the 79th minute, with Sam McBride providing the assist, to give the Fusion a 3-2 lead only two minutes after the Rapids had equalized. Then, Sunol put the match away in the 90th minute with Rapids goalkeeper Brad Holub rushing off of his line. Sunol flicked the ball over Holub and upped North Carolina’s lead to 4-2.

It was a strong response from the Fusion after opening Finals Week with a 4-1 loss to Group 1 leader Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Monday.

“We were really disappointed with the scoreline against Vancouver, and they deserved to win that game,” Nicholls said. “We felt it was important for us today to respond and show good character, and I think we did that.”

The Fusion lurked around the net in the early stages of the match, but Colorado’s defense was up to the task with several key blocks. In the 30th minute, North Carolina’s Warren Marshall broke through, placing his shot in the left side of the frame past Holub for a 1-0 lead.

North Carolina carried the momentum into the second half. Shortly after a corner kick, Marshall played the ball to the back post and Sam McBride finished with a header to create a two-goal advantage.

The match stayed that way for more than 20 minutes before the Rapids put a dent into North Carolina’s lead, pushing its attack in the game’s final 15 minutes. Idi Camara started the comeback with a 71st-minute goal, following up Chris Gurule’s initial shot that was deflected away by the Fusion defense.

In the 77th minute, Rapids second-half sub Daniel Nevarez scored off of a deflection to level the match at 2-2. The Rapids crossed the ball in from the left side, North Carolina tried to clear and Nevarez converged with a shot that hit the left post and crossed the goal line.

That equalizer was short-lived as Adler and the Fusion responded with the go-ahead score in the 79th minute and never looked back.

The Fusion (1-1-0, 3 points) wraps up the group stage when it faces De Anza Force at 8 p.m. CT on Friday, July 20. The Rapids (0-1-1, 1 point) face Vancouver at 8 p.m. on Friday. Both games are at the Houston Amateur Sports Park.

Scoring Summary:
NCF – Warren Marshall 30th minute
NCF – Sam McBride (Warren Marshall) 48
RAP – Idi Camara 71
RAP – Daniel Nevarez 77
NCF – Taylor Adler (Sam McBride) 79
NCF – Marco Sunol 90

Lineups:
RAP: 18-Brad Holub; 4-Ben Braman, 3-Alex Braman, 7-Chris Gurule, 42-Isaac Martinez (24-Austin Seifert, 53); 2-Avery Ball (20-David Pardo, 69), 12-Shane O’Neill, 46-Ricardo Perez; 8-Karsten Hanlin, 9-Idi Camara, 10-Josue Chavez (19-Daniel Nevarez, 65)

NCF: 1-John Brooks; 32-Alex Rosenbower (2-Erik Casterline, 85), 20-Cole Schwietering, 7-Adam Storm, 6-Mason Billings; 16-Sam McBride, 8-Warren Marshall (14-Craver Stamey, 76), 13-Brandt Bronico; 36-Myles Mansfield (96-Matteo Busio, 83), 4-Alec Rotunda (10-Marco Sunol, 65), 38-Hassan Kouyateh (17-Taylor Adler, 74)