The FC Cincinnati Academy picked up four wins across five games this past weekend. The U13s and U14s claimed victories on Sunday, March 17 at MHTC while the U15s and U17s added two more wins in Blaine, Minnesota on Saturday, March 16.Â
On the road, the U15 squad defeated Minnesota United 4-2 in the first match of the day. Jared Cardenas led the Young Garys with a brace in the victory, both goals unassisted. Chance Malilo and Christian Ruiz followed suit with unassisted goals of their own to seal the win.
The second road win of the day went to the U17s, as they took down Minnesota United as well 4-1. This game was all Stefan Chirila as he netted a hat-trick in his final game before he made his FCC2 debut, leaving his mark before he departed. Ben Manfroy rounded out the scoring for the Orange and Blue as he found the back of the net in the victory.
The final match on Saturday was an exhibition game between the U19s and FUTOhio. The U19s suffered a 2-0 loss at MHTC as they continued exhibition play. U19 standout, Connor Stout, picked up a start in the FCC2 season opener, where he played deep into the second half in the draw against Chicago Fire II.
Sunday began with a 5-0 shutout by the U13s against FC United on the home turf at MHTC. Xavier Shannon and Ben Saunders combined for a clean sheet as they shut down the opposition yet again. Four different players scored for the Young Garys as Donovan Bazile added a brace, both goals assisted by Gabriel Jones. Jones added a goal of his own as he tallied three goal contributions in the win. Luca Chkhapeliia found the back of the net off an assist from Gio Garcia, while Adrian Maldanado capped the scoring at five for the Orange and Blue.
The weekend of games concluded with the U14s as they soundly defeated FC United 4-0 at MHTC. Grey Meyer was lights out all game as he walked away with another clean sheet for the Young Garys. Seven players contributed on the offensive side of the ball as Islam Imran picked up a brace, one goal assisted by Liam Albright and the other an unassisted goal. Sam Sullivan and Nathan Stover added goal three and four off assists from El Rodriguez-Zulueta and LJ Born respectively.
The upcoming schedule for the academy starts on the road with the U13s traveling to play Midwest United and the U14s playing the Michigan Jaguars on March 23 and 24. The following weekend, the U15s and U17s open the Generation Adidas Cup in Bradenton, Florida that spans from March 30-April 7. The U19s close things out for the Young Garys against Lions FC at MHTC on April 6.
