The Philadelphia Union Academy U14 team capped their season with another impressive display of technical skill in a 4-1 win over Portland Timbers on Thursday in Frisco, Texas.
The match was the third and final one of the U.S. Development Academy U13/U14 showcase. The Union scored eight goals in the three matches. On Thursday, they found the back of the net three or more times for the 17th time this year.
Two of those goals came from free kicks - Obafemi Awodesu in the 9th minute and Cole Turner in the 57th minute. Turner had a brace on the day and Jason Aoyama forced an own goal in the second half.
Golazo! @PhilaUnion_Acad put away a stunner this afternoon. #WorldClassDA #AcademyPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/bnGqQwAswf
— U.S. Soccer Academy (@ussoccer_acad) June 24, 2016
As a team, the U14s averaged more than three goals a game for the season and had three players - Jason Aoyama, Michael McKeown and Nicholas Blacklock - score at least 16 goals (Blacklock led the team with 17). They finished the season with 20 wins, three draws and just two losses.
Results don’t tell the whole story but as evidenced by their time in Texas, the level of difficulty of the goals scored, the touches in the midfield and the organization and stinginess of the defense suggests the future is bright in the Union Academy.