Union Academy trio, FC Florida fall short in U19 national title game

John Schroeder scored his fourth goal of the tournament, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a three-goal first half by FC Golden State as the California club captured the U19 boys national championship on Saturday night in Frisco, Texas.

Schroeder, a sophomore at the University of Delaware, found the back of the net in the 78th minute in another strong second half for FC Florida, but the FC Golden State defense held on to capture the McGuire Cup trophy.

It was the second straight win for FC Golden State over FC Florida, which featured Schroeder and fellow Union Academy alumni Mo Conde and Zach Perez. FC Golden State won 3-1 in the final preliminary match on Thursday after both teams had booked a spot in the final with back-to-back wins in their first two games.

Perez, a sophomore at William Patterson University, and Conde, a redshirt freshman at the University of Mobile, joined Schroeder in the starting lineup on Saturday night. Though normally a right back, Schroeder led the FC Florida offense from the midfield throughout the tournament.

His goal came off a 70-yard bomb from Preston Kilwien that Schroeder brought down on the right flank and toe poked past the Golden State keeper after beating his defender.

FC Golden State won its second straight national title after winning the U18 boys division a year ago. Pedro Fonseca scored the first two goals six minutes apart in the first half and Maicon Abreu made it 3-0 ten minutes before halftime.